While playing soccer at Rugby School of England in 1823, William Webb Ellis picked up the ball in his hands and ran with it. This sparked an interest, leading to the creation of rugby. Cambridge University immediately adopted the game, popularized it and made local rules. The game grew popular at area schools and in 1871, ten years after the common rules of soccer were set, the first Rugby Union was founded in London and firm rules of the game were established.

Rugby continued to flourish elsewhere, with especially in the old British Empire ( New Zealand, Australia and the South Pacific). Although a handful of clubs remained in the United States, rugby did not reemerge until the 1960's. College campuses turned to the sport because it was one where many could play and escape the rigid discipline and professionalism inherent in college football. Minimal costs, constant action and the opportunity In 1895 The Rugby League was founded and a 13-player game with altered rules were created for professionals. Rugby spread across the globe and competition emerged between countries. In the United States, the game emerged primarily on the West Coast. The lack of precise rules, ambiguities in the game and complexity of the sport drew a lot of United States players away from the game and major changes were invoked. In 1880 the scrum was replaced by a line of scrimmage, drawing emphasis from the free-running characteristic of the game. The game continued to play with rugby rules until 1905 where the publication of photographs of a harsh game between Swarthmore and Pennsylvania for frequent play with a primary emphasis on fun also attracted many. President Theodore Roosevelt insisted on reform of the game to lower the brutality with threat of abolishing the game by edict. In 1906 the forward pass was introduced to the United States game. The rules of rugby died and the game of American football was born.

However, the sport remained on many college campuses and began to flourish in the United States again in the 1960’s. The number of clubs grew from about 80 to over 1,000 between 1964 and 1980. The United States of America Rugby Football Union (USARFU) was formed in 1975, creating added recognition and a measure of organization. Today, there are over 1500 clubs in the United States. The sport continues to grow and is now played in over 80 countries worldwide and the Rugby World Cup is competed every four years. The rules of rugby continue to evolve with amateurism team spirit as dominant characteristics.

Longwood competes in the Division III with about 100 other colleges and universities in the US. The Longwood Women compete nationally in Division II against about 70 other schools.