Monstering the Myth: Cal's Phantom Scholarships

On the heels of the University of California at Berkeley's win over the University of British Columbia to launch the annual two-match series between the schools, it's a good time to crash-tackle one rumor that has persisted for decades about a source of Cal's dominance.

That fable pertains to Cal's alleged supply of athletic scholarships for rugby union players. There is plenty of reason to believe such a story, as Cal has won the national collegiate Division I title all but five of the 29 times it has been contested since its 1980 foundation. The last time someone else won was 2003, and before that 1990. In addition to its stranglehold on the college game, Cal boasts not one, but two former U.S. national coaches and players on the U.S. national side and professional European club contracts.

They also have symbolic varsity status, which affords them some access to special advising and training resources, but what they don't have is player scholarships. Although the varsity status has been raised as an excuse for Cal's dominance by some, Cal raises its money and recruits its players without the benefit of the athletic scholarships that feed American varsity teams in most sports across most campuses nationwide (including many other Cal varsity teams).

Now and again, one hears talk of scholarships at Cal, but it's a tale. Cal emphasizes its lack of scholarships in its own promotional material. If you don't believe that, you can consider the case of touted American football prospect Cole Huntley, who recently decided to turn away college scholarship offers in the gridiron game for a chance to play rugby at Cal sans athletic scholarship.

There's plenty of great things behind Cal's success, but scholarships are not among them. Armchair Playmaker reckons the winning has a lot more to do with what the players are choosing to do (and not do, especially in terms of some leisurely rugby union "traditions" ) at school than how they're being brought there. In any case, the results come out well, as in the below highlights from the 2007 grand final: