Madison Rugby alumni have supported the club for its entire history, from alumni weekends to direct donations to coaching support. Five years ago, to honor club founder and JMU Rugby Hall of Famer John Carr, a group of alumni committed to the program's first major capital project, endowing John Carr Field at James Madison University. Since then, the fund has facilitated more than $280,000 in direct investment into JMU Men's Rugby.

John Carr founded this club, then spent more than fifteen years working alongside a small, dedicated group of alumni to elevate the stature of Madison Rugby. His passing launched the John Carr Memorial Rugby Fund, the vehicle through which the last five years of alumni investment has flowed.

More than a quarter million dollars, and counting, doesn't live in a spreadsheet. It lives on John Carr Field. It lives in the players who received scholarships, the coaches who flew in from Wales, and the matches alumni around the world streamed live. It shows up every August when Coach Andy Edwards makes the journey from Carmarthen, Wales to Harrisonburg for preseason, his trip funded by the same community of alumni who once ran those drills on that same pitch.

The single largest piece of that investment is the John Carr Field Endowment, now fully and permanently endowed at $150,000. The field is the program's permanent home: the place where every home match is played, where every new player takes the pitch for the first time, and where every senior plays his last. It created the home that JMU Rugby has historically lacked, and provided the foundation to continue to build upon as the club moves forward.  

Beyond the field, it's worth being clear about what alumni dollars do and don't do. The club is self-funding. League fees, referee fees, and player costs are covered by the club, the Parents Association, and corporate sponsors. The Alumni Association funds something different: the capital improvements and non-operating costs that raise the program's stature rather than simply keep it running. That means:

• Supporting postseason and all-star travel
• Bringing in specialized coaches and providing coaching stipends
• Planning and executing against capital improvement projects

It also means the foundational tools a modern program runs on. VEO film equipment lets coaches break down matches and lets alumni reconnect and watch live JMU Rugby matches. The recent implementation of the Bloomerang donor platform and the communications infrastructure keep this community connected long after graduation. As JMU Rugby looks to its Next 50 Years, the alumni investments will drive how far the program can go.

The JMU Rugby alumni have also funded scholarships meant to directly impact the members of the club. The Hank Mozingo Captain's Rugby Scholarship and the Luis De Souza Pinto '02 Memorial Scholarship are among the most direct expressions of what this association is about: older players investing in younger ones, passing something forward.

Then there's the community itself. From the Annual Alumni Weekend to away games and rugby events like the MOB Rally in Baltimore, alumni have shown up year after year, in the stands, on the sidelines, and on the pitch during alumni matches, a reminder that Madison Rugby doesn't end at graduation. The alumni network current players join upon graduation is active, invested, and paying attention.

The past five years have shown exactly what this alumni community can do when it decides to build something. Now we're aiming further: a formal Alumni Association built to carry this program through its next fifty years, not just its next season. The foundation is set. The proof is on the field, in the endowment, and in every player who has worn the jersey since.

If you're ready to add your name to that list, we'd love to have you.