The Alumni Association has always been a goal of myself (Coach Scot) and several of the Alumni. For the last few years Alumni Mara Wellner has served as the Director of Alumni Relations for the UW-Milwaukee Women's Rugby Club. In conjunction with several other alumni, Mara has spent a lot of time attempting to gather contact information for past alumni of the program and attempting to set up an Alumni Match, that will hopefully become a biannual or annual event.

Documents in this Section:

The Lady Panther RFC Alumni Association
Spring 2007 Alumni Match - 25th Anniversary
Alumni Registration Page
Commemorative Alumni Jersey
The Commemorative Alumni Crest

JERSEY ORDER FORM!!!

Persistence Pays Off

In honor of the 25th Anniversary of the Founding of the UW-Milwaukee Women's Rugby Club, the Lady Panthers will host their first-ever Alumni Match and Reunion on Saturday, April 28th, 2007! We are working with the Milwaukee County Parks in order to secure a one-time use of Lake Park's old gun-club field...we think it would be nice to host the match there and that the venue would add some nostalgia for the alumni. But please stay posted as this field location is subject to change.

We anticipate a 11:00 a.m. kickoff for the match. In deference to the Alumni, and for coaching of the undergraduates, we plan to play four (4) twenty (20) minute quarters to the match with a ten (10) minute half time. Based on the turnout of the Alumni and need for a second side match for the undergraduates, the Milwaukee Scylla are scheduled, and any interested Alumni are invited to participate in a shorter duration match to follow!

We will also offer a special Commemorative Alumni Jersey with a special Commemorative Alumni Crest for all interested Alumni. Pricing has not yet been finalized, but we expect the jerseys to run $50 to $75. The jerseys are custom order per individual. Use our ORDER FORM to select your size, number and your the name you would like to have stitched on the back! Please order before March 15th, 2007, because it will take a while to have these jerseys created. If you have any other questions, please contact the Director of Alumni Relations, Mara Wellner, at lprfc-alumniassn@uwm.edu. We hope that you will be pleased with our design!

The Post - Match Reunion will take place on the upper level of the Y-Not 3 (1854 E. Kennilworth Pl., Milwaukee, WI 53202) located on Milwaukee's Eastside near the intersection of North and Farwell. Please feel free to bring your whole family! Food and festivities will commence after the Match.

We'll have a short presentation by Alumni Director Mara Wellner with a follow up by both Coach Scot and Coach Jeff. Then as all the Alumni get reacquainted with one another, and make their introductions to the undergraduates, the current club officers will raffle off a set of UW-Milwaukee Women's Rugby Jerseys to the Alumni!

Interested Alumni should register with us so we can plan accordingly! Even if you are unable to attend this year's event, please register your information so we can add you to our Alumni Newsletter!!!

Making it Official

On December 19th, 2006 we established The Lady Panther Women's Rugby Foundation at UW-Milwaukee, dba The Lady Panther RFC Alumni Association. The Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit Qualified Amateur Sports Organization.

Our Initial goal is to elect an Alumni Board of Directors and adopt Bylaws governing the activities of the Foundation. The Foundation will then hold a controlling stake in the undergraduate club's interests. The Board will "guide" the undergraduates as mentors and steer the club toward continued success. The Alumni Board will also have the obligation of searching out funding ideas and serve as a clearing house for all fully tax deductible contributions made to the Club.

As this grows over time, our goal is to be able to create a sizeable principle fund of which the team can use the interest to finance their travel and other club-related expenditures. These expenditures will need to meet with board approval.

As we increase the financial aspect of the Foundation, we hope to be able to offer Partial and Full Scholarship opportunities to athletes of promise and athletes who suffer from financial hardships. As the Foundation has been established as a Qualified Amateur Sports Organization under I.R.C. 501(c)(3) - Other Section 501(c)(3) Organizations - Qualified Amateur Sports Organizations, we retain the right to provide Athletic Facilities and Equipment, as well as to offer Scholarships as a Charitable Organization. This Information is available in IRS Pub 557 (rev. March 2005).

The Dream

Maybe many of you have had it too. Or at least one like it. Every time I drive past the corner of Newberry Blvd. and Lake Drive I have the dream again. I think about buying the house on the Northwest Corner and turning it into the Alumni House for UW-Milwaukee Women's Rugby. Then I think about purchasing a plot of land from Lake Park across the street, and turning it into a rugby training facility and Stadium for the club. Given my current means, I know it's a pipe dream at this point, but maybe I'll win the lottery. It's a dream that both Mara and I share, and I expect many of you alumni may as well.

Although that's a ways of at this point, both Mara and I feel that we have taken the first small steps toward achieving that goal. With the establishment of the Foundation, and the anticipated increase in Alumni involvement with this year's Alumni Match, we hope little by little to see that dream become reality.

I can not speak for Mara on this issue, but rugby has given a lot to me, and UW-Milwaukee Women's Rugby in particular. Maybe even more than I have been or will be able to give back. As you Alumni have read through this section, I hope maybe I've inspired a few of you to become involved with the vision and goals I have for this club. I am just one man with a dream, but you, the Alumni, are this organization. Together this is a dream we can realize!

Sincerely and In Rugby,

Coach Scot