National Intercollegiate Rugby Association

The National Intercollegiate Rugby Association (NIRA) is a governing body of National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) collegiate women's rugby programs in the United States founded in 2015.

History
The NIRA traces roots back to 2015 when eight NCAA member institutions formed the National Collegiate Varsity Women’s Rugby Association (NCVWRA) to organize collegiate competition and aid in the promotion of rugby at the varsity level in the NCAA after rugby was promoted to Emerging Sport status.

Inaugural members of the association included Army, Bowdoin, Brown, Central Washington, Harvard, Norwich, Quinnipiac, and West Chester. Membership in the organization is limited to NCAA institutions who sponsor women’s rugby at the varsity level. In 2016 the association became known as the National Intercollegiate Rugby Association (NIRA).

Members
As of November, 2023:

Division II

 * 2019 – West Chester 15–14 Brown
 * 2018 – Mount St. Mary's 22–15 Sacred Heart
 * 2017 – University of New England 57–14 Bowdoin
 * 2016 – Bowdoin College 32–22 University of New England

Division III

 * 2019 – Bowdoin College 27–5 University of New England