Texas rugby does not live under the athletics department umbrella. It lives where a lot of Longhorn competition actually starts: UT RecSports — a sport club measured by who shows up on Friday nights and weekend afternoons.
The University of Texas Rugby Football Club competes as Texas / Longhorn Rugby in National Collegiate Rugby (NCR) D1AA. Per UT RecSports, the club’s national governing body is NCR and its local/regional conference is the Lonestar Rugby Conference. Practices are listed at Charles Alan Wright Fields at the Berry M. Whitaker Sports Complex. The club dates its Austin start to 1985, per texasrugby.club.
How the season started
Fall opened at Dust the Rust in San Marcos on Sept. 5. Per the club’s match notes, the first side topped its bracket with a 21-0 win over Houston and a 7-7 draw with Sam Houston before falling 0-7 to Texas State. The second side beat UTSA 28-0 and tied Texas State 28-28.
Lonestar Conference play arrived at home on Sept. 19 at Huns Rugby Ranch (4107 Nixon Ln., Austin). North Texas beat Texas 29-5, per Texas Rugby’s results page and Goff Rugby Report. The second side lost 37-7 the same day. Lonestar standings posted on the club site listed Texas 0-1 in conference after that result, with UNT 1-0. The club labels those standings as 15s – Lonestar Conference (NCR) – Fall 2026.
The next test is already on the calendar: Texas State on Sept. 25 in San Marcos.
Upcoming Fall 2026 schedule
First-team times below are from texasrugby.club/schedule. Second-team fixtures often share the same venue earlier or later the same day. Kickoffs can move — check the club calendar before you drive.
| Date | Opponent | Site | Kickoff |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fri., Sept. 25 | at Texas State | 1351 Post Rd., San Marcos | 8:30 p.m. |
| Fri., Oct. 9 | at Oklahoma | 3700 Glencoe St., Dallas | 6:00 p.m. |
| Fri., Oct. 16 | vs. Texas A&M | Huns Rugby Ranch, Austin | 6:00 p.m. |
| Sat., Oct. 24 | at Sam Houston | 1741 Bobby K Marks Dr., Huntsville | 1:00 p.m. |
| Sat., Oct. 31 | at Texas Tech | 2500 Broadway St., Lubbock | TBD |
Second-team slots currently posted on the same calendar: Texas State (Sept. 25, 8:00 p.m., San Marcos), Oklahoma (Oct. 9, 8:00 p.m., Dallas), A&M (Oct. 16, 8:00 p.m., Austin), Sam Houston (Oct. 24, 3:00 p.m., Huntsville), and Texas Tech (Oct. 31, 1:00 p.m., Lubbock).
RecSports describes a typical year as roughly eight fall games and eight spring games, often framed as a fall 7s / spring 15s split. The club’s public Fall 2026 schedule and Lonestar table are posted as conference 15s play — use the club calendar as the live source of truth for format and kickoffs.
Why it belongs in the Austin sports brief
Club rugby rarely gets the Moody Center treatment. It still fills a real Austin sports lane: alumni at the Ranch, a Friday-night home date with A&M, and road days to San Marcos, Dallas, Huntsville, and Lubbock. The competitive claim is measurable: NCR D1AA, Lonestar Conference, public results.
For readers who only track varsity football and volleyball, this is the reminder that “Texas sports” is bigger than the sports that sell tickets. RecSports clubs carry the university name into weekends most of campus never calendars. Texas Rugby is one of them — more than four decades in, still scheduling the next kickoff.
Follow results and calendar updates at texasrugby.club/schedule. Prospective players can start through UT RecSports.
Desk note: Photos by Anthony Rivera / Burst Mode Media from Texas Rugby vs. North Texas on Sept. 19, 2026, at Huns Rugby Ranch. Dust the Rust results and the remainder of the schedule are from Texas Rugby Football Club and UT RecSports; additional confirmation of the Sept. 19 score from Goff Rugby Report. No player interviews for this story. Burst Mode Media is independent and not affiliated with the University of Texas, UT RecSports, or the Texas Rugby Football Club. Kickoff times are subject to change by the club.