National Champions (2012, 2015, 2017, 2018)
2012
In just the first season of competition for the Lindenwood men’s rugby program, the Lions won the 2012 USA Rugby Men’s Division II College National Championship with a 50-12 victory over Salisbury University in the finals. Physical play ruled the day as both teams were energized in the first half, but the Lindenwood counter attack eventually gave the Lions the momentum and a 19-5 lead at halftime. Lindenwood came to play in the second half and never let the Sharks back into the game. The Lions advanced to the title match after defeating Utah Valley University 57-10 in the semifinals. Trevor Locke was named the MVP of the championship.
Lindenwood finished with a collegiate record of 20-0 and topped the 100 point mark six times during the regular season. The Lions won the Western Division II Championship to earn their berth into the USA Rugby Division II Sweet 16.
2015
Men's rugby made history by capturing the first national division I title for the program at the 2015 USA Rugby Collegiate 7's Championship in Denver, Colo. The Lions went 3-0 in pool play and then won another three games in the bracket knockout stage, defeating Mid-South Conference rival Davenport 28-10 in the finals.
The journey to the cup for Lindenwood began in Pool E with an opening match against Central Florida. The Lions jumped out to a 17-0 lead and then coasted to a 17-7 victory. Lightning caused a delay in the schedule, but that didn't slow Lindenwood at all. When play resumed, the Lions quickly dispatched Arkansas 32-0. The Lions continued to roll in the third game with a 35-0 shutout of Stony Brook.
With three wins in pool play, the Lions earned the number four seed in the Cup quarterfinals and faced number five seed American International College (AIC). It was clear from the opening kickoff that it was going to be a tough battle. The Yellow Jackets scored first to take a 5-0 lead in the third minute, but Lindenwood responded with a score under the posts. AIC took back the advantage with a try just before halftime.
Momentum continued to swing in the second half. The Lions regained the lead in the 11
th minute, but the Yellow Jackets countered by taking the ensuing kickoff in for a score and a 17-14 advantage. With time running down, Lindenwood forced an error and took over possession, and drove for the winning try. With the conversion, the final score was 21-17.
After the come-from-behind effort, the Lions would need more late game heroics in the Cup semifinals against Utah. In a match that would prove to be a bruising battle, Lindenwood took the opening kickoff and scored in the first 20 seconds. The Utes answered with a try in the third minute, but failed on the conversion for a 7-5 deficit, and then the defense took over. Neither team would yield anything for the next nine minutes, but as the clock wound down in the second half, Utah finally pushed the ball over the line to take a 10-7 lead. With their backs against the wall, the Lions needed some quick magic, and they would get it with a kickoff return that went the distance. Lindenwood held the final two minutes to escape with a 12-10 win and advance to the Cup finals.
After two thrillers, the championship game against Davenport ultimately proved to be less dramatic, but not until the second half. Sebastian Kalm gave the Lions a lead with a try in the third minute and Mickey Bateman converted, but the Panthers scored in the corner in the sixth minute and Lindenwood went to the half with a 7-5 lead. The break apparently energized the Lions, because they came out fast in the second half. Bateman broke free for a try under the posts in the 11th minute and Kolton Nelson followed in the 13th minute to give Lindenwood a 21-5 advantage. Davenport countered with a try, but when Cameron Reed bumped off a defender to dive over the line for the Lions with a minute left, the celebrating began. Lindenwood hoisted the championship trophy with a 28-10 victory.
The national title was the second in program history. Lindenwood wrapped up the season with an overall collegiate record of 15-6-1, finishing with a USA Rugby D1A semifinal appearance in 15's play and a national title in 7's competition.
2017
The Lions captured the USA Rugby Men's Collegiate 7's National Championship with a 26-5 win against St. Mary's College May 21 at Infinity Park in Glendale, Colorado. It was the second sevens title at the event in the last three years for the program.
The Lions coasted through pool play, posting three straight wins, two by shutout; 30-0 over Stanford, and 31-0 over Wyoming. Lindenwood followed with a 26-5 win over Grand Canyon, and then added a 42-0 blanking of Bowling Green in the Cup quarterfinals and a 33-0 shutout of Utah in the Cup semifinals.
In the six games that the Lions played over the weekend, 12 different players scored in some fashion, led by Michael Baska with 50 on 15 conversions and four tries. Nick Feakes dotted down six times and added two conversions for 34 points and MVP honors. Cristian Rodriguez scored 25 points on five tries, Sam Chapman had 20 points on four tries. Wesley White had three tries, Alex Augsburg and Mickey Bateman each had two, and Jack Desmond, Chris Schoeman, Deion Mikesell, and Giovanni Falco each had one. Nick Taylor kicked one conversion for two points.
Lindenwood finished the season with an overall record of 46-12-2. With the victory, the Lions claimed their third title in program history after winning a Division II 15's crown in 2012 and a sevens title in 2015.
2018
With a 26-12 victory over California in the finals, the Lions repeated as champions at the 2018 USA Rugby College Sevens National Championships May 19 at Infinity Park in Glendale, Colorado.
After most of the first half went by without any scoring, Lindenwood finally broke through in the fifth minute with a
Deion Mikesell try, converted by Juan Romero. A minute later, the lead doubled with a
Chris Schoeman score and another Romero conversion. The Golden Bears broke the shutout early in the second half to make it 14-7, but the Lions immediately countered when
Nick Feakes dotted down for a 19-7 advantage. California pulled back to within seven points in the 11
th minute, but that was as close as the Golden Bears would get.
Wesley White crossed the line in the 13
th minute and Feakes booted the conversion for the final margin, giving the Lions their second straight sevens title and third in the last four years.
Lindenwood advanced to the Cup Final with a 26-0 win over Grand Canyon.
Alex Augsburg, Schoeman, Feakes, and White accounted for the tries in the match while Romero added three conversions. The knockout stage for the Lions began Saturday morning with a 22-0 shutout of Indiana. Feakes scored the first try and added a conversion in the contest; Mikesell had two tries, and Augsburg one.
Lindenwood swept through pool play with three straight wins on Friday, all by shutout, beginning with a 57-0 victory over the University of Missouri. White and Mikesell each scored twice, while
Lorenzo Thomas, James Lillis, Feakes, Romero, and
Michael de Waal added singles tries. Feakes booted six conversions to lead all scorers with 17 points. Game two was a 38-0 win over Utah. Mikesell dotted down twice while Feakes, Augsburg, Schoeman, and White scored once each. Feakes kicked three conversions and
Nick Taylor booted one. In the final pool game of the day, the Lions ran away from Arkansas for a 63-0 victory. The Lindenwood offense accounted for 11 tries and four conversions in the contest.
Overall, the Lions outscored their opponents 232-12 at the championship.
