Club rugby first came to the University of Virginia in 1961, started by a small group of law students. UVA joined the Chesapeake Collegiate Rugby Conference in the fall of 2016.

In 2010, Virginia accepted the invitation to join the Atlantic Coast Rugby League that was composed of the core schools of the ACC.In the first ACRL 15s season, Virginia played very well, defeating most of its opponents by large margins. Virginia lost only one ACRL 15s match and that to Maryland.

Virginia started the 2014 fall season beating conference rival Wake Forest.