Bryan Archibald passed away this past week. His service is this Saturday August 21st, 1PM – 2346 Floral Ave @ Grace Community Church in Chico, CA.

If you feel compelled to donate or attend the funeral at Grace Community Church please see the following:
Funeral – Saturday August 21st, 1PM – 2346 Floral Ave @ Grace Community Church in Chico, CA.
Donate – Please mail checks to 680 Camellia Way, Chico CA 95926 with a note referencing “Bryan Archibald” – Checks can be made payable to Newton-Bracewell

Robert Gerner #7 Class of 2001:
I received a call late Sunday night from a friend regarding Bryan Archibald (Cal Poly Rugby 2000-2001). He had passed away and was found in his room up in Roseville, California. He was 32 and although it’s a tragic story for someone to leave us so soon I would like everyone to realize that no day is ever promised to us. It’s our decision RIGHT NOW to live life to it’s fullest, to play has hard as we can, to fear nothing as we come together and make choices that may impact our life tomorrow. Please read on and remember him with positive thoughts and prayers.

Bryan is and was a great athlete. He was offered several scholarships to play both soccer and football in college and ultimately attended the University of Tulsa where he was a kicker/corner before he transferred to Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. Once Bryan hit the SLO scene he quickly needed a fix for competition and decided to go out for rugby. He was a big impact to the team not only providing break away speed at wing but also leadership qualities to a position that was overflowing with Frosh/Soph talent.

Bryan’s impact on the field not only was something to note but something that was fairly unique for first time players – he frequently had games where he scored multiple tries and showed unselfish tendencies with assists to teammates during what was a very pivotal year for the Cal Poly team. In the end Bryan fit the culture perfectly – we were a crazy bunch but when it came to game time we stepped up and gave it everything we had to try and take the club to a new level. I’m proud to say that year we absolutely did.

Post College Bryan went on to get his Masters and almost succeeded in getting his PHD at UNLV. Once he left UNLV Bryan and I lived together for 3 years in San Jose, CA and during that time I actually got to know him better than I had in college. He is the ultimate family guy – extremely selfless to them as well as to his friends. He was the type of guy that had your back at all times and was loyal beyond belief. Sometimes wild, sometimes the voice of reason – he always had some side of him that you could appeal too and he was always focused on taking care of the people around him. He is like a brother to me and I’m so very fortunate to have had the chance to share many precious moments of his life.

Bryan is a part of the Cal Poly Rugby tradition and history as are those who read this. I hope you feel for him and recognize that we all have a connection based on the sweat and blood we spill on the same fields. Please tip a beer for him next time your out…I know he would smile at the thought of his fellow teammates honoring him with a pint.

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John Kunz #9, class of 2001:

Bryan started playing rugby in 2000 at Cal Poly and I am glad he found us. His athletic experience playing football and soccer at high levels helped him pick up the game quickly. He quickly became a starter at wing, in a year when Cal Poly had many great wings/fullbacks.

The year was a turning a point for Cal Poly Rugby, the first year we made the national playoffs in a long time. Archibald scored a few key tries for us that year. Specifically against Long Beach, a team we always seemed to lose to up until that year, where Archibald scored two key tries, making a few people miss, stiff arming a few more, and putting Long Beach away.

Bryan loved the game; he gave back to the game by coaching at Chico State.  I always figured he would either become a head coach of Chico State, or start a high school rugby team there someday. I played 7s with him only once, in addition to being a good 15s player he was quite good at 7s.

But I am not writing this because Bryan was simply a great player. He was also a great guy off the field. One of the things I like best about rugby is the friends you make through the game. Rugby seems to attract unique individuals, and Archibald was definitely unique. I have never met anybody more competitive, and he seemed to win at most games he played. In fact, I don’t recall ever beating Archibald in anything.

He was quick-witted, and always a fun guy to have a beer with.

I always knew I would get a text or call from Archibald when Cal Poly Rugby was in town and if I went, see him at the game. It is strange when you lose a friend, it is hard to reconcile the things you figured you would do with them, or the places you would see them at. I always figured I would play in another SLO 7s with him or see him at another Cal Poly game, he would flash his big Archibald smile, I would screw up the three-step handshake, and we would have a beer together. Share some stories, catch up, and look forward to doing it again soon.

Bryan was a good dude. He will be missed.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, August 18th, 2010 at 4:02 am and is filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.