Delgado Community College and NOLA Gold Rugby Announce Partnership

Delgado Community College and NOLA Gold Rugby are pleased and excited to announce a new partnership. The NOLA Gold Rugby organization is helping Delgado reach fans and supporters of the team with messaging about the educational opportunities available at Delgado’s seven locations and online. Delgado students are experiencing the management and operations of a Major League Rugby team first-hand through educational experiences and internships.

The partnership involves NOLA Gold Rugby team members who will share information on the team’s social media and other marketing channels about academic programs and areas of study at Delgado. NOLA Gold followers can consider a pathway to these fields or a career change through education at Delgado Community College.

Fans attending NOLA Gold home games at the Shrine on Airline in Metairie will see the Delgado brand featured prominently in displays on the field and in the gameday program, and viewers of the games on television will be encouraged to interact with Delgado through on-screen promotional messaging.

“The new partnership with NOLA Gold Rugby will enhance public awareness of the high-quality educational opportunities at Delgado,” said Dr. Larissa Littleton Steib, Delgado Chancellor. “Sports fans are a very diverse group and Delgado is committed to diversity and inclusion. We appreciate the efforts of NOLA Gold management to make Delgado Community College the official higher education partner of NOLA Gold Rugby.”

“NOLA Gold Rugby is very excited about our new partnership with Delgado Community College–as we grow the awareness of rugby in Louisiana, we believe Delgado’s reach will be instrumental in achieving this goal,” said Tim Falcon, team owner. “NOLA Gold Rugby is committed to using our business to help educate young people on opportunities for jobs in the sports business field. We look forward to learning from Delgado’s expertise to have a real impact on job training opportunities.”

The NOLA Gold Rugby team and their national organization, Major League Rugby, are now in their fifth year of play. In addition to New Orleans, Major League Rugby fields teams in Atlanta, Austin, Boston, Dallas, New York, San Diego, Seattle, Toronto and Washington, DC.

Twelve countries are represented by players on the NOLA Gold roster—six players have played on Rugby World Cup teams. The team is providing the state of Louisiana with an affordable, exciting, and family-oriented entertainment option while cultivating the growth of rugby and establishing the New Orleans team as proud members of the community.

There are millions of rugby fans in the United States and the game is popular among young adults. NOLA Gold reaches more than 40,000 followers on social media and plays home games in a 10,000-seat stadium in Metairie. Games are televised on the Fox Sports and NBC Sports networks and on the free digital streaming channel The Rugby Network.

Delgado Community College is celebrating its Centennial in 2021-2022. Generations of the New Orleans region’s residents know that Delgado provides “education that works.” The SACSCOC-accredited institution offers more than 100 programs leading to career-focused degrees, diplomas and certifications. Tuition is affordable and access to the college’s programs is available to all. There are no admission or non-resident fees.

Delgado also has a large and active workforce development and continuing education division that delivers specialized training for industry partners as well as a wide range of self-improvement courses for those interested in broadening their knowledge and skills for career or personal advancement.

More than 32,000 students experience Delgado’s educational offerings each year. The college employs 1,250 people at six locations in the New Orleans region. Recent accolades include ranking #37 among nearly 1,200 community colleges in the nation, having the nation’s #1 community college science and math and hospitality programs and the #1 business administration associate degree program in the Southeast region.

On the field at the Shrine on Airline celebrating the new partnership between their organizations are, left, NOLA Gold Rugby mascot King Creole, and Delgado Community College mascot Izzy the Dolphin.