Warriors Nation,

Thank you!

We set out to build something special in 2018, and for eight incredible seasons, you and thousands of others from around the world have come to Zions Bank Stadium, rain or shine, to support this team and these players.

Little did we realize the impact this team would have on kids, families, and our community. But little did we realize the impact you would have on us as well.

Your smiles, your cheers, your laughter, and above all, your love for this team and this sport have left an indelible impression on everyone who has worn the Four Stripes.

And for all of that, we thank you, despite those words not conveying the true sense of gratitude that we have for each and every one of you.

Up until just days ago, the Utah Warriors were committed and on track to participate in the 2026 Major League Rugby season. Unfortunately, things changed quickly in the past week.

As of this morning, we have informed Major League Rugby that we will not participate in 2026 and are suspending club operations.

For our season ticket holders, your tickets will be refunded in the coming days. We are actively working with SeatGeek to have this completed within a week back to your card. If you don’t see that, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us on our box office line: 801-477.7652 or via email at ticketing@warriorsrugby.com.

To our sponsors, thank you for supporting this vision of building Utah into North America’s epicenter of rugby. This vision remains and will be carried on by our amazing local rugby community at the youth, high school, collegiate, and club levels, especially Utah Little Rugby and Utah Youth Rugby.

In that vein, in the coming days, we will share how our support for the game will continue and how you can support the incredible rugby community that will carry on the rich and storied legacy of rugby in Utah.

Although this might feel like goodbye, it’s really just a shift in our focus.

That’s the thing about Warriors — they never give up.

They keep moving forward.

This isn’t the end of rugby in Utah, and when that time comes to welcome professional rugby back to our great state, I look forward to standing next to our entire Warriors Nation family to cheer our team, our warriors.

I close where I started: Thank you, sincerely and genuinely. Those two words don’t suffice to express our gratitude to every player, coach, and fan who joined us on this journey. Together, we left this state in a better place than we found it eight years ago.

One last time: “Up the Wahs!”

Once a Warrior, always a Warrior!

-Kimball Kjar, co-founder and CEO

After losing the Toronto Arrows and New York Ironworkers to contraction, Rugby ATL’s relocation to Los Angeles, and the addition of the Miami Sharks, Major League Rugby is back for its seventh season of competition in 2024.

The Utah Warriors released a 16-game, 18-week schedule that includes eight home games and eight road games with two bye weeks.

The side guided by second-year head coach Greg Cooper will open March 3 at the yet-unnamed Los Angeles franchise, followed by a road trip March 9 to the Seattle Seawolves, before the Warriors’ home opener March 16 against the Chicago Hounds at Zions Bank Stadium in Herriman.

Utah will face Los Angeles, Seattle, New Orleans, Chicago, Dallas and Houston home-and-away, while facing D.C., San Diego, Miami and New England just once.

“Our 2024 schedule is set, another step forward as we prepare for the exciting challenges ahead of us,” said Cooper. “As a team, we assemble on the 22nd of January. We must be very accurate in our preparation to be ready to face LA and Seattle away in rounds 1 & 2. Then it’s Chicago for the first game at home and our first opportunity to play in front of our amazing Warriors crowd and ensure Zions Bank Stadium is a true fortress.

A lot of quality work has already gone into the Utah Warriors 2024 campaign. We are all excited about the challenges and the opportunities ahead of us and we look forward to a highly successful season.”

Here’s the full schedule, as announced by the league.

Losing two teams ahead of Major League Rugby’s seventh season of competition isn’t ideal. But the decision of the New York Ironworkers and Toronto Arrows to depart — coming on the heels of Rugby ATL’s relocation to Los Angeles — does not mean the end of the league, either.

Utah Warriors co-founder and CEO Kimball Kjar wrote a letter to fans of the club, and Major League Rugby, acknowledging the disheartening conclusion but pointing toward better days in the young league’s future. The letter has been republished here with permission from the club.

Warriors Nation,

My professional background is and has always been in startup companies. While they are exciting, they are also hard.

With Major League Rugby’s recent news regarding New York dissolving, and in context of Toronto’s unfortunate and saddening situation with Bill Webb’s passing, I can’t underscore enough that this is one of those “hard” moments that all startups face.

Despite the two teams’ reasons for withdrawal from the MLR being wholly separate and unique, we acknowledge that this puts a lot of lives in some very rough spots and we hope to support any and all players and staff from Toronto and New York where and however we can. We also know these teams built and were a part of two amazing rugby communities and we feel for you at this time.

All professional sports leagues face these “early days” startup challenges. The MLS, the NBA and even the juggernaut of the NFL saw growth, contraction, dissolution of teams and everything in between during their respective formative years. To think that the MLR would be any different would be foolish.

The Utah Warriors, along with the other ten amazing ownership groups and teams in the MLR, are committed to growing this amazing professional sports league in the world’s most exciting and competitive sports and entertainment market of North America.

Although today is a hard day for everyone within the New York organization as well as in Toronto, we owe it to those players and the many who have carried the standards for both these teams for these many years to remain focused on the MLR’s path ahead.

The MLR has seen so much growth and success since our inception in 2018 and we, as one of the league’s founding members, look forward to continuing to build on this growth and success for many years to come.

Go Warriors! Go MLR!

Kimball Kjar

Utah Warriors Co-Founder & CEO