This article was originally published at Rugbymag.com and has been reprinted with permission.

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Rugby Apps: Wheeling Jesuit Rugby
By: Karen Fong

Small town community. Jesuit education. High performance Varsity rugby program.

These are just a few of the distinguishing characteristics of Wheeling Jesuit University. From teachers, administrators, coaches and players, WJU’s Jesuit roots lead everyone in the WJU community to uphold the school’s “commitment to serve others,” and the “desire to educate the whole person” in everything they do.

WJU is a private, coeducational Roman Catholic university located in Wheeling, West Virginia, about an hour from Pittsburgh. With approximately 1,300 undergraduate students, WJU is known for being a tight knit, small community. Current freshman and WJU rugby player Shawn Wagner (a product of the High School All American program and Penn Rugby in Indiana) explains, “You get a family atmosphere right from the moment you walk on to campus. Teachers, coaches, everyone. They all really care about you.”

Wheeling Jesuit is highly rated for its academics and Forbes named the school in its top 10% of colleges in the country. WJU’s 100% acceptance rate to law school, medical school, and physical therapy programs are due in large part to the strong core curriculum (a noted component of Jesuit Universities), “designed to produce a well-rounded person well trained in humanistic pursuits and the liberal arts.” Wagner spoke enthusiastically about how students are motivated to become actively involved in research in their desired fields. “When I came to WJU, I knew I wanted to follow a medical program. Right away, my teachers started talking to me about getting internship hours in the hospital and finding me ways to get my foot in the door. I was able to jump into a real career right away.” Students are actively encouraged to participate in the annual Student Research and Scholarship Symposium where students present research done over the past academic year. Many programs also require students to complete a capstone or thesis project.

WJU is quick to highlight their small 15-1 faculty ratio and Wagner explains this was one of the main reasons he chose WJU. Wagner knew how hard his path to medical school was going to be and he wanted a place where teachers would know who he was and would be committed to the students every step of the way. He describes the smallest class he has ever been in had about 12 people and his largest class of about 40.

Of course, rugby was also a key factor in Wagner’s choice. Formerly a club sport from 1967–1994, rugby was restarted as a varsity program after an 18 year hiatus in December 2011. The Cardinal are led by an experienced coaching staff including Head Coach Eric Jerpe and Assistant Head Coach Eric Taber. A resident of Pittsburgh, Jerpe came to Wheeling Jesuit with experience as a player, coach and administrator. He has played the game locally as well as internationally in New Zealand, South Africa, Argentina, England, Ireland and Wales. Eric has held numerous head coaching positions at a number of U.S. universities and has had many leadership positions with Pittsburgh’s Harlequins Rugby Football Club, been a member of the USA Rugby Board of Directors, Manager of the USA U-17 National Team, Match Commissioner for USA Rugby National Championships and past President of the Allegheny Rugby Union.

Taber, the most recent addition, came to WJU as a former Assistant Coach at the University of Colorado. He also has international experience as the Team Manager of the USA Rugby College All-American Sevens team, and former Team Manager of the High School All-Americans. In a previous Rugby Mag Interview, Taber said of joining the WJU staff, “I am extremely excited to join Wheeling Jesuit and to help build a strong varsity program. I look forward to developing America’s young rugby talent to make the next generation of Eagles contenders on the International and Olympic stage.”

Taber adds, “Our program offers players a daily training environment that’s modeled after the national team,” therefore, players in the WJU program are prepared for the highest level of competition. Wagner said, “[to be on this rugby team is] a huge commitment. [A typical week consists of] Monday film followed by a study session. Tues, Wed and Thurs, we have practice from about 3p-6p, depending on the day and what players’ class schedules are like. We travel Friday, play Saturday and get back home late Saturday night. On Sunday, we meet with our strength and conditioning coach for a pool workout for rehab. Then on Monday, we start the whole thing over again.” All of their hard work seems to be paying off. In the team’s first year (comprised entirely of freshman players) the rugby team finished fourth in the MAC sevens.

The team is actively recruiting new additions to their program. Wagner describes the kind of teammate he would like to see are, “people coming in with a positive attitude, committed to meeting new people, and ready for a great experience. [You have to be] open minded. [You have to be] stepped up and ready to go. It’s not high school anymore; it’s the ‘big leagues.’” Taber adds, “So many of the young athletes I’ve met are good enough to earn a Division I football scholarship, but would prefer to play rugby if they could only get a scholarship to help with rising college costs.” The Cardinal varsity rugby team provides scholarships for athletes, up to $9000/year (renewable for four years). Other merit scholarships can also be awarded to stand out applicants.

Due to its rigorous academic standards, applicants must possess a strong academic record to gain admission. The typical freshman enrollee has an average GPA of 3.5, average ACT composite score of 23 or an average composite score of 1025. No specific essays are required however, a letter of recommendation and list of extracurricular activities are encouraged. WJU has a pretty open acceptance rate at about 83%. WJU does not have an admissions deadline and use a rolling admissions process so seniors, there is still time to apply! They have a FREE application and you can either apply via their own online application portal or via the Common Application.

The average Cost of Attendance is $31,000 (including tuition, room & board and other fees); comparable to many in-state colleges’ cost of attendance (when you factor in the potential rugby and other merit money available to applicants). Families can estimate their expected cost using the online estimator.

If you are looking for an intimate Jesuit educational experience paired with a top flight rugby program, take the first step to being a recruit by filling out the
online questionnaire.

For further information:
WJU Rugby Team Page

Head Coach Eric Jerpe: ejerpe@wju.edu, 412-606-5942
Assistant Head Coach Eric Taber: etaber@wju.edu, 646-287-7492

**Karen looks forward to meeting you at the USA Rugby National Development Summit where she will be presenting educational sessions about the college admissions process.

Karen Fong, is a college admissions consultant with Dunbar Educational Consultants, helping students worldwide navigate every step of the college search and application process. A former Division I rugby athlete, Under-23 National Team representative, current member of the USA Rugby referee circuit and recent named the academic advisor for the HSAA program. She is helping student-athletes find the perfect collegiate fit for academics and sports. For questions or more information, contact her at kfong@dunbarconsultants.com or (310) 497-0619.