FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, May 30th, 2017

NBC SPORTS GROUP PRESENTS LIVE COVERAGE OF PENN MUTUAL COLLEGIATE RUGBY CHAMPIONSHIP THIS WEEKEND ON NBC AND NBCSN

Live Coverage Begins Saturday at 3 p.m. ET on NBC

28 Different Colleges and Universities Represented in Men’s and Women’s Championships, Including Four-Time Defending Men’s Champion Cal, Army, Navy, Notre Dame, Penn State, UCLA and South Carolina

NBCSN Presents Rugby Rising Presented by Penn Mutual Sunday at 1 p.m. ET

NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports App to Provide Streaming Coverage

STAMFORD, Conn. – May 30, 2017 – NBC Sports Group presents live Rugby Sevens action from the annual Penn Mutual Collegiate Rugby Championship from Talen Energy Stadium in Philadelphia, Pa., on NBC and NBCSN.

Coverage begins on Saturday at 3 p.m. ET on NBC with live preliminary-round matches, followed by live coverage on NBCSN at 5 p.m. ET. Penn Mutual Collegiate Rugby Championship coverage continues Sunday at 1 p.m. ET on NBCSN, and shifts to NBC at 3 p.m. ET with live coverage of the Championship Final.

NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app – NBC Sports Group’s live streaming product for desktops, mobile devices, tablets, and connected TVs – will provide streaming coverage of the 2017 Penn Mutual Collegiate Rugby Championship.

Leigh Diffey will serve as the play-by-play commentator for all telecasts. Diffey will be joined in the booth by former USA Sevens captain and USA Rugby World Cup participant Brian Hightower. Marty Snider will report all the action from the sidelines.

The eighth annual Penn Mutual Collegiate Rugby Championship will be held at Talen Energy Stadium and features 40 teams from various colleges across the men’s and women’s competitions, including four-time defending-champion California on the men’s side and three-time tournament champion Penn State on the women’s side, as well as Army, Navy, Notre Dame, UCLA and South Carolina. Click here for a full list of the colleges and universities participating in the Collegiate Rugby Championship.

The rugby sevens format, which was featured at the 2016 Rio Olympics, consists 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.

NBCSN PRESENTS RUGBY RISING PRESENTED BY PENN MUTUAL SUNDAY AT 12:30 P.M ET ON NBCSN

NBCSN will present a 30-minute special this Sunday at 12:30 p.m. ET – Rugby Rising Presented by Penn Mutual – leading into live coverage of the Collegiate Rugby Championship at 1 p.m. ET. The program examines the growing culture of rugby within the United States and the emergence of its leaders, both on and off the pitch.

2017 PENN MUTUAL COLLEGIATE RUGBY CHAMPIONSHIP TELECAST SCHEDULE ON NBC AND NBCSN

DATE COVERAGE TIME (ET) NETWORK
Sat., June 3 Pool Play 3 p.m. NBC
Pool Play 5 p.m. NBCSN
Sun., June 4 Rugby Rising 12:30 p.m. NBCSN
Playoff Rounds 1 p.m. NBCSN
Playoff Rounds 3 p.m. NBC

NBCSPORTS.COM AND THE NBC SPORTS APP 

NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app will stream the Penn Mutual Collegiate Rugby Championship to desktops, tablets, and connected TVs. The NBC Sports app will stream coverage via “TV Everywhere,” giving consumers additional value to their subscription service, and making high-quality content available to MVPD customers both in and out of the home and on multiple platforms. Powered by Playmaker Media, the NBC Sports app is available on Apple iOS, Android and select Samsung devices, as well as on Amazon Fire, Apple TV, Chromecast, Roku, Win10, and Xbox.

-NBC SPORTS GROUP-