25 Years to the Summit

NCR Division III National Player of the Year Joseph Moleski raises the national championship trophy moments after Franciscan rugby secured its first national championship.

On a December afternoon in Houston, when the final whistle cut through the noise and the scoreboard confirmed a 29–17 victory, Franciscan University’s men’s rugby team did more than win a national championship. They brought to completion a story 25 years in the making.

Long before the Barons stood atop the Division III national stage on December 14, 2025, the program began with a handful of students and a conviction. In 2000, the first Franciscan rugby players pieced together what they could—secondhand jerseys, borrowed vehicles, tight budgets—with a determination to compete. They learned the game as they went, building not only a team but a culture: one marked by brotherhood, sacrifice, and a shared commitment to live their Catholic faith on and off the pitch.

Those early teams did more than win matches. They helped secure the very future of intercollegiate athletics at Franciscan. In a moment when the University was discerning whether

Samuel King hoists the national championship trophy after a hard-fought 29-17 victory over Slippery Rock in the title game in Houston.

competitive sports could coexist with its mission, rugby made the case—not only through success, but through witness. The foundation they laid would support decades of growth, from conference championships to national prominence.

Over the years, that foundation was strengthened by teams that came close—Final Four runs, near misses, and even a championship opportunity lost to the COVID-19 disruption of 2020. Each season added another layer to the legacy, another step toward something greater.

This year’ s team carried all of it with them.

From the opening match, the 2025 Barons proved they belonged among the nation’s best, defeating top-ranked opponents and growing stronger with

Lex Lang and Nate Bateman embrace during the semifinal matchup against Holy Cross.

each challenge. Their postseason run was decisive: victories over Virginia Military Institute, Duke, and Holy Cross set the stage for a championship clash with Slippery Rock—one final test between familiar rivals.

But what set this team apart was not only its talent. It was the unity that bound them, the discipline that defined them, and the faith that sustained them. Before practices, they sought God in confession. Before games, they gathered in prayer. On the field, they played for one another with a selflessness that reflected something deeper than sport.

Brendan Lacey breaks away from Holy Cross defenders during a pivotal moment in Franciscan’s semifinal win over Holy Cross.

When the final whistle sounded, it marked a first: the first National Collegiate Rugby Division III national championship in Franciscan’s intercollegiate athletics history.

It also marked a fulfillment.

The players who lifted the trophy in Houston did not stand alone. They stood on the shoulders of teammates and coaches who came before them—the pioneers who built the program from nothing, the contenders who came close, and the fans who believed this moment was possible.

Twenty-five years after a small group of students set out with borrowed gear and a bold vision, Franciscan rugby reached the summit of the sport.

And in doing so, they honored the legacy that made it possible.