Inside the Scrum

The past, present, and future of rugby in TC

Organized rugby has been in Traverse City for over 50 years, dating back to its origins in 1973 when a founding group recruited players from football, soccer, and basketball teams to join the league, borrowing blue jerseys from St. Francis High School. They formed what eventually became the Traverse Bay Blues Rugby Football Club.

The first major rugby event for the Blues was the Cherry Pit Rugby Tournament, bringing teams from Michigan State, Detroit, and Kalamazoo together in Traverse City. As it grew, the tournament swelled to over 20 participating teams and became one of the better-known rugby tournaments in the United States.

Rugby in Traverse City has since expanded beyond the original men’s team to include teams at every level at some point, coalescing under the Grand Traverse Rugby umbrella. This includes youth teams, high school boys, high school girls, adult men’s and adult women’s, and alumni rugby. The adult Blues teams have their competitive season in the fall, though there are other rugby activities and training that take place throughout the year.

Growing Pains

Since the Traverse Bay Blues was founded, over 2,000 players have played for the club. But after a drop-off earlier this decade, the focus is on rebuilding the teams.

“COVID was difficult for participation and continuity of rugby in the area,” says BJ Brick, a board member for Grand Traverse Rugby. “The last several seasons have been rebuilding years for some of the adult programs, but we’re seeing significant momentum again heading into this fall.”

Cora Byrnes coaches the women’s Blues team and has put a lot of work into reforming the team. “Rugby is an amazing sport that truly embraces all people. There is a position for every athletic style and ability. It’s a beautiful game in which the culture brings everyone together,” Byrnes says.

Brick adds that “our open Wednesday touch rugby sessions have continually been drawing approximately 18-20 players, including players from the men’s, women’s, and high school programs. One of the things I’m most excited about is seeing the different generations of Traverse City rugby coming together again.”

Speaking of other generations, high school rugby followed in the Traverse Bay Blues’ footsteps, with the Traverse City Alliance Boys program starting in 2000 and a girls’ team launching in 2005. And they’ve been successful: the boys’ team went to the Michigan Division I state finals in 2022 and 2023, and won the state championship in 2024, while the girls have won five state championships and last season went 11-0 and finished third in the state.

The Alliance girls’ program practices and plays in the fall season, while the Alliance boys’ program takes place in the spring. There aren’t enough rugby clubs in the immediate area around Traverse City to create a traditional conference, so all of the teams travel to compete with other leagues downstate and across the Midwest area.

Going Pro

Local rugby teams may be small, but they are mighty. Players from different Traverse City rugby teams have gone on to do incredible things within the space.

For being a relatively small community, the area “has produced players and coaches who have competed at virtually every level of American rugby, including college national championships, professional rugby, international rugby and professional coaching,” says Brick.

“Typically, several Alliance players each year move on to play college rugby, including players receiving scholarship opportunities,” Brick tells us. “One recent example is Max Goethals, a 2024 Kingsley graduate who helped lead TC Alliance to the 2024 Michigan state championship. Max went on to Davenport University, where he joined several former Alliance teammates playing at Davenport, including Caleb Bott, James Pearson, and Brian Rialson.”

Goethals was selected for the USA Rugby U19 team in 2025.

Other local rugby all-stars include Phil Thiel, a Traverse City native who played for the Traverse Bay Blues and later went on to play for the United States men’s national rugby union team (the Eagles) for a long run, earning 36 international caps (aka international appearances) for the United States and representing the USA at the 2011 and 2015 Rugby World Cup. Thiel also played overseas with Cinderford in England.

Angus MacLellan attended St. Francis High School and played for the Alliance team before going onto Davenport University, where he captained back-to-back national championship teams at the Division I-AA level. MacLellan represented the United States at the U20 level, became a Collegiate All-American, and eventually earned caps with the USA Eagles. Professionally, MacLellan played for the Ohio Aviators before becoming a longtime member of the Utah Warriors in Major League Rugby. He became the first player in MLR history to reach 50 appearances and eventually surpassed 100 professional MLR appearances.

Brandon Sparks captained the Alliance team before continuing his rugby career in college and eventually becoming the head coach of the men’s rugby program at the University of Michigan. He also coached within USA Rugby’s All-American programs and worked with the U.S. national setup. Sparks later moved into professional rugby and was a member of the Seattle Seawolves coaching staff during their 2018 Major League Rugby championship season.

Learn more about the local rugby leagues at grandtraverserugby.com.

Photo Traverse Bay Blues mens, credit to Kristin Goethals

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