Interview: George Killebrew excited about Major League Rugby, NOLA Gold season

Entering its fourth year, Major League Rugby has grown in solid fashion in the United States. Year three was rudely interrupted on the COVID-19 pandemic.

When the league began in 2018, the Nola Gold was one of the original seven franchises in the league. In 2019, the number grew to nine teams. In 2020, there were 12 teams.

This year, there are 13 teams, including north of the border in Toronto, Canada as the sport grows in the United States.

George Killebrew became the commissioner of the league in 2019 after working in the NBA with the Dallas Mavericks, working in the indoor soccer profession and at SMU.

Killebrew was my guest on All Access on 106.1 FM Monday evening. What did Killebrew know about rugby when he accepted the job?

“Not a lot,” Killebrew laughed. “I don’t think I was recruited for my rugby prowess. I think it was more about maybe my experience in the NBA and some other places. The one thing that’s missing in the sport is the commercialization of it. We are the only professional rugby league in North America.”

While football, baseball and basketball are popular and hockey and soccer have an audience, the sport of rugby has a ways to go to join its brethren in the hearts and minds of Americans.

“The sport of rugby is such that it’s a sport that is loved internationally,” Killebrew said. “It’s played in places like Australia, New Zealand, England, Ireland, France, Argentina, but it hasn’t fully taken its roots in North America and that’s what we’re trying to do with Major League Rugby.”

The Gold open their season against Old Glory DC (Washington DC) Saturday at 3 p.m. at what was formerly known as Zephyr Field and The Shrine on Airline and has now been rebranded The Gold Mine. The game will be nationally televised on Fox Sports 2.

“When the league began, we had a relationship with CBS where we did 16 matches on CBS Sports Network and then the finals on CBS in prime time,” Killebrew said. “Then we added another 17 on Fox so we’ll have a lot of our matches on FS2 but they’ve also moved five of our matches to FS1 which is an additional 20 million households.”

The championship game is August first between the winners of the East and West conferences and is expected to be televised on CBS.

While the league’s teams, including the Gold, will have a significant international player presence, the number of American players in the league is growing.

“Our number one goal is to increase rugby participation in North America but we do bring over certain international players to sprinkle within our teams,” Killebrew said. “It’s a good thing for the young American players when they play alongside somebody that has been a World Cup captain for their team.”

Moving from the original home at Archbishop Shaw High School to Metairie was a big step up for the Gold.

“The Gold Mine is my favorite stadium name in Major League Rugby,” Killebrew said. “For a team like Nola Gold, now really having their own home and making it theirs, we were sad to have to shut down after five weeks last year but every economic indicator if a sports team is successful was on the rise. We were feeling really, really good until COVID hit. We hope the momentum will carry over.”

Killebrew praised Gold owner Tim Falcon as a model owner in the league.

“They’ve really done a nice job of growing it year over year,” Killebrew said. “You’ve got to really grow it. Maybe that first year, they had 500 season ticket holders. In year two, it was 800 and then last year was 1,200. That’s how you grow a sports franchise in a challenger sport that not a lot of people know about. Tim and that staff have stuck to that game plan and that’s why they’re seeing some of the success they are seeing.”

As for the favorites entering the 2021 season, there are a few clear teams to beat.

“The Seattle Seawolves won the first two champioships in this league so they’re going to be a part of the conversation,” Killebrew said. “When we shut it down last year, we had two teams that were excelling in Toronto and San Diego. They will probably be in the hunt. Nola Gold is going to be right there as well. From a commissioner’s standpoint, I just want some parity.”

The relation of Major League Rugby to the best of the sport internationally is akin to the relation of Major League Soccer to Premier League Soccer.

“It’s a great comparison,” Killebrew said. “Major League Soccer just turned 25-years-old. We all remember when they first came to the U.S. because it was an example of the sport that wasn’t mainstream in the U.S. A lot of naysayers said it’s not going to make it here. Now you look at MLS at 25 and their expansion franchises are selling for $250 million with a commitment to build a $250 million soccer-specific stadium.”

One potential bump in the popularity of rugby in the United States could come from the biggest event in the world possibly coming to our shores.

“The World Cup of Soccer came to the U.S. before there was a professional league,” Killebrew said. “Now, we’re in the throes of bidding on the World Cup of Rugby for North America in either 2027 or 2031. If it hits in 2031, we’ll be a 14-year-old league at that point.”

For ticket information, visit www.nolagoldrugby.com.