Major League Rugby
Major League Rugby
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Upcoming season  2019 Major League Rugby season | |
 | |
| Sport | Rugby union |
|---|---|
| Inaugural season | 2018 |
| Commissioner | Dean Howes [1] |
| Number of teams | 9 |
| Countries | United States Canada |
| Champions | Seattle Seawolves (2018) |
| Website | usmlr.com |
| Broadcast partner | CBS Sports Network, ESPN, AT&T Sports Networks |
Major League Rugby, known as MLR, is a professional rugby union competition and the top-level championship for clubs in North America. In the 2019 season it will be contested by nine teams; eight from the United States and one from Canada.[2] MLR began its first season in 2018 and is an initiative of the American rugby community in partnership with private investors.[3]
Contents
1 Competition format
2 Teams
2.1 Current teams
2.2 Expansion teams
2.3 Other potential teams
3 Champions
4 Players
5 Television coverage
6 Executives
7 Sponsorship
8 See also
9 Notes
10 References
11 External links
Competition format[edit]
Major League Rugby spans six months from late January through to mid June. The regular season is a double round-robin with all clubs playing each other home and away.[2] Each team plays sixteen games, half of them at home. This is followed by a postseason for the top four teams consisting of two semi-final matches and the Championship Game to determine the season's MLR champion team.[4]
Teams[edit]
The league is structured as a single entity,[5] with each club owned by the league and club operators owning a share of the league.[1]
Locations of teams in Major League Rugby
Teams for 2019 season Future expansion teams
Current teams[edit]
There are nine teams confirmed for the 2019 Major League Rugby season:[2]
| Club | Metro area | Stadium | Capacity | Joined | Coach |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Austin Elite | Austin, Texas | Round Rock MPC [a] | 3,500 | 2018 | Alain Hyardet |
Glendale Raptors | Denver, Colorado | Infinity Park [b] | 5,000 | 2018 | David Williams |
Houston SaberCats | Houston, Texas | Aveva Stadium | 4,000 | 2018 | Justin Fitzpatrick |
New Orleans Gold | New Orleans, Louisiana | Eagle Athletic Facility [c] | 3,000 | 2018 | Nate Osborne |
Ontario Arrows | Toronto, Ontario | York Lions Stadium | 3,000 | 2019 | Chris Silverthorn |
Rugby United New York | New York, New York | Gaelic Park [d] | 2,000 | 2019 | Mike Tolkin |
San Diego Legion | San Diego, California | Torero Stadium | 6,000 | 2018 | Rob Hoadley |
Seattle Seawolves | Seattle, Washington | Starfire Stadium [e] | 4,500 | 2018 | Phil Mack |
Utah Warriors | Salt Lake City, Utah | Zions Bank Stadium [f] | 5,000 | 2018 | Alf Daniels |
Expansion teams[edit]
Other teams may join the league in the future. The following are teams that have publicly stated that they have acquired exclusive negotiating rights with the league:[10][11]
| Club | Metro area | Stadium | Capacity | Joining | Coach |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
LA Coast Rugby | Los Angeles, California [g] | - | - | 2020 | - |
Atlanta MLR team | Atlanta, Georgia [h] | - | - | 2020 | - |
New England Free Jacks | Boston, Massachusetts [i] | - | - | 2020 | - |
DC MLR team | Washington, D.C. [j] | - | - | 2020 | - |
Other potential teams[edit]
Further reported potential locations for expansion include Dallas,[16] Vancouver (with 2 bids),[17] Chicago,[1] and Kansas City.[1]
Champions[edit]
By year
| Year | # of Teams | Final | Semi-final knockouts | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Champion | Score | Runner-up | Higher-ranked | Lower-ranked | ||
2018 | 7 | Seattle Seawolves | 23–19 | Glendale Raptors | San Diego Legion | Utah Warriors |
Players[edit]
MLR players are generally drawn from North American clubs, although teams are allowed to sign up to five overseas players.
Television coverage[edit]
Major League Rugby programming runs in prime weekend time slots on Saturday afternoons and Sunday evenings.[18]
The CBS Sports Network televises 13 matches nationally over the course of the season. This includes a Game of the Week during each of the 10 rounds of the MLR regular season along with all three post-season matches.[4] Live streaming is also available through the CBS Sports Network streaming platforms.[4] The remaining games are available on ESPN properties and regional sports networks.[19]
ESPN has the national and international rights to an 18-game package covering regular season matches to audiences across its various platforms.[19]
AT&T Sports Networks have a 17-game package covering six of the seven MLR teams for games not broadcast on the CBS Sports Network.[18] Home and away matches for Austin, Houston and New Orleans are carried on AT&T SportsNet Southwest. Seattle's matches are carried on Root Sports Northwest and all Glendale and Utah games are hosted on AT&T SportsNet Rocky Mountain.[18]
San Diego has a separate local rights agreement for their market with all the Legion's home and away MLR games that are not on the CBS Sports Network being televised locally on Channel 4 YurView California.[20]Dan Power, Peter Steinberg and Brian Hightower were the CBS Sports commentators for the 2018 season. culminating with the Championship Game in San Diego
Executives[edit]
Dean Howes – Commissioner, 2017–present.[1]- Nic Benson – Deputy Commissioner, 2017–present.[21]
Sponsorship[edit]
The league signed a multi-year partnership deal with XBlades in 2017 to supply all jersey/kit apparel for each MLR team and all match officials.[22] The MLR also announced Ram Rugby as the official ball supplier.[23] In May 2018, via Instagram, MLR announced Impact Custom Mouth Guards as the official mouth guard of the league.[24]
See also[edit]
PRO Rugby - a professional rugby competition in the U.S. that played only one season in 2016 before folding
Notes[edit]
^ The MPC is located in Round Rock, Texas which is a part of the Greater Austin metro area.
^ Infinity Park is in Glendale, Colorado, a home rule municipality in the Denver metropolitan area.
^ Eagle Athletic Facility is on the campus of Shaw High School in Marrero,[6] on the Westbank of New Orleans.[7]
^ Rugby United New York played at Gaelic Park during their 2018 exhibition season and may move to a different stadium in 2019.
^ Starfire Stadium is in the Seattle suburb of Tukwila, Washington.[8]
^ Zions Bank Stadium is in Herriman, Utah, located within the Salt Lake City metropolitan area.[9]
^ LA Coast Rugby has exclusive negotiating rights for a team in the Los Angeles metropolitan area.[12][13]
^ An Atlanta franchise, led by President and CEO Bob Taylor, plans to join the league in 2020.[14]
^ A Boston franchise, known as the New England FreeJacks, will start to play exhibition fixtures in late 2018 and plans to join MLR in 2020.[14]
^ DC MLR has exclusive rights for a Washington, D.C. team that would join no later than 2020,[10][15] and could play exhibition games in 2019.[16]
References[edit]
^ abcde "Major League Rugby nears kick-off as next attempt to make US a union power". The Guardian. UK. 2017-11-17. Archived from the original on 2017-11-19. Retrieved 2017-11-19..mw-parser-output cite.citationfont-style:inherit.mw-parser-output qquotes:"""""""'""'".mw-parser-output code.cs1-codecolor:inherit;background:inherit;border:inherit;padding:inherit.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-free abackground:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/Lock-green.svg/9px-Lock-green.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-registration abackground:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-gray-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-subscription abackground:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-red-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registrationcolor:#555.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription span,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration spanborder-bottom:1px dotted;cursor:help.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-errordisplay:none;font-size:100%.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-errorfont-size:100%.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration,.mw-parser-output .cs1-formatfont-size:95%.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-leftpadding-left:0.2em.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-rightpadding-right:0.2em
^ abc "Major League Rugby adds Ontario Arrows for 2019". Americas Rugby News. 2018-09-25. Archived from the original on 2019-09-25. Retrieved 2018-09-25.
^ "Glendale Raptors Announce Team, Coaches, & Ticket Sales". djcoilrugby. 2018-01-29. Archived from the original on 2018-02-05. Retrieved 2018-02-05.
^ abc "CBS Sports Network Partners with MLR". Major League Rugby (Press release). 2017-11-06. Archived from the original on 2017-11-09. Retrieved 2017-11-09.
^ "What Is Major League Rugby?". This Is American Rugby. Archived from the original on 2017-04-07. Retrieved 2017-02-18.
^ "Eagle Athletic Facility Mass & Groundbreaking". Carpe Diem!. 2017-11-01. Archived from the original on 2018-02-05. Retrieved 2018-02-05.
^ Songy, Marielle (December 2017). "Archbishop Shaw High School Breaks Ground on New Stadium". The West Bank Beacon. New Orleans. Archived from the original on 2018-02-05. Retrieved 2018-02-05.
^ "Contact". Starfire Sports. Retrieved October 3, 2018.
^ "Utah Warriors Announce Home Venue for the Major League Rugby Season". Utah Warriors. 2018-01-25. Archived from the original on 2018-02-05. Retrieved 2018-02-05.
^ ab "Washington DC team to enter Major League Rugby 'no later' than 2020". Major League Rugby. 2018-05-15. Retrieved 2018-06-03.
^ "Atlanta and Boston Teams to Join MLR for 2020 Season". www.usmlr.com. 2018-09-21. Retrieved 2018-09-21.
^ "LA Coast Rugby Officially Announced As MLR Expansion Side". This is American Rugby. 2018-07-10. Archived from the original on 2018-07-10. Retrieved 2018-07-10.
^ "NFL, NBA, NHL, MLB, MLS joined by Major League Rugby in Los Angeles". ESPN. 2018-07-11. Archived from the original on 2018-07-13. Retrieved 2018-07-13.
^ ab "Major League Rugby confirms Boston and Atlanta for 2020". Americas Rugby News. 2018-09-21. Retrieved 2018-07-10.
^ "Major League Rugby planned for Washington DC!". dcmlr.com. Archived from the original on 2018-06-03. Retrieved 2018-06-03.
^ ab Pengelly, Martin (2018-05-15). "Washington DC team to enter Major League Rugby 'no later' than 2020". The Guardian. UK. Archived from the original on 2018-05-15. Retrieved 2018-06-03.
^ "Canucks owner: "We would look at a rugby team"". The Province. Vancouver. 2017-11-07. Archived from the original on 2017-11-19. Retrieved 2017-11-19.
^ abc "Major League Rugby Announce Telecast Agreement with AT&T Sports Networks". MLR. 2018-02-05. Retrieved 2018-04-30.
^ ab "Major League Rugby and ESPN Announce Rights Agreement". MLR. 2018-03-20. Retrieved 2018-04-30.
^ "Media partners". San Diego Legion. Retrieved 2018-03-28.
^ "Major League Rugby to launch with 9 teams". Rugby Today. 2017-05-08. Archived from the original on 2017-11-20.
^ "Major League Rugby announces XBlades as official apparel partner". Major League Rugby. 2017-12-20. Retrieved 2018-02-05.
^ "Major League Rugby Announces Ram Rugby as Official Ball Sponsor". usmlr.com. 2018-02-07. Retrieved 2018-03-17.
^ Major League Rugby Announces Impact Mouthguards as Sponsor "Major League Rugby Announces Impact Mouthguards as Sponsor". Major League Rugby. 2018-05-24. Retrieved 2018-07-02.
External links[edit]
US Major League Rugby official website
Categories:
- Major League Rugby
- Rugby union leagues in the United States
- 2017 establishments in the United States
- Sports leagues established in 2017
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