What it takes to play rugby and study at an Ivy league University

Published On 07 Oct 2025 by Ryan Kelly

We’re excited to be joined by Harvard University’s head coach for Men’s Rugby, Colton Cariaga, who’ll be our special guest on our upcoming webinar, discussing what it takes to play rugby and study at an Ivy League University. The most prestigious and highest profile academic institution in the world, with an esteemed list of alum including Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerburg and former presidents John F Kennedy and Barack Obama. More than 50,000 students apply to Harvard each year, with the regular decision acceptance rate being just 2.7%. Rugby has a long and prominent history at Harvard, and Coach Cariaga joined the program in 2023, having enjoyed 8 success years at Life University. He is also the head coach of Team USA’s U23s 7s national team, bringing vast rugby coaching experience to the role. We’ll be talking all things Ivy League rugby, the demands of balancing playing with the academic challenges at Harvard, the admissions process for an aspiring rugby player.