FAYETTEVILLE (KFSM) — The University of Arkansas men's rugby club team is heading to the national championship for the 6th consecutive year in a row, but they need a little help from you to get there.
The Razorback men's rugby club team has had one of their best seasons thus far, and they want to continue their winning tradition. While going to nationals six times in a row is a tremendous achievement, it does come with a cost. That's why a GoFundMe page has been set up to help the team.
The championship games are set to be played in Tucson, Arizona on May 24-25.
The GoFundMe page has surpassed their goal of $3k, but coach Frans Schimper says every penny will count. He told 5NEWS travel costs are a lot of money for the team.
They will be taking 13 team members of the club to Arizona, paying for their airfare and hotels.
While rugby is a club sport at the University of Arkansas, Schimper says they get limited fund but hopes in the future they receive more because of the tremendous accomplishments the men's rugby team has shown.
"Ya know, last year we were the highest finisher non-scholarship program in the country. We finished 7th last year at nationals. It is what it is, rugby is not a young sport in the county, but it's a very unknown sport, so the funding is not there yet. It's not football or basketball, and they don't have that kind of exposure that those other sports have but it is a little frustrating, but we know what hand we were dealt, and we deal with it, and we make the best of everything we have," Schimper said.
Schimper told 5NEWS the Razorback team were the first fan favorite D1-A team in all of America. The coach also added this is the first year they have used GoFundMe to help the athletes make ends meet. They previously had alumni help.
Click here to visit the GoFundMe page.