The 2026 recipient of the Luis de Souza Pinto Memorial Scholarship is Logan Edler, a rising senior and club Vice President. Logan joined the club in the spring of 2024, and expects to lead the Dukes this season at No. 8.

We asked Logan how he found rugby, what the club has given him, and what he would say to the alumni who funded the scholarship. His answers are below.

‍

How He Found Rugby

Logan is from Long Island, New York, and didn't join the rugby program immediately upon arriving at JMU. While his roommate Connor O'Hehir signed up (Connor's older brother had played in college), it took Logan a semester to follow him onto the pitch.

"I didn't join with him at first, but after a pretty uneventful first semester, I realized how much I missed being part of a team and working toward something together after playing sports my whole life. He eventually convinced me to join in the spring of 2024, and from there I never looked back."

Since the Spring of 2024, Logan has played all over the pitch, most recently at inside center. Entering his final season with JMU, he expects to graduate in the spring of 2027 with a degree in chemistry.

‍

What the Club Has Given Him

"Rugby has given me a sense of purpose in college and honestly in my life in general. It has pushed me to stay active and keep going to the gym, but more importantly, it has given me lifelong friendships and people I get to call my brothers and my family. There is rarely a day that goes by where I'm not talking to someone I met through the team, and I never expected rugby to become such an important part of my life when I first joined."

‍

What the Scholarship Changes

As incoming Vice President this year, Logan has already started a sponsorship program to build relationships with local businesses and create more opportunities for the club.

"This scholarship doesn't change how committed I am to the club, but it gives me even more motivation to make the most of my final season at JMU. My teammates voted me Vice President this year, and I take the responsibilities that come with that very seriously. I've already started a new sponsorship program focused on building relationships with local businesses and creating more opportunities for our club, and this scholarship motivates me to work even harder for the team both on and off the field."

On what he wants from his last season:

"I want every player, especially the newer guys, to feel welcome and understand how special the opportunity to play rugby at JMU really is. On the field, I want to be the best player I've ever been. More than anything, I want to help create a team where everyone wants to win as badly as I do and give us the best chance possible to compete for a National Collegiate Rugby championship."

‍

A Message to the Alumni Who Funded It

"When I first came to JMU, I never could have imagined that I would one day receive a scholarship for playing rugby. I'm beyond grateful to have been chosen, and I can't thank the alumni enough for making this opportunity possible."

"Beyond the financial help, having a scholarship like this gives every player in the club something to work toward and shows us that the people who came through this program before us are still invested in its future. It means so much to me, and I hope I can make everyone who helped make it possible proud."

Logan Edler, Vice President, JMU Men's Rugby

‍

About the Scholarship

The Luis De Souza Pinto '02 Memorial Scholarship is fully funded, endowed and permanent. Alumni raised the founding $25,000 within four months of Luis's death in 2004, and the endowment now awards roughly $4,000 to a JMU rugby player each year. Luis was a team captain and vice president himself.

‍

Progress towards Madison Rugby's Second Scholarship

Less than 6 months after it was established, the Hank Mozingo Captain's Scholarship is over 50% of the way towards being fully endowed. So far, friends, family and rugby alumni have contributed $59,713 towards a $100,000 full endowment threshold. Once the threshold is reached, a second scholarship for JMU Rugby will be awarded by the school, in perpetuity, beginning in the year we reach the full $100k level. The JMU Rugby Alumni Association match program remains live as we aim to meet the endowment criteria a year early.

Go Dukes!