Frank Graziano arrived on Eastern’s campus in 1999 with the goal of developing the Eastern rugby program.

After coaching two undefeated teams (2002 and 2008) and developing the Eastern rugby program into an NCAA contender, it is safe to say that head coach Graziano has certainly made his mark on the rugby program.

Graziano, a Clemson graduate, came to Eastern to originally build the program into an intercollegiate/varsity squad and as the success of the team grew, so grew the possibility of the program becoming part of the NCAA.

“When I arrived here in 1999, things were pretty new as far as rugby goes,” Graziano said. “No one had ever created an intercollegiate rugby team before. Back then, everything was really being built from the ground up.”

After several meetings with Deborah Polka (former supervisor) and Rich McDuffie (former Eastern athletic director), Graziano was ready to begin the first year of the Eastern rugby program in 1999.

Graziano, in his 11th season as Eastern’s rugby head coach, began his inaugural season with the rugby team by posting a record of 5-3 and participating in the National Tournament, where they made it to the Elite Eight before being defeated by National runners-up Princeton.

Following his first season as head coach, Graziano began to turn his attention to recruiting the best players possible for the rugby program, but there was only one problem with the recruiting process.

There are not any high schools that play rugby competitively.

This minor problem didn’t stop Graziano as he began to look to high school athletes who played numerous sports.

Senior Crystal Jones said Graziano’s technique of recruiting athletes who are foreign to the sport allows the incoming girls to come in with a clear mind.

“It all starts with his recruiting technique,” she said. “He likes to recruit girls who already have the innate ability to be motivated and want to try their best. From there, he figures out whose buttons he can push, as well as when to push them. He is constantly wanting us to figure things out for ourselves and sometimes it gets frustrating, but it really makes us highly competitive.”

Graziano’s attitude of being competitive has rubbed off on the team as the Panthers have a 6-0 record this season and are currently riding a 22-game winning streak as a program.

He coached his 100th game Saturday, and senior center Ashley Jenkins said the players were fully aware of it, adding extra motivation to their 22-20 victory over Northern Iowa.

“The night before a game we always make a motivational circle and we kind of say our favorite speeches to provide motivation for the upcoming game and the subject of coach’s 100th game kept coming up,” Jenkins said. “We actually lost our last game against Northern Iowa, so we decided to dedicated this game to coach, in honor of all he has done for us and the rugby program.”

Neil Schneider can be reached at 581-7944 or jnschneider@eiu.edu.

Rugby head coach Frank Graziano has posted an 83-17 record during his 100-match and 11-year tenure with the Panthers, posting only one losing season during that time. (Eric Hiltner/The Daily Eastern News)

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