2023 USARL season | |
---|---|
League | USA Rugby League 2023 season |
Duration | June 3rd - September 14th, 2023 |
Teams | 12 |
Minor premiers | Santa Rosa Dead Pelicans (1st title) |
Champions | Santa Rosa Dead Pelicans (1st title) |
The 2023 USA Rugby League season was the 26th season overall of amateur and semi-professional rugby league competition in the United States and the 11th season under the governance of the USARL.
With the inclusion of the Pacific Coast Rugby League, the competition is now officially played on both coasts of the United States, with the winner being the first-ever coast to coast National Champion in American rugby league history. The league sees a boost in participating clubs from four in 2022 to twelve in 2023. Two more clubs will join in 2024.
Pacific Coast Conference (California Division) | ||||
Colors | Club | Founded | City (MSA) | Stadium |
---|---|---|---|---|
Los Angeles Mongrel | 2019 | Los Angeles, California | Various | |
Los Angeles Bandidos | 2022 | Los Angeles, California | Various | |
San Diego Barracudas | 2020 | San Diego, California | Various | |
Santa Rosa Dead Pelicans | 2018 | Santa Rosa, California | For Pete's Sake Field |
Pacific Coast Conference (Utah Division) | ||||
Colors | Club | Founded | City (MSA) | Stadium |
---|---|---|---|---|
Glendale Storm | 2022 | Glendale, Utah | Burgess Park | |
Herriman Roosters | 2022 | Herriman, Utah | Burgess Park | |
Provo Broncos | 2022 | Provo, Utah | Burgess Park | |
Riverton Seagulls | 2022 | Riverton, Utah | Burgess Park |
South Conference | |||||
Colors | Club | Founded | City (MSA) | Stadium | Titles (Last) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Atlanta Rhinos | 2014 | Roswell, GA | Elkins Pointe Middle School | 1 (2017) | |
Jacksonville Axemen | 2006 | Jacksonville, FL | UNF Rugby Field | 3 (2022) | |
Southwest Florida Copperheads | 2018 | Naples, FL | Paradise Coast Sports Complex | 0 (N/A) | |
Tampa Mayhem | 2014 | Tampa, FL | Hillsborough High School | 1 (2021) |
Colors | Home Team | Score | Away Team | Colors | Venue |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Los Angeles Mongrel | 22-22 | San Diego Barracudas | Van Nuys High School (Van Nuys, CA) | ||
Atlanta Rhinos | 12-42 | Tampa Mayhem | Elkins Point Middle School (Roswell, GA) |
Colors | Home Team | Score | Away Team | Colors | Venue |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Santa Rosa Dead Pelicans | 40-14 | Los Angeles Bandidos | For Pete's Sake Field (Santa Rosa, CA) | ||
San Diego Barracudas | 34-24 | Los Angeles Mongrel | Cesar Chavez Park (San Diego, CA) | ||
Jacksonville Axemen | 32-16 | Southwest Florida Copperheads | University of North Florida (Jacksonville, Florida) |
Colors | Home Team | Score | Away Team | Colors | Venue |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Atlanta Rhinos | 88-16 | Southwest Florida Copperheads | SilverBack Park (Atlanta, GA) | ||
Tampa Mayhem | 46-28 | Jacksonville Axemen | Hillsborough High School (Tampa, FL) | ||
Los Angeles Mongrel | 6-60 | Santa Rosa Dead Pelicans | Van Nuys High School (Van Nuys, CA) |
Colors | Home Team | Score | Away Team | Colors | Venue |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Herriman Roosters | 30-44 | Riverton Seagulls | Burgess Park (Alpine, UT) | ||
Glendale Storm | 22-48 | Provo Broncos | Burgess Park (Alpine, UT) |
**Due to the 2023 Western North America heat wave, matches between San Diego/Santa Rosa and Los Angeles Mongrel/Los Angeles Bandidos were declared as a NO RESULT.**
Colors | Home Team | Score | Away Team | Colors | Venue |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Riverton Seagulls | 52-44 | Glendale Storm | Burgess Park (Alpine, UT) | ||
Provo Broncos | 54-36 | Herriman Roosters | Burgess Park (Alpine, UT) | ||
Atlanta Rhinos | 26-46 | Jacksonville Axemen | SilverBack Park (Atlanta, GA) |
Colors | Home Team | Score | Away Team | Colors | Venue |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Jacksonville Axemen | 80-6 | Atlanta Rhinos | University of North Florida (Jacksonville, Florida) | ||
Tampa Mayhem | 50-10 | Southwest Florida Copperheads | Hillsborough High School (Tampa, FL) | ||
Los Angeles Bandidos | 18-60 | Santa Rosa Dead Pelicans | El Dorado Park (Long Beach, CA) | ||
Riverton Seagulls | DRAW | Provo Broncos | Burgess Park (Alpine, UT) | ||
Herriman Roosters | 84-24 | Glendale Storm | Burgess Park (Alpine, UT) |
Colors | Home Team | Score | Away Team | Colors | Venue |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Santa Rosa Dead Pelicans | 40-0 | Los Angeles Mongrel | For Pete's Sake Field (Santa Rosa, CA) | ||
Los Angeles Bandidos | 36-24 | San Diego Barracudas | Chittick Field (Long Beach, CA) | ||
Riverton Seagulls | DRAW | Herriman Roosters | Burgess Park (Alpine, UT) | ||
Provo Broncos | DRAW | Glendale Storm | Burgess Park (Alpine, UT) | ||
Tampa Mayhem | 54-18 | Atlanta Rhinos | Hillsborough High School (Tampa, FL) | ||
Southwest Florida Copperheads | 6-70 | Jacksonville Axemen | Paradise Coast Sports Complex (Naples, FL) |
Colors | Home Team | Score | Away Team | Colors | Venue |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Jacksonville Axemen | 16-12 | Tampa Mayhem | University of North Florida (Jacksonville, Florida) | ||
Santa Rosa Dead Pelicans | 40-0 | San Diego Barracudas | For Pete's Sake Field (Santa Rosa, CA) | ||
Los Angeles Mongrel | 8-28 | Los Angeles Bandidos | Van Nuys High School (Van Nuys, CA) | ||
Glendale Storm | 48-44 | Riverton Seagulls | Burgess Park (Alpine, UT) | ||
Herriman Roosters | 20-34 | Provo Broncos | Burgess Park (Alpine, UT) |
Colors | Home Team | Score | Away Team | Colors | Venue |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
San Diego Barracudas | 40-0 | Los Angeles Bandidos | Cesar Chavez Park (San Diego, CA) |
Pacific Coast Conference (California Division) [1] | |||||||||
Colors | Club | Matches Played | Wins | Draws | Losses | Points For | Points Against | Points Difference | Competition Points |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Santa Rosa Dead Pelicans (California Champion) | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 240 | 38 | +202 | 11 | |
San Diego Barracudas | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 120 | 122 | -2 | 6 | |
Los Angeles Bandidos | 6 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 96 | 172 | -76 | 5 | |
Los Angeles Mongrel | 6 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 60 | 184 | -124 | 2 |
Pacific Coast Conference (Utah Division) [2] | |||||||||
Colors | Club | Matches Played | Wins | Draws | Losses | Points For | Points Against | Points Difference | Competition Points |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Provo Broncos (Utah Champion) | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 136 | 78 | +58 | 8 | |
Riverton Seagulls | 5 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 140 | 122 | +18 | 6 | |
Herriman Roosters | 5 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 170 | 156 | +14 | 6 | |
Glendale Storm | 5 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 138 | 228 | -90 | 6 |
South Conference | |||||||||
Colors | Club | Matches Played | Wins | Draws | Losses | Points For | Points Against | Points Difference | Competition Points |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Tampa Mayhem (SOUTH #1) | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 246 | 96 | +150 | 10 | |
Jacksonville Axemen (SOUTH #2) | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 272 | 112 | +160 | 10 | |
Atlanta Rhinos | 6 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 150 | 238 | -112 | 3 | |
Southwest Florida Copperheads | 6 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 60 | 282 | -222 | 1 |
USARL South Conference Championship (August 5) | |||||
Colors | Home Team | Score | Away Team | Colors | Venue |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Tampa Mayhem (SOUTH #1) | 6-30 | Jacksonville Axemen (SOUTH #2) | Hillsborough High School |
Pacific Coast Conference Championship (California vs. Utah) (August 12) | |||||
Colors | Home Team | Score | Away Team | Colors | Venue |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Santa Rosa Dead Pelicans (California Champion) | 12-36 [3] | Provo Broncos § (Utah Champion) | For Pete's Sake Field (Santa Rosa, CA) |
(§): On August 15, 2023, the Pacific Coast Rugby League, USA Rugby League, and the Utah Rugby League Association announced that the Provo Broncos had been stripped of the PCRL championship title due to a breach of league rules during the PCRL championship game on August 12, for knowingly fielding an ineligible player. [4]
Colors | Home Team | Score | Away Team | Colors | Venue |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Jacksonville Axemen (USARL South Champions) (6–0–1) | 16-20 [5] [6] | Santa Rosa Dead Pelicans (Pacific Coast Rugby League Champions)(6–1–0) | University of North Florida |
Dignity Health Sports Park is a multi-use sports complex located on the campus of California State University, Dominguez Hills in Carson, California. The complex consists of the 27,000-seat Dignity Health Sports Park soccer stadium, the Dignity Health Sports Park tennis stadium, a track-and-field facility, and the VELO Sports Center velodrome. It is approximately 14 miles (23 km) south of downtown Los Angeles, and its primary tenant is the LA Galaxy of Major League Soccer (MLS). The main stadium was also home to the Los Angeles Wildcats of the XFL in 2020. The LA Galaxy II of MLS Next Pro play their home matches at the complex's track and field facility. For 2020 and 2021, the stadium served as the temporary home of the San Diego State Aztecs football team.
The West Coast Conference (WCC) — known as the California Basketball Association from 1952 to 1956 and then as the West Coast Athletic Conference until 1989 — is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with NCAA Division I consisting of nine member schools across the states of California, Oregon, and Washington.
The New York Knights are a semi-professional rugby league football team based in New York City. The team currently plays in the USA Rugby League. They play their home games at Pier 40 in Hudson River Park.
The American National Rugby League (AMNRL) was a rugby league organization in the United States that operated from 1997 to 2014. The country's first domestic rugby league competition, it hosted an annual league from 1998 through 2013. Throughout its existence, the AMNRL was also recognized by the Rugby League International Federation (RLIF) as the governing body for the sport in the United States, and oversaw the United States national rugby league team, the Tomahawks.
While rugby league has been played in the United States since 1954, with Australia and New Zealand playing games there on their return from the Rugby League World Cup in France, serious attempts to start the sport in the United States began only in the late 1970s. The establishment of a national team and a domestic competition in the late 20th century has seen more recent progress.
The Bucks County Sharks were a rugby league football team based in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. The team currently plays in the USA Rugby League.
The Boston Thirteens are a professional rugby league football team based in Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. The team previously played in the USA Rugby League, before turning fully professional in 2021 and becoming a founding member of the North American Rugby League.
The New Haven Warriors were a rugby league football team based in New Haven, Connecticut, U.S. They played in the American National Rugby League (AMNRL) from 2006 to 2010 and in the USA Rugby League (USARL) from 2011 to 2012 before withdrawing. They played their home games at Ken Strong Stadium in West Haven, Connecticut.
The Greater Los Angeles area is home to many professional and collegiate sports teams and has hosted many national and international sporting events. The metropolitan area has twelve major league professional teams: the Los Angeles Lakers, the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Los Angeles Rams, the Los Angeles Clippers, the Los Angeles Angels, LA Galaxy, Los Angeles FC, the Los Angeles Kings, the Los Angeles Chargers, Los Angeles Sparks, the Anaheim Ducks, the Los Angeles Knight Riders of the MLC Major League Cricket, their Minor League Cricket affiliate SoCal Lashings, and Angel City FC of the National Women's Soccer League. The Los Angeles metropolitan area is home to nine universities whose teams compete in various NCAA Division I level sports, most notably the UCLA Bruins and USC Trojans. Between them, these Los Angeles area sports teams have won a combined 105 championship titles. Los Angeles area colleges have produced upwards of 200 national championship teams.
The USA Rugby League is the national governing body for rugby league, a code of rugby football, in the United States.
The 2011 USARL season was the inaugural season of the USA Rugby League (USARL). The league was formed in January 2011 as a breakaway competition from the American National Rugby League (AMNRL). The regular season kicked off on June 4 and ended on July 30; the Jacksonville Axemen won the minor premiership with the best regular season record. The first round of playoffs were played on August 13, 2011, with the New Haven Warriors and Philadelphia Fight winning the round. The league's Grand Final took place on August 27 between the Philadelphia Fight and the New Haven Warriors. Philadelphia won 28–26, receiving their first national championship.
Division 1-A Rugby is the highest level of college rugby within the United States and is administered by USA Rugby. Division 1-A rugby is modeled after NCAA athletic competitions, with the 46 D1-A rugby schools divided into eight conferences: East, Midwest, Rocky Mountain, California, Big Ten, Red River, PAC, and Independent.
The 2012 USARL season was the second season of the USA Rugby League (USARL). The 2012 season was an 8-team competition with the addition of the Baltimore Blues and departure of the New Jersey Turnpike Titans. The season began on June 2, and ended with the Championship Final on August 25 in Boston, Massachusetts. The Jacksonville Axemen completed the USARL's first perfect season, capturing the Axemen's first USARL Championship and second minor premiership.
The 2014 USARL season was the fourth season of the USA Rugby League competition in the United States. It began on Saturday, May 31, and concluded with the Championship Final on Saturday, August 23. The Philadelphia Fight capped their first perfect season by defeating the Jacksonville Axemen 30-18 in Championship Final, claiming their third USARL Championship.
The Central Florida Warriors were a semi-professional rugby league team based in DeLand, Florida United States. They competed in the USA Rugby League (USARL) in the Southeast Rugby League Conference. They play their home games at Spec Martin Stadium.
The 2015 USA Rugby League season was the fifth season of the USA Rugby League National Premiership competition, and its first as the undisputed top-level rugby league competition in the United States. Fourteen teams competed for the USARL Championship. The season began on Saturday, May 30, and concluded with the Championship Final on Saturday, August 29, in Jacksonville, Florida. The Boston Thirteens won their first USARL Championship, defeating the Atlanta Rhinos 44-12.
The 2016 USA Rugby League season was the sixth season of the USA Rugby League National Premiership competition, and its second as the undisputed top-level rugby league competition in the United States. Fourteen teams competed for the National Championship. The season began on Saturday, June 4, and concluded with the Championship Final on Saturday, August 27, in Boston. The Philadelphia Fight won their fourth USARL Championship, defeating the Jacksonville Axemen 42-20.
The 2017 USA Rugby League season is the seventh season of the USA Rugby League National Premiership competition, and its third as the undisputed top-level rugby league competition in the United States. Twelve teams compete for the USARL Championship. The season began on Saturday, June 3, and concluded with the Championship Final on Saturday, August 26.
2022 in United States rugby league saw an eventful season, featuring developments in the governance of the sport within the United States, the split between the United States Association of Rugby League (USARL) and the North American Rugby League(NARL) in regards to the national competition, and the conduction of multiple regional leagues below these.