Written by Austin Rush | Archived Nov. 10, 2020

The club rugby team formerly known as the Duluth Fighting Penguins is no more. Relinquishing a name that they have dawned for almost 30 years, the club team now sports the Bulldog colors and name.

Going by the University of Minnesota Duluth Bulldog rugby football club now, the team is now a part of the Bulldog club sport guild.

Senior captain Nemuel Nyangaresi says that the name change has been in conversation for sometime  following the team’s national championship runs.

“The main focus we had with the name change was to make sure that we were recognized around campus,” Nyangaresi said. “Before when people would see Duluth Fighting Penguins rugby club, they would laugh and say that’s a funny name.”

Nyangaresi mentioned that a big part of the name change was how much approval it was met with from the alumni.

“We have to think about the future,” Nyangaresi said. “It’s easier to recruit when were called the UMD Bulldog men’s rugby club instead of the Fighting Penguins club.”

Winning three consecutive Division II national championships from 2013-2015 under the Fighting Penguins banner, Nyangaresi believes the name change is a positive thing to happen to the club. He also iterates the importance of remembering the old name and all the success that came with it.

Senior wing and outside center Jake Medved, says that the new name Bulldog means a lot.

“I feel like it is a lot more prideful to wear Bulldog colors, especially with the amount of success that our team has had,” Medved said. “It’s nice to be able to represent UMD by winning and allowing others to see us winning in Bulldog colors.”