<div><strong>We are collecting donations to obtain legal insight into why the University chose to cancel our program.</strong>
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>Quinnipiac University’s recent announcement of athletics realignment cites long-term financial sustainability, competitive success, and Title IX compliance as guiding priorities. However, the decision to eliminate the women’s rugby program directly contradicts these stated goals and undermines a program that has been central to Quinnipiac’s national identity, athletic success, and leadership in women’s sports. 
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>In addition to these wider-scale implications of Quinnipiac's decision, our team is both shocked and devastated. The reason we are here as players past, present, and future has been stripped away with little to no explanation. Sitting in our practice jerseys, hearing from our university  that our program had been cut with no concrete response to our countless questions felt like a slap in the face. To be disenfranchised and then ignored is unacceptable. Nonetheless we are committed to fighting for our program, our coaches, our teammates, and our legacy. 
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>Women’s rugby at Quinnipiac is not a marginal program and historically it is a program of success and influence in the country. The team has won three national championships in 2015, 2016, and 2017. The team consistently competes at the highest level, and has developed elite athletes, including Olympians such as Ilona Maher, who earned a bronze medal at the 2024 Olympic Games. Cutting a program with this level of competitive excellence raises serious questions about the university’s commitment to athletic success.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>Beyond wins and accolades, Quinnipiac has long been recognized as a pioneer in varsity women’s rugby. As the second ever NCAA Division I varsity women's rugby program, and the longest standing program, Quinnipiac helped shape the modern model for collegiate women’s rugby in the United States. The university was also a founding member and directly involved in the evolution of the National Intercollegiate Rugby Association (NIRA), which formalized and elevated women’s rugby at the varsity level nationwide. Eliminating this program abandons a leadership role that Quinnipiac itself helped build.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>Importantly, women’s rugby was not added arbitrarily. It was introduced in 2011 in direct response to a landmark Title IX lawsuit, Biediger v. Quinnipiac University, in which courts found that Quinnipiac failed to provide equitable athletic opportunities for women. As part of the 2013 settlement, the university committed to expanding women’s athletic opportunities and specifically invested in and elevated women’s rugby as a varsity sport, including increased scholarships, staffing, and resources.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>Cutting women’s rugby now raises serious concerns about whether Quinnipiac risks falling out of compliance with Title IX once again. Title IX requires institutions to provide equitable participation opportunities for women; removing a women’s sport, especially one created to address a prior gender equity gap, could reduce those opportunities and recreate disparities that federal courts have already ruled unlawful.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>Women’s Rugby at Quinnipiac is also one of the least financially burdensome programs at $128,000 per year. This decision is not simply about one team, it is about equity, legacy, and institutional integrity.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>Eliminating women’s rugby at Quinnipiac does the following:
</div>
<ul>
<li>Undermines a nationally elite and championship-winning program
</li>
<li>Removes opportunities for current and future female student-athletes
</li>
<li>Reverses progress made through a historic Title IX settlement
</li>
<li>Signals a retreat from Quinnipiac’s leadership in women’s collegiate sports
</li>
</ul>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>Sign the Petition on Change.org to show your support!
</div>
<div><a href="https://c.org/Wysq8nWF4w" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><a href="https://c.org/Wysq8nWF4w" target="_blank" class="" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">https://c.org/Wysq8nWF4w</a></a>
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>For more on the history of Quinnipiac Women's Rugby:
</div>
<div><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pUk37QivxPE" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pUk37QivxPE" target="_blank" class="" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pUk37QivxPE</a></a>
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>Please visit
</div>
<div><a href="https://linktr.ee/savequwrugby" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><a href="https://linktr.ee/savequwrugby" target="_blank" class="" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">https://linktr.ee/savequwrugby</a></a> for example emails, talking points and contact information. Please continue to share and spread the word. Thank you!
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div><strong>Fundraiser established by the Players of Quinnipiac Women's Rugby Team</strong>
</div>

Merirose Babcock

Lizzie Irving

Jessika Jackson

Emily Huber

Sherylann Disalvo

Anonymous

Matthew Everett

Shannon Timmann

Charlotte Kenney

Maryellen Kania

Ginger Hartman

Meghan Pope

Joel Cookson

Margaret Hatter

Noreen Dengler

Christine Brennan

Madison Sheveland

Reinstate Quinnipiac University Varsity Women’s Rugby

Support urgent earthquake relief and past recovery in Venezuela.

Apoya la ayuda urgente tras el terremoto y los esfuerzos de recuperación en Venezuela.

platform

Platform is iOS

Android

Adyen Google Pay Development Audience

$opt_dummy_attribute

English only

Deprecate Stripe Legacy

dyn_template_ids

Adyen V6 Bene Transfer & MyMoney Campaign Organizers - test01

Bene transfer V6 and AdyenV6MyMoney Campaign Organizers - production

OneTrust next-app audience

fundCountryCode

NextDoor Share Option Users

Fundraisers with Reactions feature capability

fundCurrencyCode

US + Non-charity COs Only

locale

fund country is US and user language is English

personId

comms-internal-person-ids

Enhanced Story Experience Users

Suggested Goal Experience Users

user language is English and fund country: US, AU, DK, FI, IE, NO, SE, CA, GB; 

Poster share - new funds eligible (newest 9/18)

Streaming widgets beta user

paymentProcessor

3DS payment method

user language is English and fundCountry: US, AU, DK, FI, IE, NO, SE, CA, GB; 

currencyCode

Money Box Donation List Prompt Experiment Audience

GoFundMe Employees

ipAddress

Mark Rieth IP Address

Version 9.2.0 and above

Fund is in English speaking country

desktop

Android v12.11.0 and above

Platform is Android

paymentMethodType

checkoutType

Payment method type group to be vaulted on success

admin pr kit prod

EUR Donation Upsell

Share Text generation Skip Fundraiser

(prod) new funds eligible for amp12 (UGC gallery)

fintrac_cad_idv_form_v2 audience

paymentProcessorAccountId

fallback mode accounts

proCampaignId

p2p legacy startfundraising page

AMP24 New Funds Only PROD (DO NOT MODIFY)

Eligible for Profile Share Badge

countryCode

charityId

UKCharities

Federated Search Internal Testing

route.pathname community

US Donation Upsell audience 

Auto Thanks Feature Audience

International Only

fundId

braze fundraiser group 

Payment Identity Transfers ATO Risk Check (Targeted) - Production

Fundraiser Saved Payment Method Rate Limit Bypass (Production)

leaderboard-partner-id-audience-givepanel

Version 9.2.1 and above

AUD Donation Upsell audience

fundraiserCountryCode is US/EN

Active Fundraiser - Smart Default Cadence

DAF Internal

Vault on success card payment method

Platform is iOS v11.0.0 and above

Desktop users

Person ids

United States (US) users

allow yuno fundraisers for test

Mexico country code

Posters INTL

Support Comments Allowlist

NPO Profile Opted-In

iOS at or above 12.4.0

non-US recurring donors

Canada Campaign Owner Group

Fundraiser Without Meta Link

Scheduler payment tester gorup

charityCommunityId

Charities allow to be claimed unclaimed (PRD)

Canada (CA) users

UC Tipping v20250115 International

pymk_production_xplr_fe_team

Android at or above 12.2.0

Profile photo entry point audience

smart goals (fundraiser/manage) on test01

Activity Tracking v1 Beta Testing

start gfm intl allowed locales

Platform is iOS v11.2.0 and above

NPO upsell education category

unclaimed charities

prod_ach_audience

AI Chatbot Audience

amp13 only new funds (prod) (anyword auto)

UC Flow Enabled (Prod)

Payment Identity Beneficiary Verification - Production

shared notification bell audience

Custom users

ach frontend audience

Android v11.0.0 and above

Users Receiving Payments Paused Notifications

smart goals test01

Manage Coach - US English Organizers Only + new funds only

Team EGG - IP Address list

NPO recommendations prod

Fundraiser Without Instagram Deep Link

Native 11.4.0 and above

UC Tipping v20250107

checkout headers audience

ai_title_page

anyword

openai

control

manual_entry

userEmail

template_id

userId

fundUrl

isCharityCo

email

appVersion

shouldBucketIntoExperiment

isEligibleForProfileBadge

partnerId

donationCadence

isActiveFundraiser

isPartner

isMobile

npoProfileOptIn

fundIsLinkedWithMeta

hasSessionDonation

categoryGroup

isCampaignOwner

fundHasInstagramDeepLink

Native 11.3.0 and above

Native 11.4.0 and higher

New funds eligible - Video Sharing (PROD)

GB Donation Upsell audience 

Auto Thanks V3 Rollout Audience

Thank you V3 testing whitelist

isRecurringFriendly

Is Recurring Friendly

Excluded funds - Video Sharing

NPO upsell animals category

NPO upsell disaster relief category

Logged In Users

CH Donation Upsell audience

Android v10.6.0 and above

NPO upsell essential needs category

NPO upsell medical category

userCurrencyCode

Localized Currency

NPO upsell cancer category

v11.5.0 and above

testAudience

pathname

Survicate

appVersion is at or above 12.8.0

Non-charity fund

isChallengeFundraiser

challenge-fundraisers

Payment Identity Launch Verification - Production

New funds eligible - Posters v2

CAD Donation Upsell Audience

Braze Email Tester

NPO Profile Opted-Out

iOS App Version

hasKnownDonors

PYMK has donors

iOS v12.3.0 and above

Reinstate Quinnipiac University Varsity Women’s Rugby

Still $32,049 to go. Help us build momentum.