The University of Mary Washington athletic department is pleased to announce the hiring of Andrew Spencer as the new head men's rugby coach, according to Director of Athletics Patrick Catullo.
"We look forward to having Andrew Spencer join UMW Athletics to be the next head coach of the men's rugby program and continue the team's tradition of excellence", said Catullo. "Coach Spencer's experience and coaching ability will be a great asset to the team, the department and the entire UMW community."
"I'm honored and excited for the opportunity to lead the men's rugby team at the University of Mary Washington", said Spencer. "I want to thank Patrick Catullo and the search committee for their warm welcome throughout the interview process—I'm truly grateful to be joining the UMW athletics team.
It is a privilege to work alongside current coach and UMW rugby alumnusÂ
Charbel Medlej '16 as we build on the program's strong history and guide this team into the next chapter. I look forward to working with this talented group of student-athletes to help them be successful academically and athletically."
Spencer comes to UMW from Nazareth University, where he served as head coach for 2024-25. Nazareth competed in the National Collegiate Rugby's Liberty Conference, and advanced to the NCR's National Rugby 7's championship tournament in spring 2025. He was an assistant coach for backs and 7's at Nazareth in 2023-24.
Prior to Nazareth, Spencer served as head coach at SUNY Geneseo, where he led the team to a pair of conference 15's championships and one state 7's championship in his two seasons – both of which culminated in CRC championship appearances.
A 2015 bachelor of science graduate form John Carroll University, he also has playing experience on 15's and 7's squads for the Rochester Aardvarks (15s) and the Roc City Reapers (7s), as well as at St. John Fisher College, where he gained his doctorate of Pharmacy in 2019.
He is licensed with a USA Rugby L200/World Rugby Level 1 Coaching Certification.
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