The current head coach of both Wayne State College men’s and women’s rugby Bryn Chivers has been expanding the search for new student athletes from across the world. He has looked at Australia, England, Ireland, Argentina, Chile, and Uruguay.
Coach Chivers talked about helping out student athletes with his program.
“We are always looking for opportunities to bring international students in,” Chivers said.
Two years ago, CAMPSA reached out to WSC to give the athletes in Buenos Aires a chance to play rugby with the CAMP scholarship. The CAMP scholarship is a way for students in Buenos Aires to be able to fly to the United States to get an education while playing the sport of their choosing.
Chivers had the chance to fly down and visit the CAMPSA organization in Buenos Aires and had some thoughts about this.
“Being able to represent the school was interesting, there idea of the United States is what they see from the movies, television, and the news in the east and west coast cities. I talk to the parents about the safety of coming to rural America,” Coach Chivers said. “When I was at the rugby field in Buenos Aires, lots of the surrounding areas had tall closed off walls and barbed wire even in my apartment at which I stayed at had a metal pull down window and I was on the second floor. It took discussing the safety of Wayne that helps bring in interest.”
He had explained that the college is working with multiple organizations with providing athletes to play their sport in the U.S. Chivers also talked about the affordability of Wayne as a plus-side for students.
“Wayne is finically attractive, as students who are international pay 17 to 18 thousand dollars for tuition compared to a private school who could possibly provide 20 thousand dollars in finical aid, but the students would still be paying close to 50 thousand dollars for school,” Chivers said.
“We’re not a club sport, we’re an elevated sports program, our funding comes from the state of Nebraska, but it is a coach led program,” Chivers said.
Chivers has been the coach of both since 2024 and is the first full time head coach in WSC rugby history.
Coach Chivers has his history rooted in South Wales, received his education at the University of Wales and Newport College of Art in Newport, Wales. Coach Chivers has had a long history with the sport of rugby, with his achievements and love of the sport Chivers has made his mark at Wayne as he paves the way for international student athletes’ success.