Arizona rugby program gets $1M gift for scholarships, facility upgrades

The Arizona rugby program received a major boost Thursday.

Jason Figley, parent of current and former rugby players at the UA, has donated $1 million to the club program, the university announced.

Half the gift is being used to create an endowment to fund scholarships for the men’s program through the newly created “Front Foot Scholars” program, according to a UA news release. The remainder will be used to endow a coach’s fund and make improvements to the training center used by all club sports, including the women’s rugby squad. It will be renamed the Front Foot Training Center. “Front foot” is a rugby term to describe a player who’s moving forward to receive a pass.

“It’s much easier to play rugby, and it’s much easier to get through life, if you’re on the front foot,” Figley, who played rugby at George Mason, said in the news release. “Imagine you’re going to go into a tackle or to contact. It’s much easier to go into those positions with you leaning forward on your front foot catching the ball, versus a defender that’s on his back foot. We want those kids to go through life on their front foot.”

Figley, whose son Thomas is a center on the team, gave an additional $23,000 in scholarship funds to support this year’s recruiting cycle.

Back to homepage

Subscriber Login

Keep reading with a digital access subscription.

Subscribe now

“The gift will allow us to continue to strive to be the best program in the country,” UA men’s rugby coach Sean Duffy said. “A rugby scholarship signals to prospective athletes that we’re serious about rugby here. We want our program to grow, and we want to support you as part of our team.”

Arizona boasts one of 67 Division I-A rugby programs. The team will celebrate its 54th anniversary during events being held March 16-19.

The men host Utah in a match slated for 2 p.m. Saturday, while the women are visiting UCLA earlier in the day.

“Club sports like rugby teach students the importance of resilience and perseverance, lessons they can take with them throughout life,” UA president Robert C. Robbins said. “Through his generous gift, Mr. Figley has shown his commitment to ensuring the success of our rugby players on the field, in the classroom and wherever their paths take them after graduation.”