San Diego State Aztecs rugby

Since the inception of the club in 1958, men's rugby has been both a popular and successful sport on campus at SDSU, so much so that Aztec alumni went on to set-up the rugby team of Old Mission Beach Athletic Club (OMBAC) in 1966[3] and also to found San Diego Old Aztecs RFC in 1978.[4] In addition to the 1987 National Championship, the Aztecs have won numerous SCRFU Collegiate Conference titles to progress to the national playoffs, including 1996,[5] 2007,[6] 2008 (quarterfinalists),[7] 2009 (semifinalists), 2010 (quarterfinalists) and 2012 (semifinalists).[8] San Diego State men's teams have also excelled at the short-form of the game; finishing second at the 2010 Collegiate Rugby Championship (broadcast live on NBC)[9] and qualifying to play in the USA Rugby Sevens Collegiate National Championships in 2011 (quarterfinalists), 2012 and 2015 (quarterfinalists).

Women first represented San Diego State at rugby in 1975[10] and, like the men, had an astonishingly successful introduction, finishing the season second in the nation after losing the inaugural Women's Collegiate National Championship to the University of Colorado.[11] The team played successfully for eleven seasons, even going on an undefeated four-match tour of New Zealand in 1981.[12] In 1986 the Aztecs combined[13] with a local club team the Rio Grande Surfers. The Surfers, now known as the San Diego Surfers,[14] play in the Women's Premier League, the highest level of women's rugby in the United States. The Aztec women's team has recently been re-established on campus and they were progressing through the 2020 season until it was cut-short by the coronavirus pandemic.

The first record of anyone having an interest in playing rugby at San Diego State College (as it was then) is an advertisement in the school newspaper, The Daily Aztec, at the end of the fall semester of 1957 asking for Men interested in forming a rugby team to attend a meeting.[15] More than 45 people turned up[16] so a season schedule was put together along with a timetable of practices to be held over the winter break and Mr. Fred Quiett of the university's Engineering Department agreed to become the club's first faculty representative.[17]

The team played its first competitive matches in the spring semester at the Southern California Rugby Football Union[18] Carnival in Santa Ana on Sunday February 9, 1958, defeating Pomona-Claremont 8–0 and losing to the Pepperdine College Waves 3–8.[19] The first of seven league matches that season was played against El Centro in El Centro on Saturday February 15, the Aztecs won 15–0.[20] Their next match was their first at home, it was played in the Aztec Bowl (now the site of the Viejas Arena) against Ontario and was won by the Aztecs 20–14.[19]

Winning ways continued that first Cinderella season with a further three victories before suffering their first league defeat to Eagle Rock Athletic Club. This set-up their final match with Santa Ana College on the next weekend as a championship decider, the Aztecs won the match and thus they also clinched the league in their inaugural season.[21] Four of the team were named on the Southern California All star team (Bob Johnston, Ernie Trumper, Jim Hansen and Ian Richardson), two to the All-star second team (Bob Shank and Jim Hastings) and one honorable-mention (Ray Fackrell).[22]

The Aztecs won the US National Men's Collegiate Rugby Championship in 1987, overcoming Dartmouth College rugby club 22–6 in the semifinals and beating the United States Air Force Academy rugby club 10–9 in the final. The 1987 men's rugby team was inducted into the San Diego State University Aztec Hall of Fame in 2005.[29]

Alumni of San Diego State who have played international rugby union

• Sean Allen [30]
• Scott Bracken –– also current  U20 men's 15's head coach [31][32]
• Derrick Broussard [33]
• Dan Dorsey –– Best known at SDSU in the mid 1990s as a nose tackle on the Aztec football team [34][35]
• Ante Drazina [36][37]
• Dennis Gonzales [38]
• Chris Harju –– 1991 Women's Rugby World Cup winner inducted, with her teammates, into US Rugby Hall of Fame in 2017 [39][40][41][42]
• Duncan Kelm
• Chris Lippert –– US Rugby Hall of Fame inductee 2020 [43][44]
• Craig Levine –– Maccabi USA Rugby Hall of Fame inductee 2017 [45][46]
• Chris O'Brien –– Kicker on Aztec football team while All American rugby player at SDSU; later Eagles specialist kicking coach [47][48][49][50]
• Mike Saunders –– US Rugby Hall of Fame inductee 2018 [51]
• Brian Vizard –– US Rugby Hall of Fame inductee 2016 [52]
• Scott Yungling [53][54]

Alumni of San Diego State who have played professional rugby union

• Derrick Broussard (SDSU 2008–2013) –– San Diego Legion (2018, 2020–) [55]
• Gil Covey (SDSU 2015–2018) –– San Diego Legion (2018–) [56]
• Dan Dorsey (SDSU 1995–1998) –– Bath Rugby (2001–2002) Ospreys RFC (2002-2003) Rotherham Titans (2003-2004) [57][58]
• Kalei Konrad (SDSU 2011–2015) –– San Diego Breakers (2016–2017) [59]
• Nick Lupian (SDSU 2014–2018) –– San Diego Legion (2018–) [60]
• Austin Switzer (SDSU 2016–2017) –– San Diego Legion (2017–2018) [61]
• Ryan Walls (SDSU 2015-2017) –– San Diego Legion (2018–2019) [62][63]

Alumni of San Diego State who have played international rugby sevens

• Derrick Broussard [64]
• Duncan Kelm
• Mike Saunders –– US Rugby Hall of Fame inductee 2018 [65]
• Stephen Tomasin
• Brian Vizard –– US Rugby Hall of Fame inductee 2016 [66]

Students and alumni of San Diego State who have been awarded All-American honors for rugby, played for the US Junior All Americans (U20s), the US Collegiate All Americans (U23's) or who have played international rugby at a junior level for another nation.

Year	Fifteen-a-side rugby			Seven-a-side rugby
	First team	Second team	Honorable mention	First team	Honorable mention
1985 [67]	O'Brien, Chris
1995 [68]		Yungling, Scott
1996 [69]	Yungling, Scott
1997 [70]	Blatt, Aaron
1998 [71]	Blatt, Aaron
2002 [72][73]	Smith, Greg
2005 [74]			Winter, Zach
2009 [75]	Kelm, Duncan		Heiler, Zach
	Mulhall, Stephen		Purcell, Jamie
	Purcell, Brenden
	Ross, Alex
2010 [76]	Kelm, Duncan		Bredesen, Chris
	Ross, Alex		Buboltz, David
			Honaker, Darrell
			Purcell, Jamie
2012 [77]	Kelm, Jamie
	Konrad, Kalei (SDSU 2010-2015)
2013 [78]	Tomasin, Stephen U23 U23
2014 [79]	Konrad, Kalei
2015 [80]	Konrad, Kalei				Konrad, Kalei
2016 [81]	Lupian, Nick U23 U23
2017 [82][83]	Jorstad, Jacob (SDSU 2015–2019) U20		Zinda, Jacob

Alumni of San Diego State who have become coaches and/or administrators of rugby at the highest level

• Nic Benson –– Deputy Commissioner Major League Rugby
• Bing Dawson –– US Rugby Hall of Fame inductee 2018 [84]
  • Played rugby and football at San Diego State University graduating in 1967
  • Began his coaching career under Don Coryell and John Madden as a Graduate Assistant at SDSU
  • Coached OMBAC for 20 years creating a rugby powerhouse
    • US 7's Club Champions 1985, 1995, 2000, 2001, 2002, and 2006
    • US 15's Champions 1988, 1989, 1991, 1993, 1994, and 1996
    • Rugby Super League Champions 2006
  • more than 70 OMBAC players coached by Dawson between 1985 and 2006 represented the U.S. in 7's or 15's
  • He also coached Southern California Griffins, the Pacific Coast Grizzlies and the U.S. Eagles National Teams
• Cornel Muller –– Operations and Production Manager at Major League Rugby
• Bob Watkins –– US Rugby Hall of Fame inductee 2015 [85][86]
  • played rugby for San Diego State University, Old Mission Beach Athletic Club and the Southern California XV.
  • Founding Director of U.S.A. Rugby Football Union (Director 1975-1991, President 1983-1987 & 1989-1991)
  • Managed U.S. Eagles versus Canada, U.S.S.R., South Africa, New Zealand, England, Wales and Hong Kong
  • Past President of the Pacific Coast and Southern California Rugby Football Unions
  • Chairman of the U.S. Rugby Super League and U.S. Rugby Foundation.