Major League Rugby is an American professional rugby union competition scheduled to launch in April 2018. MLR is an initiative driven by existing USA Rugby-member teams, in partnership with private investors, who believe that American rugby can thrive at the highest levels: as a commercial enterprise; as an influential player on the international scene; and as a participation sport at the youth and senior level.
Video Major League Rugby
Competition format
Major League Rugby spans three months from April through June. The regular season of ten weeks 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.
Maps Major League Rugby
Teams
The league is structured as a single entity, with each club owned by the league and club operators owning a share of the league. The inagural clubs invested approximately $500,000 to join.
Major League Rugby will launch in April 2018 with seven teams:
Other potential teams also linked with Major League Rugby earlier in the competition's development were not confirmed for the inaugural season, including:
- Dallas Griffins, who did not make the competition requirements for 2018, pushing back their involvement until at least 2019.
- Kansas City Blues
- A Minneapolis bid under the name Tornadoes Rugby, with some of its backers moving their support to the San Diego Legion team.
Potential expansion teams
The Ontario Arrows are elite club based in the Toronto, Canada area that seeks to join MLR at some point after the league's inaugural season.
Other reported potential locations for expansion teams include: Boston, Chicago, New York and Vancouver.
Players
MLR players are generally drawn from North American clubs, although teams are allowed to sign up to five overseas players.
Television coverage
The CBS Sports Network will televise 13 matches on Saturday evenings over the course of the season. CBSSN will show a Game of the Week during each of the 10 rounds of the MLR regular season, and three postseason matches - the two semifinals and the MLR Championship Game. Live streaming will also be available through the CBS Sports Network streaming platforms.
Executives
- Dean Howes - Commissioner, 2017-present.
- Nic Benson - Deputy Commissioner, 2017-present.
Sponsorship
Signed a jersey sponsorship with Xblades
Trademark contention
New York-based businessman Clinton Courtney filed a trademark claim for 'Major League Rugby' in November 2015 under classification of clothing, educational activites and provisions of online news and information about rugby union football. His company provides international and domestic rugby news from the mlrrugby.com website, and has developed logos and artwork, to show the potential of Major League Rugby.
See also
- PRO Rugby - a professional rugby competition in the U.S. that played only one season in 2016 before folding
References
External links
- US Major League Rugby official website
Source of article : Wikipedia
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