History & Outlook

The Texas Interscholastic Rugby Association was established in June 2022 based on the work and success of the “Scholastic Rugby Conference” coordinated by Alex McCulloch as Executive Director of the Panther City Rugby Club.  That Conference was created to: (1) support student interest in competing on school-based rugby teams; (2) provide a low-cost point of entry for students in Title I schools; and, (3) provide opportunities that met the needs of female participants.  

From 2010 to 2021 the Conference grew from a few boys and girls teams in Fort Worth ISD to supporting competitions for eight (8) high school boys teams and six (6) HS girls teams from the larger DFW metro-area.  Its name was also changed from the Panther City Scholastic Rugby Conference to the North Texas Scholastic Rugby Conference to reflect its broadened geography.  

In the spring of 2020, participation in rugby, as with most sports, saw a sudden drop in participation due to the Covid-19 pandemic and stringent protocols.  In Texas, instruction went on online from March 2020 through May 2021.  All 2020 HS spring sports were canceled.  With restrictions and special protocols, only the varsity sports on a HS campus were allowed for the 2020-21 academic year.  Except for a few touch rugby events in the fall 2021, the Scholastic Rugby Conference has stopped.  However, this period of no to modified sports participation that lasted until the 2022-23 school (basically 2.5 years) provided an opportunity of reflection and re-organization to more aggressively grow rugby as a sport in Texas schools - the advent of Texas Interscholastic Rugby Association.

Starting in the 2022-23 academic year, TIRA began laying the groundwork for the formation of school teams in Arlington ISD, Eagle Mountain ISD, Fort Worth ISD, Mansfield ISD.  This academic year, we have expanded our efforts to include Carroll ISD, Plano ISD, and Southlake ISD.   While the re-establishment of rugby in legacy high schools and its establishment in new schools in slow, growth will expedite as the lingering effects of covid protocols diminish and key school districts add rugby in response to the actions of female students at a number of schools to make it a girls’ varsity sport under Title IX.