A new scholarship at the University of the Pacific McGeorge School of Law will support students involved with the school’s Rugby Football Club.

During the past five months, 72 individual donors contributed more than $50,000 towards the McGeorge Rugby Club Endowed Scholarship. Because of the University’s Powell Match program, the endowment will double in size to more than $100,000. The Powell Match program matches new gifts of $50,000 or more to establish or enhance an endowment, dollar for dollar.

The Rugby Football Club at McGeorge School of Law was established in 1982, making it one of the oldest student organizations on the Sacramento campus.

Anthony McClaren, ‘03 spearheaded efforts to raise funds for the scholarship. McClaren has been involved with the Rugby Football Club since 2000 and has served on McGeorge’s Alumni Board for the past nine years.

“Our club has been around for 40 years,” McClaren said. “We have a small but loyal group who will never forget how the sport, and the camaraderie of rugby, kept us sane at a challenging time in our lives.”

Incoming and current law students will be eligible to receive scholarship funding from the McGeorge Rugby Club Endowed Scholarship in fall 2022. McClaren’s hope is that the scholarship will assist Rugby Football Club members in need of financial assistance.

“We hope to provide law students with the critical financial assistance needed to pursue a law degree,” McClaren said. “These students are doing really remarkable things, and we wanted to do our part to help.”

In addition to the scholarship fund, the Rugby Room at McGeorge will be renovated as a result of this fundraising effort. The Rugby Room is located within the Gordon D. Schaber Law Library.

“We want this to be a space of remembrance, community, and inspiration for the students at McGeorge,” McClaren said.

To learn more about giving to McGeorge, visit our website.