Dill Bio

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – Last fall Rory Dill was looking for a new athletic adventure, so a friend of his recommended that he try-out for the Rugby team.  On that Monday he attended practice and by the end of the week he was playing in his first ever Rugby match.  Both Rory and the Rugby team would end up benefiting from that decision.

The Rugby team picked up a very dedicated student-athlete.  Dill is studying accounting at Davenport and is a member of the Professional Accountancy Program.  In this rigorous program, he is sporting a 3.89 GPA.  “I take my academics very seriously because I know that my future is not in athletics, but in business.”

A common characteristic of business classes is that they take place in the evening.  Many of the Davenport professors work in their field during the day then teach students at night.  For student-athletes this could become a challenge, but Davenport is unique in offering many courses in condensed 7-week segments.

For Rory all of his 15 credit hours this semester are 7-week classes.  That means for the first half of the semester he only has two classes in the evening before starting his other three in late October.  While the accelerated classes lessen his time commitment, he still has to balance his class load with Rugby practice every evening.  “The toughest part of my schedule is to remain fit,” commented Dill.  “I make up the conditioning that I miss on Mondays so I don't fall behind.”

In addition to balancing classes and work, Dill brings his dedication to his job on the Student Center event staff.  He also just added a new responsibility working in the accounts payable office at a subsidiary of Gordon Food Service, which will take up 16-24 hours each week.

While the Rugby team has benefited from the addition of Dill's work ethic, he has also benefited from the camaraderie on his new team.  “It's the best team I've ever been a part of,” remarked Dill. “We are a brotherhood; we all really care about each other.”

Dill cares about his team so much that he might pass up completing both his Bachelor's and Master's degrees after his fourth year at DU to continue to play with the Rugby team.  “There is a spot opening up in my position and I would love to keep playing.”

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