[1] The Stade nantais name can be traced to a turn-of-the-century high school club team that pioneered rugby union in Nantes, and whose members had scattered to SCUN and RC Basse-Indre.

[4][5] Right off the bat, the SNUC benefited from the involvement of star player fr:Pascal Laporte, who had relocated to Nantes to oversee a company that imported coal from Wales, following a highly successful career with Stade bordelais.

[6] The club established itself as a French rugby power during the 1910s, although the stature of its accomplishments was somewhat diminished by the advent of World War I. Nantes did become the de facto national champions in 1917, beating Stade toulousain for the title.

[9][10] In 2022, Stade nantais announced the hiring of longtime Top 14 player Mirco Bergamasco as manager, with the club now professing a more deliberate development model based on homegrown talent.

[2] Jean Graton, creator of Michel Vaillant, played rugby for the SNUC in his youth, and paid tribute to the club with a 1956 short story called Le trois-quart-centre ne passe plus !