NEWS

Utah Warriors: 5 Years

HERRIMAN, UT (November 3, 2021) – The Utah Warriors have announced a season-long marketing campaign to celebrate the Five Year Anniversary since the franchise began play. Starting play in 2018, the Utah Warriors are one of seven founding members of Major League Rugby, the first professional rugby league in the United States to embark on its fifth season of operation in 2022.

“It’s crazy to think we’re entering our fifth season,” said Utah Warriors CEO Kimball Kjar, “We started this team and this league with a vision to make rugby in North American and in Utah the preeminent rugby competition in the world. While that seemed like a stretch to some at the time, so did the Warriors and the MLR being around in five years.”

The Warriors kicked off their inaugural season in 2018 with a match at Rio Tinto Stadium in front of 9,176 fans, a Major League Rugby attendance record that still stands today. The Warriors would go on to earn a spot in the 2018 Major League Rugby Playoffs before falling to the Glendale Raptors.

Utah would struggle in the following season, winning just two games in 2019 and finishing in 8th place in the MLR Standings. However, with the addition of a new coach and new staff in 2020, the Warriors defeated the two-time MLR Champion Seattle Seawolves on the road before the Covid-19 Pandemic forced the cancellation of the remaining matches to finish the season optimistically, with a record of 3-2.

Despite facing the struggles that exist as a new league and young franchise battling the reality of a global pandemic and economic crisis, the Warriors were encouraged by the play of their team in the five matches before the Covid-19 outbreak and remained focused on building a Championship Contender for the 2021 season.

“It’s a credit to the league for having a solid enough foundation so we could survive 2020,” said Warriors GM Brandon Sparks, who joined the Warriors in 2019. “For us here in Utah, the time off allowed us to come up with a plan on how to create an identity, recruit the right players and staff, and professionalize our operation over a three-year period. 2021 gave us a good indicator that we have a good plan in place, but I don’t think we would have gotten to where we are currently without that time off in 2020.”

With an interim Head Coach, and an abundance of new faces on the roster, the Warriors enjoyed their most successful season to date in 2021. Boasting a franchise record 10 wins, and the league’s second-highest scoring offense, the Warriors earned their second playoff berth in franchise history and challenged the eventual 2021 MLR Champions, the LA Giltinis, until the final whistle in the MLR Western Conference Championship.

In recognition for their on-field success in 2021, Warriors Interim Head Coach Shawn Pittman was named the Major League Rugby Coach of the Year and subsequently hired as Utah’s Head Coach moving forward. Additionally, Warriors’ fullback Mikey Te’o was honored as the league’s Player of the Year.

With a Major League Rugby Championship set in their sights, the Warriors look to honor their past, while looking towards the future of the team and the future of rugby in the State of Utah, with their 5 Year Anniversary campaign.

LOGO & PATCH

The 5 Year Anniversary celebration will be headlined with a commemorative logo and patch designed by the Warriors’ creative director William Racule, who has been with the team since the 2018 inaugural season. The patch will be worn on all Utah Warriors game jerseys in the 2022 season along with select pieces of Utah Warriors merchandise available for purchase beginning in January, 2022.

The patch features the Warriors’ Four Stripes, each one symbolic of one of the franchise’s core values of “Community, Family, Tradition and Respect.” These core values hold together the rugby community and have been the base of the Warriors franchise over it’s five year history.

FIVE DAY GIVEAWAY

As part of the launch of the Warriors’ 5 Year Anniversary, fans who purchase a season ticket in the next five (5) days will be entered to win a signed game-worn Warriors jersey, along with a $250 Warriors merchandise bundle and two (2) pregame sideline passes for the Utah Warriors’ 2022 home opener. Every ticket purchased will enter that person in the contest. Existing season ticket holders can purchase additional seats at their previously discounted rates and enter to win. The giveaway will end, and a winner picked, at 12:00PM MT on Monday, November 8, 2021.

Additionally, the Warriors will announce other initiatives in the coming weeks and months as they celebrate the 5 Year Anniversary, including a community night and fan appreciation night at Warrior home matches in 2022.

ABOUT THE UTAH WARRIORS

The Utah Warriors are a founding member of Major League Rugby and one of 12 professional rugby teams competing in the MLR. The Warriors players come from nine different countries and many have local ties to the state of Utah. The team is built upon four core values of Community, Family, Tradition and Respect. To learn about the Warriors 2021 schedule, or to purchase tickets, visit us online at www.warriorsrugby.com.

MEDIA CONTACT: Hunter Miller

EMAIL: hunter.miller@warriorsrugby.com

PHONE: 801-833-1248