By day Bob Wilson is the director of Student Support Services at Syracuse, working in the Psychological Services Center. Wilson’s office, sitting in the basement of the building, is an ode to his true passion: rugby.

Hanging on the walls are old rugby photos and the flag of Wilson’s homeland, England. When Wilson leaves his day job, he becomes head coach of the Syracuse rugby team, of which he’s been at the helm for the past 37 years.

In 1968, Syracuse was introduced to rugby for the first time by graduate student Peter Baigent. The team had to use rope as crossbars, and consisted of both students and community members. Then, in 1970, Baigent wrote to Wilson and asked if he’d move from England and enroll at Syracuse to support his efforts at developing a rugby club. Baigent knew his friend loved rugby since they began playing together at Loughborough University in Central London.

However, for Wilson, rugby wasn’t always his favorite sport. Growing up in England, Wilson played soccer, but he couldn’t continue in high school.

“This high school, which was trying to be a poor replica of private schools in the U.K.,” Wilson said, “did not allow soccer, so I played rugby.”

Wilson helped the rugby program until he graduated. Then, he and his wife, Patricia, moved back to England. After 10 years, the couple returned to Syracuse to be closer to Patricia’s family. It was then that Wilson returned to coach the sport he had helped bring to life with his friend.

Wilson describes his first departure as “very hard.”

“We had shared rugby, social and family experiences together,” he added. “Several (teammates) are still good friends today.”

Once Wilson returned, things had changed and the university and community had split paths. The community members formed the Syracuse Chargers, which still exists today.

Syracuse now fields more than 60 players on three different teams and is a no-cut club sport. Yet, this promise to keep any interested athlete has upset upperclassmen who’ve grown frustrated with the high numbers.

“There are times when some upperclassmen do not agree with Bob’s mentality of being open to anyone to join the club who is passionate about learning the sport.” said Matt Magargee, one of Wilson’s players. “However, with all the coaches I’ve had and met, I’ve never seen somebody so spirited to teach what he knows about rugby to these 18- to 22-year-old guys.”

Magargee is a senior at Syracuse and has been on the rugby team since his freshmen year. He plays back, a position meant for the shorter, shiftier players, like a wide receiver or running back in football. Wilson is a former back, himself.

“Bob is basically the core of the backs on the team,” Magargee said. “Without him, we wouldn’t be nearly as competent and competitive as we have been.”

Magargee jokes that there’s a rumor that Wilson has never been tackled once in a game. Sometimes during practice, Wilson will take the field with his team.

Today, rugby has grown exponentially in the U.S. and recruiting has become the new norm in college rugby. For Wilson, this is a new factor as a coach, yet he has found ways to still bring in players. He sends students or alumni to college fairs in New Jersey and Philadelphia, a youth program in Washington, D.C. and, sometimes, California. He also plans biannual trips to Europe for games. This season, SU will play in Portugal.

“We try to keep the name of Syracuse rugby relevant,” Wilson said.

Published on October 26, 2017 at 12:07 am

Contact Evan: ebeebe@syr.edu