Major League Rugby

United Pickleball Association Taps Ex-Mavs Exec as Chief Revenue Officer

by | May 31, 2024
George Killebrew, a mastermind behind the Dallas Mavericks' top-tier revenue generation and former Major League Rugby Commissioner, has joined the United Pickleball Association (UPA) as chief revenue officer. The UPA, which oversees the Carvana PPA Tour and Major League Pickleball, taps into Killebrew’s 20 years of experience as one of Mark Cuban's key executives to revolutionize the fast-growing sport of pickleball.
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The Last Word: Dallas Jackals’ Rodd Newhouse on How Rugby Can Succeed in DFW
by | May 30, 2023
You'd think that Newhouse, who grew up in a football-focused home with the 12-season Dallas Cowboys fullback Robert Newhouse as his dad, would have eyes only for the NFL. But Rodd always had a thing for the sport of rugby, according to the Dallas Business Journal's David Moreno—preferring the helmet-less brawn of muscular scrums where a "try" is scored when you touch the ball down in the "in-goal" beyond the goal line. 
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Bloomberg: Dallas-Based Major League Rugby Explores Raising $100M To Fuel Growth
by | Mar 8, 2023
Dallas-based Major League Rugby is looking to raise $100 million to fuel its growth, according to a Bloomberg report. Nic Benson, the league's CEO, "is working with an advisor" on the $100 million raise, Bloomberg added. The league has 12 teams in the U.S. and Canada, including the Dallas Jackals, who had their inaugural season in 2022 and play their home games in Arlington's Chowtaw Stadium, the former home of the Texas Rangers.
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Rise of Rugby: Dallas Jackals Name New President With NHL, MLB Experience to Join Recent GM Hire
by | Aug 4, 2022
The Dallas Jackals finished their inaugural Major League Rugby season in June, finishing 0-16. (Sound familiar? The Dallas Cowboys went winless in their 1960 debut season, too.) Now the team aims to improve both on the pitch and on the balance sheet, with new front office leadership including President Steve Violetta and GM Santiago Sodini. The Cowboys became America's Team. So what might the Jackals do?

"We want to be an elite franchise not only in Major League Rugby, but in all professional sports," says Violetta.
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