TIAR: Congrats on the reinstatement. What was the process to get the team back on campus?
Chris Mattina: Thank you Curtis and we are all relieved and humbled to be back. Basically over the course of this past year myself, team leaders, and a group of dedicated alumni had been working closely with the Dean of Students, Athletic Director of Recreation as well as the club sports office. Without the support of those administrators I don't think it would have been possible to get this team back on campus. At the end of the school year we submitted our appeal which was reviewed by the Universities appellate board to which they sent us a response with our conditions of reinstatement. While being back on campus we will be held on disciplinary probation until the spring of 2018 (when our suspension was supposed to end). This will be a time where we will be reviewed and monitored to make sure we are upholding and abiding by the rules and regulations of Student Conduct and the Recreation Department. If we maintain these University and Clubs higher standards we will be able to compete as a team at UD.
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TIAR: What has the team learned from the last couple of years?
CM: The past two years have been a very rough but valuable learning experience for our team. Not being able to play has really allowed us to reflect as individuals and a club as a whole. We learned that you cannot take anything for granted and no matter what you do, you represent a team and a University and need to act that way. I hope that other college rugby teams across the US can learn from what happened to us and make sure they do everything possible to be a strong, positive representative of their school.
TIAR: What competition will you guys be playing in next year?
CM: As of now we have been in contact with the Rugby East as well as local teams from around the Greater Philadelphia Area. Our goal for this upcoming season is to get matches against some Rugby East teams as well as local teams to get prepared to return to the D1A the following season. We want to compete at the highest level of rugby we can.
TIAR: Will most of the players return or are you starting from scratch?
CM: Player wise we are surprisingly in a good spot. There was only one or two players who left the school so we still have a great core group of guys. We are going to be a bit raw but we have a lot of experienced players at the skilled positions and we are hoping more players come out of the woodwork.
TIAR: Is there an official statement you would like to share with readers?
CM: As an official statement I would like to just thank everybody who made this possible. Without those people I don't think that we would have had any chance of returning and our program would have been forgotten. I also want to thank the parents and alumni of the team which have put in tremendous amounts of work to get us back. On top of that I encourage those who are interested in University of Delaware for school or playing high level rugby to apply here and contact us when you do. We are going to begin recruiting in the surrounding area and will be reaching out to a handful of high school coaches. Our goal is to create a strong program from the foundation up and get back to where we once were and go beyond that. We want to create a professional culture which will resonate at UD for years to come. This begins with our relationship with University of Delaware and its community which we hope to be an active member of. We have the opportunity to create something special here and I believe we can do just that. Once again a special thank you to the administration for giving us this unbelievable opportunity.
TIAR: How relieved are you to be back on campus?
CM: Honestly I have never been so relieved in my life and it was a huge weight that was lifted. I did not think I would ever see the day that we were back on campus and I have to give credit to my teammates Glen Thommes and Grayson Haynes for their hard work in getting this team back as well. We will be playing with a bit of a chip on our shoulders this fall as we have a lot of playing to make up for. Thanks again.