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PROVO — Not every team in America gets to chase a championship at the end of the season.
Three BYU teams will be looking for one Saturday, though.
Here’s what you need to know to follow the Cougars this weekend.
Men’s rugby
Who: No. 1 BYU vs. No. 2 Cal
When: 2 p.m. MT
Where: South Field, Provo, Utah
Broadcast: NBC Sports Network, NBC Live Extra
Outlook: The Cougars (22-0) are chasing their fifth-straight national championship and sixth overall in the battle of collegiate rugby’s best. The Golden Bears hold the record for most consecutive titles, but BYU could match them for No. 2 on the list with five. BYU has had the better of the Golden Bears recently, including winning all three previous iterations of the Varsity Cup championship.
Women’s rugby
Who: Penn State vs. BYU
When: 2 p.m. MT
Where: Saint Mary’s College Stadium, Moraga, California
Broadcast: TheRugbyChannel.tv
Outlook: The Cougars were sanctioned as an extramural sport last October, meaning they were allowed to wear the school’s colors, logo and receive support from the university and its facilities. The Nittany Lions are among the blue bloods in collegiate women’s rugby with 10 national championships, playing in every Division I national championship game since 2004 and winning the past four. BYU is new to the scene in making their first-ever championship match appearance, but All-Americans Jordan Gray and Rebekah Hebdon have the Cougars confident to spring the upset in the inaugural USA Rugby Division I Elite championship.
Men’s volleyball
Who: No. 1 BYU vs. No. 3 Ohio State
When: 6 p.m. MT
Where: Rec Hall at Penn State, University Park, Pennsylvania
Broadcast: ESPN2, WatchESPN, BYU Radio
Outlook: Ben Patch, Brenden Sander and Jake Langlois have the Cougar offense clicking on the all the right cylinders, and BYU (27-3) is serving better in the past three matches than it has all season. But Ohio State rides a 22-match win streak into the national championship, including a 3-2 win over No. 2 UCLA for the Midwest Intercollegiate Volleyball Association champions. AVCA national player of the year Nicolas Szerszen and national coach of the year Pete Hanson won’t go down easily, but BYU has been motivated by this moment since Patch returned from an LDS Church mission (in Columbus, Ohio, of all places) last year.
