Club Sports

Rugby is a growing sport on college campuses. Currently, there are over 400 college campuses that offer rugby as an activity for students to participate in. The men's rugby club was founded in 1976 and is strongly supported by the Alumni.  A $1,000.00 rugby scholarship is offered annually by the Niagara Rugby Alumni Association. The team plays on a full size grass rugby pitch with permanent goal posts. In addition, to the grass field the rugby program will have access to a newly constructed turf field.  In the fall of 2008, the rugby program moved from Division III to Division II.  The move is based on the success of the program.  The team competed in and won the 2008 New York State Rugby Conference Collegiate Championship in April of 2008.  Tryouts are usually the first week of September.  The team competes in the New York State Rugby Conference. www.nysrugby.org

With the addition of a new turf home field in the fall of 2008, the club lacrosse program has a great venue for practice and games.  Tryouts will be held the first few weeks of each semester.  The program will have both a fall and spring schedule.  The team will compete in the National College Lacrosse League (http://www.ncllax.com).

The spring semester of 2010 was the inaugural season for the first ever club baseball team at NU. Over 40 students tried out for the team. During the spring semester of 2011 the team will be playing games against SUNY Geneseo and SUNY Oswego.

The Niagara University Division 1 ACHA Hockey Purple Eagles is part of the ACHA (American Collegiate Hockey Association).  The NU team is comprised primarily of Junior A & B, Prep School, and select Midget AAA 18U players.  The team recruits players from the United States and Canada and will have open tryouts each year.  Tryouts are held in early September.  The team will usually practice twice weekly for 1.5-2 hrs.  There are mandatory off ice workouts that are generally held prior to practice.  The schedule consists of approximately 30-35 games a season.  Generally there are two games per weekend.  The cost to play is approximately $950.00. This expense covers most costs associated with the program (i.e. ice times, busses, hotel stays, meals on the road, as well as team issued gear).  Please not that players are given an opportunity to sell advertising to offset this cost!  For more information check out the web at www.nuachahockey.com or contact coach Larry Brzeczkowski at 286-8782 or lnb@niagara.edu

The men's soccer club plays an independent schedule. The team competes with JV and club teams from the WNY area. The team will hold tryouts during the month of September and will play games during both the fall and spring semesters.

The women's rugby club competes in the New York State Rugby conference(www.nysrugby.org).  The team plays on a full size grass rugby pitch with permanent goal posts.  In addition, to the grass field the rugby program will have access to a newly constructed turf field.  Tryouts will be held in the first few weeks of school.  The women's program sponsors a spring rugby tournament that is becoming one of the largest tournaments in Western New York.

The NU Women's Club Hockey team participates in NEWCHA, playing about 15-25 league games with an end of the year play-off format tournament.  The team also picks up several non-league games during the season, playing teams from the Western New York area.  Home games are played at NU's Dwyer Arena on Friday and Saturday nights.  Practice is usually scheduled for twice a week.  Average cost per semester is approximately $250.  Teams that have been scheduled in past years include: Syracuse University, Cornell University, Colgate University, SUNY Potsdam, University of Rochester, SUNY Buffalo, SUNY Brockport, SUNY Oswego.  The season concludes with the conference tournament in late February or the first week of March.

The volleyball program was introduced in the 2007-2008 school year.  The team competed for the first time during the 2008-2009 school year.  Competitions are held in both the spring and fall semesters. During the 2009-2010 school year the team competed in 4 seperate tournaments, which were held at Sacred Heart, Cornell, SUNY Oswego, and SUNY Cortland, The team is looking to expand its participation, as well as add more tournaments and matches to their schedule. Tryouts are typically held in September and October

The field hockey program was introduced back to the Niagara Campus in the fall semester of 2008.  The team will hold practices approximately twice a week.  During the spring 2009 semester the team had a game against the University of Buffalo.  Players of all levels are welcomed to participate in the program.

The soccer program plays an independent schedule.  The team will play JV and club teams from the WNY area.  The team will have try-outs during the months of September and will play both a spring and fall schedule.