NBC Sports Group To Present More Than 15 Hours Of The 2016 Penn Mutual Collegiate Rugby Championship

NBC, NBCSN and Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia will combine to present more than 15 hours of Rugby Sevens action from the annual Penn Mutual Collegiate Rugby Championship from Talen Energy Stadium in Philadelphia, Pa.

Coverage begins on Saturday at 2 p.m. ET on NBCSN with live preliminary-round matches, followed by live coverage on NBC at 4 p.m. ET. Penn Mutual Collegiate Rugby Championship coverage continues Sunday at 2 p.m. ET on NBCSN, and shifts to NBC at 4 p.m. ET with live coverage of the Championship Final.

Todd Harris will serve as the play-by-play commentator for all telecasts. Harris will be joined in the booth by former USA Sevens captain and USA Rugby World Cup participant Brian Hightower. Tracy Wilson will report all the action from the sidelines.

The seventh annual Penn Mutual Collegiate Rugby Championship will be held at Talen Energy Stadium and features 24 teams from various colleges, including three-time defending-champion California, two-time tournament champion Dartmouth, and two-time runner-up Kutztown. Click here for a full list of the colleges and universities participating in the Collegiate Rugby Championship.

All matches will consist of seven players per team, playing on the same size pitch as a traditional 15’s rugby match. Teams will compete in one of six pools and will play seven minute halves, with a two-minute halftime.

Rugby makes its return to the Olympics at the 2016 Summer Games in Rio for the first time since 1924. A majority of the players on the Team USA Rugby men’s and women’s teams participated in the Penn Mutual Collegiate Rugby Championship at one point, including Madison Hughes (Dartmouth) and New England Patriots defensive back Nate Ebner (Ohio State).