DEARBORN — Since they’re at a commuter college, the athletic programs at the University of Michigan-Dearborn have had a hard time finding success.

Some sports such as hockey have had their share of good seasons, but consistency is hard to come by for many of the other sports.

Just two years into their existence as a sport at UM-D, however, rugby has already become a winning program.

UM-Dearborn rugby players fight for position in the scrum. Rugby players don’t wear pads so injuries are common, but most are minor in nature. PHOTO: UM-Dearborn Rugby

Coming off of a 5-2 record in their 2007 debut campaign, the team is currently 6-2 and are the Division 2, Tier 2 Champions with a record of 4-0. The Wolves have one final regular season game on Saturday at 1 p.m. at Allen Park Middle School against Oakland University. The playoffs will begin on November 15th at a site most likely to be somewhere between Dearborn and Ohio because the Wolves will likely play an Ohio team.
While the fan support has been good at times, the team is always looking for more.

“As long as we keep doing good, the people will come,” said Abdullateef Muhiuddin, a senior winger for the Wolves. “We get anywhere from 50 to 200 people at the games. We hope that it becomes a big sport in Dearborn.”

Many people who come out enjoy the game, even if they haven’t seen it before and aren’t entirely clear on the rules. Variations of the game are most popular in Australia and New Zealand but many Arab nations also have local teams of their own.

Muhiuddin described the style of the game for people who haven’t seen it.

“It has a continuous clock as in soccer, along with the intensity of any contact sport,” he said. “You want to advance the ball down the field just as in football, there’s a lot of strategy involved, and there’s a lot of communication on the field.”

There are also a lot of injuries, especially since the players wear only long-sleeved polo shirts and no pads. The game is 15-on-15 on the field and some of the “scrums,” or groups of players pushing against each other to gain position, can get pretty intense.

It should come as no surprise that many of the players have football backgrounds. Muhiuddin took to the game because of his love for backyard football. The team’s founder, Mark Sanko, played football in high school and wanted to start another competitive team in a contact sport.

Other players such as Ali Badaoui, however, got into the sport in high school. Rugby is fairly popular in Dearborn as the city features two top local teams comprised of high school players, the Dearborn United team and the Dearborn Silverbacks.

Badaoui played one year in high school after becoming interested in the game through his brother, who also played.

“People are just now starting to hear about it,” said Badaoui about the sport, adding that it could become bigger in the city soon.

Mohammad Daher (left) pitches the ball to Abdullateef Muhiuddin as the Wolves rugby team advances the ball down the field in a match against Saginaw Valley State.

Players were recruited to the team through fliers posted at local campuses and through word-of-mouth. Because the team plays through the winter in tournaments, more players are always needed. The team practices from 5:30-7:30 p.m. on Mondays and Wednesdays and anyone can stop by and try out regardless of experience. Potential players can also email Muhiuddin at muhiumd@gmail for information.
Badaoui is on the team thanks to a special rule that allows students at other local colleges to play for UM-Dearborn if their college doesn’t have a team of its own. Badaoui is currently a sophomore at Henry Ford Community College. UM-Dearborn features players from colleges such as Madonna, HFCC, and Schoolcraft.

Their coaches also come from outside of the school’s walls, but they have done an excellent job of keeping the team together as one unit.

Kirk Borger and Todd Buchanan coach UM-Dearborn but also play for the Detroit Tradesmen of the Michigan Rugby Union. Muhiuddin believes their instruction has been important in turning the Wolves into a top team in such a short time.

“We’re very appreciative of the Detroit Tradesmen for taking their time to teach rugby to the kids.”

The team received little funding in its first year but after it found success, the athletic department stepped up and began to contribute more money. The Wolves needed it because they compete against some top-notch athletic programs including Michigan State and Grand Valley State, the two teams they lost to this year. The team faces challenges in regards to lack of on-campus facilities, but they have enough dedicated players and coaches to overcome them.

If the Wolves continue to play well, they have a shot at capturing the Lake Erie Championship for Division 2 in the upcoming playoffs, a challenge they look forward to.

“A lot of the guys are excited to be playing for the University and at the same time, it’s cool to be a college athlete,” said Muhiuddin.

A championship or even a strong playoff showing could help take the sport to greater heights and cement it as an important part of campus life at Michigan-Dearborn, a school which has made great strides in finding its identity in recent years.

“If we keep winning, we’re supposed to move up a division because we’re doing so good,” said Badoui. “It could become a big sport around campus if we keep winning.”