National U.S. Collegiate Hurling Champions
List of collegiate hurling team winners
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The National Collegiate Gaelic Athletic Association is a non-profit organization that oversees hurling and Gaelic football sports for universities in North America. Since beginning in 2011, the NCGAA has grown to over 27 active clubs across the United States and Canada.
The first ever U.S. NCGAA hurling championship took place in 2011. In 2014, a second lower division of the championship, known as the Shield, was introduced. The NCGAA expanded to include Gaelic football in 2022.
The NCGAA championship has been held at various times throughout the year and has settled into the weekend of Saint Patrick's day.
Team Successes
Hurling
In 2011, Indiana University won the first hurling championship, beating UC Berkeley 3-4 (13) to 1-6 (9).[1] The University of Montana became the first team to win the championship back-to-back, doing so in both 2014 and 2015 and in 2017 and 2018. The University of Pittsburgh became the first team to win the NCGAA championship four times in a row from 2019 to 2023 (the 2021 championships was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic). Two players from the University of Pittsburgh, Luca Donini and Stephen Wagner played in all four championships. Purdue University won back-to-back championships in 2024 and 2025, with both wins broadcast live by ESPN (see "Growing the Game").
A complete list of winners of the U.S. NCGAA hurling championship is below.
| Year | Winner | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Indiana University[2][3] | Gaelic Park, Chicago, IL |
| 2012 | Purdue University[4][5] | Stanford University, California |
| 2013 | University of California, Berkeley[6] | Purdue, Indiana |
| 2014 | University of Montana, Missoula[7] | Gaelic Park, New York |
| 2015 | University of Montana, Missoula[8] | Missoula, Montana |
| 2016 | University of Connecticut | Boulder, Colorado |
| 2017 | University of Montana, Missoula | Chicago, Illinois |
| 2018 | University of Montana, Missoula | Boulder, Colorado |
| 2019 | University of Pittsburgh | Chapel Hill, North Carolina |
| 2020 | University of Pittsburgh | Orlando, Florida |
| 2022 | University of Pittsburgh | Orlando, Florida |
| 2023 | University of Pittsburgh | Louisville, Kentucky |
| 2024 | Purdue University | Salt Lake City, Utah |
| 2025 | Purdue University | Denver, Colorado |
| 2026 | Purdue University | Orlando, Florida |
| 2027 | tbd | Indianapolis, Indiana |
| 2028 | tbd | Phoenix, Arizona |
Growing the Game
Besides overseeing the competitive aspect of collegiate hurling, the NCGAA tries to raise awareness and increase participation of hurling in America.
2024 National Championship
In 2024, the NCGAA final was televised on ESPN3. This was the first nationally televised match in the United States since the All-Ireland Final in 1973.[9] Purdue University defeated Colorado University at Zion Bank Stadium in Salt Lake City, Utah, to win the hurling final. The final score reported on ESPN's live stream was 5-12 (27) to 1-11 (14). The correct score on review was 6-12 (30) to 1-11 (14)
Details
| Purdue University | 6–12 – 1–11 | University of Colorado Boulder |
|---|---|---|
| Evan Grealish 1–10 (0–6f, 0-3 65') Danny Rubin 3–0 Michael Brennan 1–1 Travis Gregory 1–0 Liam Clarke 0–1 |
Conall McCabe 0–9 (0–1f, 0-1 65') Paco 1–0 Patrick Burns 0–1 Michael Jordan 0–1 (0–1f) |
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College GameDay
The first game of the 2024 U.S. college football season was played in Ireland. It marked the first time that the pre-game television sports show "College GameDay" originated outside of the United States.[10] As part of the show, the NCGAA's Naoise Waldron taught Desmond Howard, Jess Simms and Stanford Steve the basics of hurling.
Heinz History Center
To honor the University of Pittsburgh's four-in-a-row NCGAA championships, the Heinz History Center included an exhibit on the university's hurling team in the entryway for the Western Pennsylvania Sports Museum.
