“We are all doing what we can to advance the sport,” Cooper said. “The women had the opportunity to go varsity whereas the men did not. Men had the opportunity to contribute to the facilities, the coaching staff, and we are stepping up.”

The moves made recently, and those planned for the upcoming year, may advance the sport, but Cooper said that the improvement of the program will be a long process.

Harvard isn’t the only school undergoing the process of improvement. In fact, college rugby as a whole has undergone major changes.

Currently there are only a handful of varsity programs, but “a whole cadre” of teams is considering varsity status, according to College Director of USA Rugby Rich Cortez.

“We are trying to move the whole competitive structure away from 'just kind of show up whenever you want,' to a more solid structure that allows a team to compete and aim high, but also under safe conditions with proper coaching and proper understanding about caring about the athletes,” Cortez said.

Cortez said that for a team to have success at the varsity level, they need three things: continuity of coaching, a history of success, and a critical mass of athletes.

If enough teams follow Harvard’s lead and become varsity squads, the NCAA would sponsor a national rugby championship. Cortez said he expects the sport to reach that level in due time.

“I think a lot of teams would aspire to be in [Harvard’s] shoes,” Cortez said.

This leadership opportunity played into Harvard’s decision to apply for varsity status, according to MacVicar.

“We are hoping this will set the precedent for other universities to start supporting their teams as well,” MacVicar said. “As an NCAA emerging sport, we really want to see the sport pushed forward across the country.”

—Staff writer Jacob D. H. Feldman can be reached at jacobfeldman@college.harvard.edu.