6 ways the Major Rugby Championship is unlike any other regional competition in America
The Major Rugby Championship (MRC) is a new domestic American competition that reportedly formed as an ad-hoc stop-gap measure to fill out the winter/spring schedule for some clubs in the Southwest.
Following my previous report that some of the clubs in the MRC are at odds with PRO Rugby, a number of people contacted me privately expressing their concern about the situation. These private conversations as well as anecdotal comments found in various media reports raised red flags and motivated me to learn more about MRC.
To my surprise, I found that number of ways that MRC is unique from other regional competitions.
1. MRC has professional teams
The MRC consists of three teams that are either professional or have publicly announced plans to become so. The Texas Griffins and Austin Huns are professional already. The Glendale Raptors appear set to become professional based on this statement made regarding their recent combine:
“With rugby growing exponentially in the United States, the Glendale Raptors are seeking to build its player pool while simultaneously offering athletes the opportunity to pursue playing contracts.”
In contrast, teams in other regional competitions such as the ARP, PRP, and Gold Cup are amateur teams/clubs typically with a paid coach and a few players receiving informal compensation such as lodging. In most cases, the players pay annual dues to the club (not the other way around).
2. MRC has TV broadcast deals and has hired media talent
The Austin Huns have announced on social media that their upcoming home games will be broadcast on television:
While details are scarce, this presumably includes their MRC home games this winter and spring. Since we are talking about TV, one can reasonably expect live coverage.
In Denver, Infinity Park is fully equipped for live coverage. In addition, for former Eagle Dallen Stanford has been hired by the City of Glendale (which operates Infinity Park) to do play-by-play for “[most of the] organized and produced matches on the domestic calendar”. Again, it is reasonable to expect that this schedule includes the Raptor’s home games in the MRC.
To my knowledge, none of the other regional competitions have anywhere near the resources needed to pull off television deals and hire professional broadcasters. For most Division 1 clubs, the best you can hope for is a poorly filmed copy of the match on YouTube published days or weeks afterwards.
3. MRC is not sanctioned by USA Rugby (but players receive CIPP benefits)
In order for a club to be eligible for a USA Rugby Championship, they must play matches in a competition sanctioned by USA Rugby. Thus, most regional competitions are recognized and sanctioned by USA Rugby including the Atlantic Rugby Premiership, Pacific Rugby Premiership (PRP), Women’s Premier League, and the Gold Cup.
According to USA Rugby Club Department Manager Mr. Erik Geib, MRC is is not sanctioned:
“The Major Rugby Championship has not requested sanctioning (neither as a professional nor amateur club competition) and is not currently a part of USA Rugby’s National Championship Series pathway.”
While MRC is not a sanctioned event it appears that the players — as members of USA Rugby—will continue to benefit from the Club and Individual Participation Program (CIPP) that provides accident and liability insurance. CIPP covers all club rugby matches under the purview of USA Rugby.
“Regarding insurance coverage, provided that everyone is in compliance with USA Rugby’s registration requirements, they are still covered by the insurance policies provided with their membership,” said Mr. Gieb.
Glendale Raptors Director of Rugby Mr. Mark Bullock expressed a similar position regarding CIPP coverage via E-mail:
“The matches are being played by clubs registered with USA Rugby and all players are CIPP registered thus meeting USAR requirements.”
4. The MRC schedule conflicts with National Club Championships, PRO Rugby, and trends in seasonality
As I’ve discussed before, there is a trend in most of the US to play fifteens in autumn with a National Championship before Christmas.
However, clubs and teams in warmer parts of the country like the southwest and California generally do not follow this trend.
Based in the southwest, the MRC has a tentative schedule that spans January though May with the final set for June 3rd. Not only does this conflict with the as-yet unpublished 2017 PRO Rugby schedule, the final is scheduled opposite USA Rugby’s expected date for the Club Rugby National Championship matches.
In contrast, the other premierships and regional competitions compete in the fall including the PRP which traditionally played in the spring but recently switched to accommodate participation in PRO Rugby.
5. Teams have joint financial obligations
With TV deals, broadcaster and referee salaries, venue fees, and the host of other shared expenses required to run a professional competition, one would expect that financial contributions would be required from all competition members.
Not surprisingly then, an internal E-mail provided to me regarding fixtures for the Glendale Raptors note that the spring schedule will be finalized “upon completion of league ratification and financial commitments.” The implication here is that members will have financial obligations to the MRC.
I invited the Austin Huns to clarify their fees for MRC participation but did not receive a reply from their Communications Manger Justin Hale.
Other regional competitions do not have such financial commitments to their competition structure per se. Teams are simply expected—at a minimum — to pay referee fees and provide a venue for all home matches.
6. MRC is trying hard to NOT be a league
As the the only person making public statements about the competition, Mr. Bullock of the Glendale Raptors appears to be the de-facto MRC chairman.
When asked about the organizational structure of MRC, Mr. Bullock had this to say:
“The [MRC] is a friendly competition organized by clubs looking for opportunities for competitive matches.”
When pressed for details, Mr. Bullock elaborated:
“They are actually friendlies because we are not playing in a league leading to a [USA Rugby] championship. In traditional USA sports they would be called non-league as we do not have a league.”
However, these matches don’t appear so friendly based on the available information.
Firstly, the internal E-mails from the Raptors (above) strongly imply that a league ratification process for MRC was in progress as early as October 2016. Although the existence of this ratification process is clear, the result of the process is not. Whatever the outcome, it’s puzzling why ratification would be needed or desired for a one-off set of friendlies.
Secondly, the tentative MRC schedule looks a lot like a home and away series between the MRC member clubs. The scheduling of semi-finals and finals is also something you see in most league structures.
So while Mr. Bullock is adamant that MRC is not a league, it sure looks and sounds like one. And I’m not the one who has noticed. The American rugby media are already speculating that MRC is a new professional league.
Comparing MRC to other competitions makes the differences very clear: ARP and PRP are clear about their status as a competitive league and are almost always looking to qualify for a USA Rugby Championship.
TL;DR (Too long, didn’t read)
Based on the information above, it is now clear to me that MRC is unlike any current regional competition in the US.
The current public image of an ad-hoc, informal set of friendlies is not consistent with what I discovered. If you look closely, MRC appears to be both well-organized and well-capitalized. In the areas of player recruitment and media coverage, they have displayed a professional and comprehensive approach.
In fact, if one were to design a club-based model for professional rugby in America, I imagine it would look a lot like the Major Rugby Championship.
