Ilona Maher rips Quinnipiac, her alma mater, after school cuts women's rugby to club status: 'Shame on you'

Team USA prima Ilona Maher is not blessed with her alma mater, Quinnipiac University, aft their caller determination regarding their women’s rugby team.

The assemblage released a connection connected Tuesday, stating a realignment of their athletics programme "to enactment semipermanent competitive, financial, and Title IX objectives." Within the statement, the women’s rugby squad is transitioning from a varsity squad to a nine squad "at the decision of the existent competitory cycle."

"These decisions are ne'er easy, but they are indispensable to ensuring that Quinnipiac Athletics remains equitable, competitive, and sustainable for the agelong term," diversion manager Greg Amodio said successful the statement.

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Ilona Maher of the USA looks connected during the Women's Rugby World Cup 2025 Pool A lucifer betwixt the USA and Australia astatine York Community Stadium successful York, England, connected Aug. 30, 2025. (Stu Forster/Getty Images)

Quinnipiac’s modulation of the women’s rugby squad "follows a holistic appraisal that incorporates competitory sustainability, nationalist information trends, assets allocation, and sex equity impacts," according to the statement.

No substance the case, Maher is furious, and she went nationalist with it connected societal media.

"Shame connected you," she posted to her Instagram Stories portion tagging the schoolhouse and the athletics leafage with a screenshot of the connection showcasing the decision.

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Then, Maher posted a substance concatenation she had with an chartless recipient, wherever she asked if "girls volition suffer scholarships and everything."

"Yes," the different enactment responded. "None of them tin spend to stay. I person 2 athletes who person nary parents. They person obscurity to spell if they aren’t astatine QU. I can’t judge this happened."

The connection adds the assemblage volition "redirect varsity level resources to programs with greater semipermanent stableness and strategical alignment," which would corroborate this substance concatenation astir scholarships for the women successful the program.

Ilona Maher is seen earlier the NCAA women's hoops nationalist title crippled betwixt UCLA and South Carolina astatine Mortgage Matchup Center successful Phoenix, Ariz., connected April 5, 2026. (Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

"This enactment is successful nary mode meant to diminish the dedication, effort oregon quality of these good pupil athletes, coaches and alumni," Amodio added. "They person contributed greatly to Quinnipiac Athletics and to the vitality and past of the University."

The Bobcats are besides adding a men’s indoor and outdoor region moving programme to their existing way and tract squad arsenic portion of this caller realignment. The assemblage viewed it arsenic a "high interaction opportunity" to beforehand "both competitory and sex equity objectives" for the athletics program.

"Athletics volition coordinate with Campus Recreation to guarantee women’s rugby remains a well-resources and organized nine programme and volition enactment intimately with students to guarantee a creaseless and respectful transition," the connection continued.

Maher, 29, was recruited to articulation the Bobcats’ women’s rugby squad aft playing astatine Norwich University — her archetypal twelvemonth ever playing the game. Maher’s father, Michael, encouraged her to effort it aft she grew bushed of softball.

Ilona Maher of the United States plays during the Women's Rugby World Cup lucifer against Samoa astatine LNER Community Stadium successful York connected Sept. 6, 2025. (Michael Driver/MI News/NurPhoto)

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Maher helped Quinnipiac triumph 3 National Intercollegiate Rugby Association championships, and she was named to the NIRA All-American squad each 3 of those years. She was besides fixed the MA Sorensen Award arsenic the country’s apical collegiate women’s subordinate successful 2017.

In 2024, Maher was a cardinal portion successful helping Team USA's women's rugby squad unafraid the country's first-ever medal successful the sport, winning bronze implicit Australia.