“We still use Radcliffe in our cheers and we still use Radcliffe on our apparel because of the legacy of the women who built this team from the ground up,” Schwartz said. “They built this team with their own hands without a lot of support—really anyone else except for themselves. It’s the legacy of humility and self-sufficiency, and just hard work, dedication, and care. That’s something we really want to keep alive on the team.”

The women of Radcliffe lived up to the legacy in their inaugural varsity season, going 5-1 in Ivy League play and capturing the Ivy League title.

Today, the Harvard women’s rugby team both recruits players out of high school and accepts walk-ons, reflecting both its open, welcoming atmosphere and its commitment to on-field success. Either way, the veterans of the team are always sure to continue the legacy and traditions of the generations of teams prior.

“Some of the social traditions from the club team we still do,” Schwartz said. “[It’s] not just [about] the name, but the culture that it represents. We still try—especially the older girls on the team—to keep the conversations going about why it’s so important to keep thinking about Radcliffe and why it’s important to pass down to the underclassmen girls who play to explain what it means to them.”

And ultimately, Radcliffe may mean different things to different players, but the culture of the team boils down to one thing: the bonds that the club creates.

“For me personally, Radcliffe means family, the kind of family will fight until the bitter end for,” Schwartz said. “Every single person who’s a member of the organization will have each other’s back, even if we’re the only people who have each other’s back, even in the face of literally anything.”

As the fall 2015 season draws to a close, and the old guard will once again pass the torch, Reid said she’s impressed with how well the Radcliffe name has deservedly held up.

“It shows the connection to where we started,” she said. “It’s nice to know that the tradition is living on, and that women today at Harvard are playing, playing well, enjoying it, and are kind of honoring the connection to where the team started.”

The Harvard women’s rugby team shines on as a permanent reminder of how it began: the culture, the mindset, and the family that epitomized the women of Radcliffe athletics.