Wisconsin Youth Rugby and The Rugby Summit are proud to announce that Joe Lippert of Iowa Central Community College will be returning for 2023. Lippert is a proud Wisconsinite with a passion for mentoring young people and helping them make good decisions. He is also a part-time adjunct instructor of business at Iowa Central. Joe Lippert is a native of Pittsville, Wisconsin, and has been involved with rugby for over eighteen years as a player, coach, referee, administrator and fan.
Joe's contributions to Rugby in the United States are mounting. He led the Wisconsin Rugby Club to a Division Two National Championship in 2013 after a runner-up finishes the previous season. In 2019, at the helm of Lindenwood University-Belleville, Lippert led the Lynx to a D1AA 7s National Title.
Several players from his LU-B teams have since been drafted into Major League Rugby (MLR) and gone on to professional careers.
Along with Wisconsin and Lindenwood-Belleville, Joe has been a head coach of the Wisconsin Rugby Selects, Iowa 7s Selects, Palmer College of Chiropractic, and McKendree University. He continues to play with the Bremer County Bucks (Waverly, IA) whenever possible and referees match around the Midwest.
Joe has lived in several foreign countries and played rugby internationally many times with the Southerners Sports Club (Bangkok, Thailand) and other touring teams. He still plays and referees when possible but loves his job as an assistant coach at Iowa Central CC. And, his favorite rugby player is his wife and fellow Wisconsinite, Grace Hovde.
Check out playlist with each of Joe's last sessions:
- With You.