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By Carey Reeder | Managing Editor

Chilton County native Matthew Colson took a new-found passion at The University of Alabama, turned it into a hall of fame rugby career and transformed the school’s program for years to come. Colson was inducted into The University of Alabama Rugby Foundation Hall of Fame in Tuscaloosa in March alongside Sean Duffy, Jeff Kirk and Allen Kipp in the induction class. Colson’s contributions to rugby at UA went beyond the playing field and helped bring more stability within the program.

“It was (a) huge (honor), and the recognition came for on the field and off the field accomplishments,” Colson said. “I was a pretty good rugby player, but the honor mostly came from what I have done over the past 10 years that they have continued to do with the foundation. They allowed me to lead them into a future that Alabama rugby never historically had, which was adult and political leadership.”

Colson grew up in Chilton County and graduated from Isabella High School in 1999. He ventured to UA for college knowing what rugby was, but nothing about the positions or rules of the sport. When he went for his orientation he saw a rugby booth for the university’s club team, and he passed by it without much thought. Colson’s focus was on trying to walk onto the Alabama football team, and it was going well, but taking up a large portion of his time.

“Everything was fine, but getting up at 6 a.m., going to work out, then to class, then to work out and then to practice, it was not what I was looking for,” Colson said.

One morning, Colson was on his way to a work out with the football team and ran into a group of guys on the UA rugby team on a run. They had a chat, invited Colson to a social event with the team and then out one day to throw a rugby ball around. It took just one time playing rugby for Colson to get hooked.

“After that, that was it,” Colson said. “I can be an athlete and not have my life be completely monopolized by the sport.”

Colson took to rugby immediately and he excelled in a sport that was built for an athlete with his type of athleticism. He began playing rugby his freshman year as an inside center. He won several team awards and was a member of the team during multiple winning seasons and playoff runs while reaching team captain. UA is a club program at the university, but they are still a high-level, competitive program that plays in a prominent conference against other universities and competes for national championships. The UA rugby team was formed in 1973 and competes in the Southeastern Collegiate Rugby Conference (SCRC) as a D1-AA program. The conference is composed of traditional Southeastern Conference universities and other schools from around the southeast. The winner of the SCRC championship earns a spot in the national championship playoffs.

“We were competitive in the southeast, and it was super fun,” Colson said. “In football, I was more of a defensive player but wanted to be more of an offensive player … Rugby gives you the opportunity to be both no matter what.”

His senior year, Colson joined the USA Rugby All-South team, and he got attached to the D2 program Birmingham Vulcans. He was named to select sides with the program, and the exposure with the Birmingham program grew Colson’s contacts at other programs in the southeast and his understanding of the ins and outs of the sport. After graduating from UA in 2004, Colson spent 10 years with the Birmingham Vulcans as their eight-man and intermitted team captain. The Birmingham program is in the development leagues of the National Rugby League, the premier rugby league in the United States. Birmingham is a D2 program, the second tier in between D1 and D3.

When Colson arrived at UA in 1999, the players were self-coached in the UA rugby program because the university did not back the program and funding for rugby was extremely limited. The team, however, was well established with a significant alumni base and just needed that extra boost of support. After his playing career, Colson later returned to UA and established The Alabama Rugby Foundation in 2017 that provides funding for the university’s rugby team that includes paid coaching, gameday expenses, public relations, university relations and athlete recruitment. He acted as President of the foundation for a few years, but relinquished his role upon a move to Denver, Colorado.

After the Alabama Rugby Foundation was established, the school was able to hire the program’s first head coach and were able to later hire their first recruited head coach while compensating both by way of the funds raised by the new foundation.

Colson wants to continue to give back to the UA foundation and program he put so much time and effort into, but family and job obligations fill his days now. However, for children in Chilton County interested in rugby, Colson recommends the youth programs with the Birmingham Vulcans program. To learn more, visit birminghamrugby.com where children can get into the sport with no experience necessary.