La Salle University Athletics

Kelsie McDowell, who has led several organizations to national rugby championship tournaments, was named the inaugural head coach of the La Salle women's rugby program in July 2024.
 
"We are excited to welcome Kelsie to the La Salle family. We look forward to working with her to cultivate a winning culture and advance our women's rugby program," Vice President for Athletics & Recreation Ashwin Puri said. "Kelsie has proven she can build a successful program. She will quickly scale up our program, create a championship culture, and be an incredible resource to our student-athletes and the entire university community."
 
McDowell is coming off a strong season as an assistant at Army West Point. After joining the staff in August 2023, McDowell helped lead the program to a runner-up finish in the Collegiate Rugby Championships 7's Premier Division. The squad also captured impressive victories in the 15's season including wins over Penn State and a trouncing of arch-rival Navy.
 
"I am thrilled to join the La Salle athletics family! I want to give a huge thank you to Ash Puri and Associate Athletic Director Dan Lobacz," said McDowell. "They believed in my vision to grow this program into a powerhouse, and their trust empowers me to hit the ground running. We will focus on not only growing amazing rugby athletes but strong, independent female leaders. La Salle has invested in women's rugby in a way I have not seen many schools commit. It took the perfect match for me to leave West Point, I believe La Salle is it."
 
A graduate of Northern Iowa University, McDowell spent five seasons as the head coach for Iowa State club rugby. During her time leading the Cyclones, McDowell took the program to new heights with successes, including earning berths in the 15s National Tournament three times (2018, 2021, and 2022) and four berths in the 7s National Tournament (2019, 2021, 2022, and 2023) with the 2019 team being the first in Iowa State history to qualify for the tournament.
 
Student-athletes also excelled individually during her tenure in Ames. Under McDowell, five players earned National Collegiate Rugby All-America honors with 10+ Collegiate Scholastic All-Americans.
 
Prior to her time at Iowa State, McDowell served as the founding head coach at Simpson College in 2014. While at Simpson, she led the squad to nationals in its first  season. McDowell built the program into a winner in short order, earning top-five finishes at NCSRO Championships in five straight seasons from 2015-19.
 
McDowell has also seen much success on the youth club side. She is currently serving as the head coach of the Eagle Impact Rugby Academy after beginning as an assistant coach for the U18 squad which took its first  overseas tour to Ireland with McDowell in 2021. The club will again head overseas this summer, traveling to Spain for the first time. She went on to become the co-head coach of the U16 program, culminating in a 2023 U16 National 7s Championship.
 
McDowell has played a critical role in developing the sport of rugby at the youth level in Iowa. From 2015-2023, she coached the Iowa Hawkette's High Performance Rugby club which counts the first Iowa High School Girls All-Star program as well four Midwest Championships and a 2017 National High School Invitational Championship among its resume.
 
Additionally at the youth level, McDowell served as the Girls Development Director for Iowa Youth Rugby from 2014-17.
 
McDowell attended Northern Iowa University where she was a standout rugby athlete. She graduated in 2012 with a degree in political science and government.