There are many things that make the AIC men’s rugby team a very prestigious team. We are a young, athletic team that can compete with any school in the country. AIC rugby is also very diverse as most of our players were brought up in different states and even in different countries.

The rugby Yellow Jackets consists of players from states such as Wisconsin, Colorado, Las Vegas, Washington, Florida, and New York among other states. We also have two international players on our team; Matthew Jones (myself) from Liverpool, England and Michele Magistrali who is from Modena, Italy.

All the players from different states or countries join together to form AIC rugby; we practice together and learn each other strengths on the field. This is why the AIC rugby team is so special in comparison to other schools in the country. Most school tend to have many players from the same area.

Everyone on the team is very accepting, no matter where you are from. AIC rugby is a band of brothers that will help you both on and off the field. Rugby is not like other sports where you may only hang around people that you play in your position. With rugby, you’re with the whole squad.

AIC rugby will even accept anyone that wants to learn how to play the sport. We are not that type of team that ignores new players, we like to think we encourage prospective players to get involved and learn a new sport. This year, we have had four walk-ons and so far they have done extremely well considering they have only been playing the sport for a couple of months.

One of the rugby players on the team, Stephen Fobes of Colorado Springs, Colorado spoke highly of his team.

“It was very easy to connect with people of all ages especially when coming here as a freshmen,” stated Fobes. “I love the fact that I can count on any of the players for help if I needed it.”

Blake Gurgul is a junior from Oconomowoc, Wisconsin. He has played at AIC since his freshman year. He has met a lot of people that have came to American International College for rugby, and said that “there hasn’t been a player that the team hasn’t included in there group activities.”

Prior to coming to American International College, I was not sure whether I would be accepted due to the fact that I am an international student. Everyone was extremely welcoming and so far, I have enjoyed my time at this school.