Following league departures, Utah Warriors release 16-game schedule of seventh season

HERRIMAN — After an offseason that had two teams fold, and another relocate from the southeast to the heart of the west coast, Major League Rugby announced its return for the 2024 season with a 16-game regular season and the end of divisional play.

That includes the Utah Warriors.

Utah's professional rugby franchise will play a 16-game regular season with eight home and eight away games beginning March 3 at newly relocated Los Angeles. Under the schedule format, each team will play six of the other 10 teams in the league home and away, while rotating the other four teams either home or away.

The league, which added expansion Miami Sharks in the offseason, will compete in one single table (rather than conferences or divisions) after the Toronto Arrows and New York Ironworkers opted out of the competition for at least the 2024 season. The top-eight teams will qualify for the end-of-year championship series.

New York's franchise dissolved and Toronto was forced to close up shot after the sudden passing of team owner Bill Webb. Meanwhile, Atlanta-based Rugby ATL relocated to Los Angeles, and the Sharks joined Major League Rugby as the league's 11th team with Los Angeles, New England, Washington D.C., Chicago, New Orleans, Dallas, Houston, San Diego, Utah and Seattle.

"All professional sports leagues face these 'early days' startup challenges," Warriors CEO and co-founder Kimball Kjar said in a letter to fans. "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 10 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."

After opening the season with back-to-back road games at LA and at Seattle, the Warriors open at home March 16 against the Chicago Hounds. With a roster that includes former BYU star and NFL fullback Paul Lasike and Lone Peak High alum Bailey Wilson (both captains), Utah will then travel to Old Glory D.C. and the Dallas Jackals, along with home games against the NOLA Gold and Houston Sabercats before the team's first of two bye weeks the weekend of April 20.

Utah returns from the bye week with a home game April 26 against the San Diego Legion, followed by back-to-back road trips to the New England Freejacks and New Orleans. Los Angeles makes the return trip to Utah on May 18, with three of the final five matches being played at home around a second bye the weekend of June 15.

The regular-season finale will feature the Warriors hosting the Seattle Seawolves on June 29 at Zions Bank Stadium, where Utah sold out three games in the 5,000-seat venue in 2023 under first-year head coach Greg Cooper.

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