Rockford Region to Host Big Ten Universities Rugby Championship

It looks like another great sporting event is headed for the Rockford region.

The 2014 BTU Rugby Big Ten Universities Conference Championship is coming to the Rockford area this weekend. The event will be held at at Sportscore Two in Loves Park.

Now I've never seen a rugby match in person, but I've seen a few in the early morning hours on ESPN2. And this should be high-quality action.

There are 9 teams represented from Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, Purdue, Ohio State and Wisconsin. The public is invited to attend. General admission is $10 for adults and $5 for students.

Tom Rooney, Director of OSU Rugby is looking forward to visiting the Stateline:

"We're very excited to have our championship event in Rockford this year. It’s a centrally located city for all of our teams to travel to, the Rockford Park District has great facilities for our teams to play on, and they've got a nice downtown area that our fans and alumni can take advantage of. It’s exactly what we were looking for."

Officials with the Rockford Area Convention and Visitors Bureau say the tournament is expected to draw more than 1,000 players, coaches and fans to the area. An estimated 325 hotel room nights will be booked and visitors will spend an estimated $58,500.

For additional information regarding the BTU Rugby Conference go to their website. The Conference is not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by the official Big Ten Conference.