The UA men's club rugby team will kicking off its season Friday, just short of one year after its 2020 season was called off early due to the coronavirus.
The Wildcats, who were ranked 10th in the nation prior to the shutdown, will take on Grand Canyon at 6 p.m. at Sitton Field.
The team announced the first half of its 2021 schedule earlier this month. It includes a road match at Central Washington set for next week, and home games against BYU and Air Force later in the month.
Absent from the schedule are Pac-12 opponents Cal, UCLA and Utah. The Wildcats hope to add them to the second half of the season as conditions allow.
"Our goal was to have both the men's and women's teams competing this season," director of rugby Sean Duffy said.
The UA women's team has had a much harder time finding opponents, Duffy said.
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Duffy said he's in "constant contact" with administrators from Cal, UCLA and Utah in the hopes of adding them to the schedule in 2021 and beyond.
Players have been testing regularly and following both university and county COVID-19 guidelines. Information about fan attendance and other policies will be released as it becomes available.
"We are beyond grateful to the university, campus health, and campus recreation for allowing us the opportunity to play this season," Duffy said. "Without them, this does not happen."
