Utah’s top-flight rugby team has suspended operations and informed Major League Rugby that the franchise will no longer field a team in the nation’s premier rugby organization.
The eighth-year professional Utah Warriors said the decision came after the franchise failed to secure additional ownership and funding.
Utah Warriors CEO Kimball Kjar revealed the decision in a letter to fans, a day after informing the league of the club’s decision and indefinitely suspending its operations in Herriman.
“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,” said Kjar, adding that all season ticket deposits for the upcoming season would be refunded to the team’s fans within a week.
The withdrawal is the latest gut-punch for American rugby, the country that is scheduled to host the Rugby World Cup in 2031. With the decision, Major League Rugby will be down to just six teams in 2026. Current franchises will operate in California; Seattle; Chicago; Carolina; New England; and Washington, D.C.
The Warriors were one of two original teams (with Seattle) to stay with the league since 2018. But since the New England Free Jacks defeated the Houston SaberCats at Centreville Bank Stadium in Providence, Rhode Island, this past summer, trouble has brewed constantly.
First, the New Orleans franchise, NOLA Gold, announced it was withdrawing from the league after seven years in the league. A short time later, the two teams in San Diego and Los Angeles opted to merge into a single team, called the California Legion, that would split its home games among San Diego, Los Angeles and Irvine.
“To our sponsors, thank you for supporting this vision of building Utah into North America’s epicenter of rugby,” Kjar said. “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.” Kjar also hinted that more news about the organization’s “support for the game” would come “in the coming days,” and urged supporters of the franchise to get behind that forthcoming direction.
“Although this might feel like goodbye, it’s really just a shift in our focus,” he said.