There are not many chances to start anew anymore in collegiate athletics, but Eastern has taken on one of those rare chances with the women’s rugby program.

Now entering his sixth year at Eastern for women’s rugby, head coach Frank Graziano is beginning to understand exactly where his team stands in the history of collegiate athletics.

“Everything has to start somewhere, and for me here at Eastern there were no road maps when we first started the rugby program,” Graziano said.

Graziano’s rugby career started as a player while he was at Clemson University, where he graduated.

Much like the career of the players he includes in his program at Eastern, Graziano had never before been introduced to the game.

But soon after playing for a little while the game and the draw of it had sunk in for the future coach, and he knew that there was a future in the game for him.

“For me (rugby) started in the mid-1970s, I don’t really remember, that is going back a ways,” Graziano said. “But at Clemson I lived next to some people who convinced me to come out and play the game and I played on the men’s club team for awhile.”

Playing on the club team, Graziano then took interest in the game overseas where there was a different passion for it from the fans.

“The game in the Untied States has its own little niche, and that is fine,” Graziano said. “But overseas it is really big doings in places like England, New Zealand and Australia.

“Especially in England, rugby is huge considering it is probably the second most popular sport compared to soccer.”

After spending time overseas he came back to his alma mater, Clemson, to help coach the rugby team which led to his desire to expand his coaching options.

Five years ago Graziano was content with his position as an administrator with the USA Rugby governing body in Colorado Springs, Colo. But he was enticed by an offer from then Associate Director of Athletics Deb Polca of Eastern.

While he had been working beside olympic caliber athletes in Colorado Springs, Graziano yearned to become something else after receiving the interest from Eastern.

The idea to control the first ever collegiate rugby team, a team that he could possibly mold into what he hoped rugby could be on the collegiate level.

“There was no doubting how excited I was upon coming to Eastern,” Graziano said. “When I first got here it was especially helpful to work with Deb (Polca) because she knew what she wanted outlined in the program and that was a tremendous help.”

From there the Panthers rugby team initiated their first season and have since put together an extremely strong program.

Building the program is something that has taken time and most of Graziano’s patience considering he has been and will continue to recruit players who don’t even play rugby in high school.

“Even though I go to watch a different sport, I don’t think I’m really looking for anything out of ordinary compared to what other coaches are looking at,” Graziano said. “Ask any coach and they will tell you what they really want is a top-notch athlete, and no matter what sport you focus on you can always spot a true athlete.”

Through recruiting Graziano has built up a program where players learn how to play along with being a student-athlete. The focus for the team is still winning, but learning how to play the game the right way is also preached.

“When I first started I had no idea how to play the game,” junior center Stephanie Rasmusen said. “But I came here after playing some softball and volleyball and took to liking this game right away, and am pleased that I made the decision I did.”

With players like that surrounding the Panther rugby team, Graziano has built a team that understands what they are truly accomplishing at this point.

“We know now that this can become something like lacrosse or field hockey because they started small at one point too,” Graziano said. “We are starting to understand that we are pioneering a sport here at Eastern.

“Someday we’ll go to Indianapolis and the collegiate hall of fame and put a few things of ours that we are saving in, and 15-20 years down the road really reflect on what we accomplished.”

To see more interactive coverage on Eastern’s women’s rugby program, check out our DEN Xtra piece called Pioneers