USC's rugby man

For the past 40 years, Jeff Smolka has been the single continuous thread woven through the USC rugby tapestry.

There’s not a role he’s left unserved: head coach, assistant coach, player, volunteer, and member of the Carolina Rugby Foundation. But his lasting and most impactful role has been benefactor. As an assistant forward’s coach in 2014 and Chairman of USA Rugby’s Rugby Committee, Smolka surveyed the college rugby landscape.

While USC had had numerous successes on the pitch (the Gamecocks won the SCRC (Southeastern Collegiate Rugby Conference) that year and qualified for nationals), Smolka, a former Gamecock hooker, looked around and noticed that premiere rugby programs around the nation were elevating their game off the pitch.

Some were being promoted to varsity status. Others were raising funds to support coaching salaries. He wanted to do something that would lay the groundwork for future Gamecock rugby success and give the program he loved a competitive advantage.

Working with school officials Smolka established the Carolina Men’s Rugby Endowment in 2014 and contributed $25,000 of his own funds to jumpstart the fund. For the first time in program history, alumni, parents, and friends had the opportunity to give to rugby through the university.

In 2015, he established the Jeffery S. Smolka Endowed Scholarship fund with a gift of $25,000. The program would extend in-state tuition costs to out-of-state students. Recipients of the award must maintain a 3.0 grade point average and have completed a minimum of 12 college credit hours. The fund also extends $500 grants to in-state students.

For USC’s 50th Alumni reunion, Jeff started the Coaches, Captains, Classes, and Founders Endowed Scholarship to honor the rugby club founders and create a channel for Alumni to donate. USC is one of the few rugby programs that has a record of all its captains and coaches.

“Knowing that we were recruiting many students from the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast, we wanted to do something that would help us to attract and retain these student athletes,” said Smolka. “Carolina rugby has meant so much to me and my family. This is my way of paying back.”

Since that time, more than 50 Gamecock rugby players have benefitted from the program. Financial aid extended through the endowment has exceeded $600,000. Today, most scholarship recipients benefit from their annual tuition costs between $6,000 for Merit scholarships upgrades or $16,000 for students that do not have an incoming scholarship.

In 2021, Smolka rejoined the USC rugby coaching staff at the behest of Coach Roberts. Roberts and Smolka first met as USC teammates in 1987 and have been close friends since. Jeff has played a pivotal role as the club prospered, capturing two SCRC 7s championships, finishing runner-up in 15s while logging milestone victories over our rival Clemson.

In August 2022, Smolka launched the “Carolina Rugby Ambassadors Program” which funds rugby dues for international rugby players. To date, he has donated $2,000 to that effort.

In the spring of 2023, to celebrate Coach Roberts and the rugby team’s accomplishments, he challenged 150 alumni, players, and parents to donate to the teams 2023 National championship endowment with a gift during Give4Garnet (the university’s annual giving day April 19).

The alumni, parents and team pulled together with some folks donating multiple times to achieve the 150 donations goal. In the process, the team raised an additional $11,267 for the endowment to help pay for nationals. In our USC Rugby first Give4Garnet year, Rugby supporters accounted for 45 percent of the funds raised for Student Life.

Smolka’s latest gift ensures the financial stability of the endowment, allowing the program to fund more scholarships and attract more athletes. His generosity bore immediate fruit last month when the club awarded 14 Smolka scholarships and its first Graduate Fellowship award to Dan Golden.

Over the last decade, Smolka has contributed over $100,000 to Carolina Rugby.

“We will be forever grateful to Jeff and all he has done as player, administrator, coach, volunteer and donor,” said Carolina Rugby Foundation Chairman Robert Balmer. “No one has given more of their time and treasure to Gamecock rugby than Jeff. He is a giant in our program and his legacy will be everlasting.”