By Skye Tulio
Sports Assigment Editor
Both the men and women’s rugby programs are traditions embedded deep in the roots of the university. Preparing for their upcoming seasons, the teams have shed their previous identities and officially taken on the Bonaventure name.
After 35 years of wreaking havoc on its opponents as the Outlaws, the men’s rugby team now bears the same name as its fellow club and Division I sports — the Bonnies.
Coach Clarence Picard said the move to change the name served as advancement in the team’s growth.
“When rugby teams started out, they carried that Outlaw image,” Picard said. “Over the years, as we’ve grown closer to the school and with me being an employee, we’re recruiting a lot of students to the school. I just think it’s the next step in the progression that we wear the school’s colors and the Bonnies logo.”
The newly-christened Bonnies will sport new uniforms in the official SBU colors of brown, white and gold donated to the team by Bonaventure alumni Bob and Patti Sims, Class of ’83 and ’84.
Picard stressed the team’s gratitude towards the Sims family and the team’s overwhelming alumni support as a whole.
“We’re lucky because we already have a ton of alumni support,” Picard said. “They’re a major part of financing the organization; this (name change) is just going to be another element that ties them to the team and gets everyone really excited.”
Last season, the men won the Empire Rugby Conference West Division. SBU RFC President Kevin McCorry said leaving the Outlaw name behind is bittersweet.
“We’re extremely grateful to be able to wear the brown and white,” McCorry said. “I’ve always wanted to do that, but in the same aspect, our alumni worked hard for 35+ years to have the Outlaws be as well-known of a name as it is. It’s sad to leave the black and gold, but it’s very exciting to be a Bonnie.”
Yet, the identity and determination of the former Outlaws will not be masked behind the new name, according to Picard.
“I think they’ll see pretty quickly that we still have the same identity of hardwork and dedication to club. At the same time, we’re taking our image to a higher level,” Picard said.
The men aren’t the only ruggers on campus with a fresh new image. Last season, the women’s team, formerly known as the Legends, officially adopted the Brown and White name. They also received new uniforms, courtesy of the University, adorned with the Bonnies logo and school colors.
Tracy Schrems,the women’s adviser, said in an email interview she is the team’s number one cheerleader, helping to coach when necessary. She said she always thought of the team as Bonnies.
“Either way, we represent the university,” Schrems said. “We totally rock the Brown and White regardless of who we are, and we have completely come into our own as women playing a traditionally male sport.”
One of four captains on the team, fullback Jen Thomas said possessing the Bonaventure name will help her team feel more unified with the school.
“It seems like we’re really representing the school a lot more now since we’re actually affiliated with them via name,” Thomas said.
Captain Jessica Misiaszek agreed she said it feels as if the team is more a part of the Bona athletic family.
“I feel like we’re more of a team,” Misiaszek said. “It’s like we’re considered a sports team now that we’re called the Bonnies.”
Last season, the women made program history when they reached the final four of the National Small College Rugby Organization Division III tournament. They have since been moved from Division III to Division II in the Empire Rugby Football Union Geographic Union, a challenge Misiazek says the team needs to work at.
“Now we’re playing teams we’ve never played before,” Misiaszek said. “The teams in our division have all played each other before, so we’re kind of like the underdogs at the moment.”
The women travel to Syracuse on Sept. 15 for their first match of the season. The men travel to the University of Buffalo tonight for an 8:45 match against the Bulls to kick off their annual Alumni Weekend.
Tomorrow, the men will host their annual alumni game at 1p.m.
There will be a 9/11 memorial at 12 p.m. in honor of rugby alumni Robert Peraza who died in the attacks. The game will be played on the field that bears Peraza’s namesake.
Players from both the men and women’s rugby teams said they always identified as Bonnies at heart and now are finally able to represent the university’s good name. Both teams hope to build on the success of its previous seasons.
“It really gives us some school unity,” Thomas said. “Being called the Bonnies will bring us together especially with the guy’s team now that we have a unified name.”
