What Does The Word Academy Mean to MLR?

01.16.2026Men Senior Rugby

dcog academy vs ne academy 2021 david hughes 3

Old Glory DC Academy vs Free Jacks Academy from 2021. Photo David Hughes.

Author: Alex Goff

One of the biggest pieces of confusion within Major League Rugby is the word "Academy."

A drastically misused word in American rugby (almost as much as "Elite), Academy can mean a group of young players, it can mean a program in which no one plays games but they train a lot, it can mean, basically, a Major League Rugby B-side.

In GRR's sit-down with MLR co-president Alex Magleby, we talked about academies.

"One of the aspects of the League is that it's aspirant," Magleby told GRR. "There's the High School to College to Academy to Professional track, if done well. That is inspiring. On the flip side, there are different definitions of Academy."

Really there are two models in Major League Rugby academies. They are teams for players who are very close to making the roster of a Major League Rugby team, or they are young players, often high-schoolers, who assemble and play in summer select-side tournaments.

It's possible that you could have both. Under Magleby the New England Free Jacks did that, working with regional academies for young players that was more about skill development, and then Academy teams for U18s and also for older players. The result is that 22 former Free Jacks Academy players are playing in the MLR.

But what MLR teams need to think about is what purpose an Academy team serves.

If you want to expand your MLR roster and keep players in the pipeline, then your Academy team is made up of college players and recent grads who play against tough club competition (if they can find it) or each other. These players might be on contract.

If you want to engage the community, maybe find a special local player, and build your fan base, then your Academy team is high-schoolers.

If you want to build the fan base and your brand and provide some paying coaching work for your players, then your Academy is really a youth program starting with flag rugby and moving on up.

And, really, it needs to be all of that. And, in addition, every team needs to have similar team makeups so they can play each other.

All of this will lead into our next piece, which is about building the business side of things.