Building the Epicenter of Rugby is a Marathon, NOT a Sprint

Utah Warriors 2022 Mid-Season Report

Building the Epicenter of Rugby is a Marathon, NOT a Sprint

?Dear Warriors Nation,

As we reach the midway point of the 2022 season I wanted to offer our “state of the Warriors” update for all of our amazing fans and partners.

At the Utah Warriors, our goal is to enrich the families and the communities of Utah by building the “North American Epicenter of Rugby” using the Warriors’ Core Values of “Community, Family, Tradition, and Respect” to drive all of our on and off the field planning.

In the long term, the Warriors’ goal is to be the leader both on and off the field not only in the MLR but to set the standard for professionalism in rugby, in the US, and overseas.

These are lofty goals, no doubt. But with the strength and foundation of Utah’s amazing sports and rugby communities, we are excited to work towards these aims.

Presently, the Utah Warriors are leading Major League Rugby (MLR) in attendance and our media partnerships with TV, radio, and online platforms are delivering an unprecedented level of access to the Warriors and the amazing game of rugby.

Our corporate partnerships are the class of the MLR with some of Utah's best companies working with our organization, like Intermountain Healthcare, which has been with the Warriors since day one and presently serves as our title sponsor. With all fifteen Warriors XV corporate memberships now sold out for the first time in our history, Utah companies are starting to realize that partnering with the Warriors delivers significant value in ways not possible with other local professional or collegiate sports partnerships.

While the team’s record is 2-6 for the 2022 season, our internal data and tracking is showing that our Warriors players are performing individually in the top tier of the MLR. As such, we’re seeing elite performers playing for the Warriors, but we’ve unfortunately not seen that talent put it all together on the field as a whole...yet. We love this team and we love these players!

And the Warriors Pathway continues to produce results with local star Tomasi Tonga breaking through this season after progressing from the Herriman High School program, through our minor league team the Utah Selects, and now with the Warriors. Tomasi and many others like him in our Pathway have a bright future!

Not to mention the tireless work of our Jr. Warriors Manager Ashlee Byrge, who has through her efforts helped kick-start the Jr. Warriors/Utah Youth Rugby touch rugby league partnership and between the Jr. Warriors with her other initiatives in schools, at home game clinics, and many more settings, we are on track to introduce over 5,000+ kids to the sport of rugby and the Warriors brand before the year's end. These numbers will exponentially grow from there!

In other words, the Utah Warriors are tracking well on and off the field against our short and long-term objectives and it’s our daily effort of continuing to build, innovate and grow.

In fact, we have a series of signs inside each of the Warriors HQ offices that ask, “What have you done today to build the epicenter of North American rugby?” It’s a constant reminder that our daily efforts, though seemingly small at times, add up to something truly paradigm-shifting.

Despite these positive trends, there is the somber change we recently made by releasing Shawn Pittman from his role as head coach.

We thoroughly respect and admire Shawn and what he and his family have done for this organization over the three seasons he’s been with the Warriors. The Warriors’ decision to adjust course when we did is not solely based on a 2-6 record in 2022 but is much more broadly focused on our staunch commitment to the organization’s stated goals.

You can't build the epicenter of North American rugby without being laser-focused on always doing what is best for our players and the members of Warriors Nation.

As such, we are constantly looking for ways to grow, improve and challenge ourselves to be the best in the MLR and beyond. We certainly welcome your feedback and input on what we can do to improve.?

We look forward to a bright future for both the MLR and the Warriors and we look forward to having you work with us on this amazing ride!

Go Warriors!

Kimball Kjar, Co-Founder & CEO