The Origins of Clemson Women's Rugby

Clemson Women's Rugby originally got its start in 1976 when female fans wanted to create their own team, however the student government refused to recognize them. The men's team supported the women and helped them to create the Rugby Boosters Club, which truly was the university's first women's rugby team. The Rugby Booster Club was part of the men's club until the Spring of 1977, when the women's team was officially recognized by the university in an effort led by Lesa Bethea, the club's first president. The women's team continued successfully for 5 years until it unfortunately folded in 1982.

In the fall semester of 1995, Jaime Swierczeck and Rachel Ferguson answered an advertisement placed by Frank Graziano. Frank was the coach of the men's team and he was interested in reforming the women's rugby club. The team began practicing the following spring. The first semester, there were barely enough members to make one side, and we were only able to organize one match. But, in the fall semester of 1996, we had a full team and a full game schedule. We finished the semester with a winning season and the winning tradition has continued ever since.