The HBCU Rugby Classic and Music Festival is officially announcing a change to the championship and player of the match trophy starting this year.
Each year teams have the opportunity to compete for the HBCU Rugby Classic Championship trophy, as well as have the top player from each division have the opportunity to be awarded the HBCU Rugby Classic Player of the Match trophy.
Winners of the previous championship trophies were Prairie View A&M University in 2018, and Morehouse College and Memphis Inner City Rugby in 2019. The HBCU Rugby Classic Player of the Match Trophy was awarded to Prairie View A&M Rugby’s, Enrique Spence-Brown in 2018, and in 2019 it was won by Prairie View A&M Rugby’s, Caleb Ross and Memphis Inner City Rugby’s, Kamiya Rivers.
As the HBCU Rugby Classic continues to grow and develop, the event looks to honor and celebrate those who have historically represented and worked to uplift the development of rugby in black and brown communities.
The HBCU Rugby Classic and Music Festival is announcing they will be renaming the HBCU Rugby Classic Championship Trophy and the HBCU Rugby Classic Player of the Match Trophy. This year and moving forward, the winning teams will receive the Phaidra S. Knight Championship Trophy, and the top players of the event will be awarded the Ransom “Ram” Eddings Player of the Match Trophy.
Phaidra Knight is a graduate of the historically black college and university, Alabama State University. She has established herself strongly in the rugby community. She is a World Rugby Hall of Famer, founder of the clothing brand PSK Collectives, and has played in multiple Rugby World Cups. Knight continues to build on her efforts to uplift those in disenfranchised groups in rugby and other sports.
Ransom “Ram” Eddings was the founder of the Grey Wolves Rugby Football Club, the first, predominantly black, traveling rugby team in the USA. With the Grey Wolves RFC, they were able to work with dozens of high school programs over the last 30 years, to advance the introduction of rugby into black and brown communities. Eddings continues to develop youth rugby as head coach at Idaho State University.
The HBCU Rugby Classic and Music Festival returns to Baton Rouge on May 1-2, 2021. The HBCU Rugby Classic celebrates the development of rugby at HBCUs, the culture surrounding HBCUs, and the opportunities that can come from it.
Follow the HBCU Rugby Classic and Music Festival on Facebook and Instagram @HBCURugbyClassic or on Twitter @HBCURugby.