USA Rugby League

The formation of the USA Rugby League was announced on 12 January 2011. Seven teams that had previously competed in the American National Rugby League, the United States' established rugby league organization and recognized governing body for the sport, announced they were breaking with the AMNRL to form a new league. The stated reason for the split was dissatisfaction with the governance of the AMNRL; the departing teams were unhappy with the lack of club involvement in the league's decision making, and the new league was founded with the principle of including its member clubs in its administration.[2][3][4]

The departing AMNRL teams were the Boston Thirteens, the Washington, D.C. Slayers, the Fairfax Eagles, the Jacksonville Axemen, the New Haven Warriors, the Philadelphia Fight, and the Pittsburgh Vipers; they were to be joined by two new teams, the New Jersey Turnpike Titans and Kodiak Rugby from New York City. Before the season Pittsburgh and Fairfax became "developmental" teams in the new league outside of the top-tiered competition; Fairfax subsequently suspended operations.[5] The New York team was unable to find a suitable stadium in the city, and instead became the Rhode Island Rebellion.[6] One additional team, Oneida FC, joined the top-tiered competition for the 2011 season.[7]

On 13 January 2011, the USARL announced that Peter Illfield, chairman of the Philadelphia Fight, would be the league's first Chairman.[8][9] The league's first event was a rugby league nines tournament in the Philadelphia area on 28–29 May 2011. Round 1 of the regular season championship kicked off on 4 June; the Jacksonville Axemen won the minor premiership with the best regular season record. In the inaugural Grand Final on 27 August, the Philadelphia Fight defeated the New Haven Warriors to win their first ever national championship.[10]

In 2013 the USARL and AMNRL increased their focus on reunification, particularly after the United States' encouraging showing at the 2013 Rugby League World Cup. An independent commission assembled to lead negotiations, however the USARL clubs eventually pulled out. USARL commissioner Peter Illfield blamed apparent dysfunction and disorganization in the AMNRL organization for this decision. The USARL subsequently invited AMNRL clubs to join their ranks as full members and initiated a four-team expansion.[11]

In 2014, the USARL expanded to 10 teams, adding expansion squads Atlanta Rhinos, Central Florida Warriors, and Tampa Mayhem. In addition, the Northern Virginia Eagles withdrew from the AMNRL and joined the USARL.[12] To reduce operating costs, the competition was split into two conferences.[13] Meanwhile, the AMNRL suspended its 2014 season.

In 2015, the AMNRL folded, leaving the USARL as the undisputed top-level rugby league competition in the United States. Three former AMNRL clubs joined the USARL; Bucks County Sharks, Connecticut Wildcats, and New York Knights. The Delaware Black Foxes also joined as an expansion squad. For 2016, the Connecticut Wildcats left the competition and were replaced by the White Plains Wombats. Before the 2017 season, the D.C. Slayers and Bucks County Sharks left the competition, and the USARL abolished the division structure within the North Conference. Before the 2018 season, the Central Florida Warriors left the competition and were replaced by Southwest Florida Copperheads and Danny Hanson was appointed the second league Chairman. The Rhode Island Rebellion also left the competition. The New York Knights left the competition after the 2018 season.[14]

The USARL is split into two conferences, North and South. In the South Conference, teams play a double round-robin schedule of 8 games. In the North Conference, teams play a single round-robin schedule of 5 games plus an additional 3 games. Teams qualify for the playoffs based on point differential, with a win counting for 2 points, a draw for 1, a loss for 0, and a forfeit for −2. The regular season runs through May and July.

In the South Conference, the top four teams make the playoffs. The teams with the best and worst records, and the second- and third-best records, play each other in the South Conference semi-finals. The winners meet in the South Conference finals. In the North Conference, the teams with the six best records make the playoffs. The winners of the South Conference finals meet the winners of the North Conference finals in the USARL Grand Final.

Former Teams
Colors	Club	Years Active	City (MSA)	Stadium	Titles (Last)
	Baltimore Blues	2012–2014	Baltimore	0 (N/A)
	Bucks County Sharks	1997–2016	Bucks County, PA (Trenton)	Falls Township Park	0 (N/A)
	Central Florida Warriors	2014–2017	Deland, FL	Spec Martin Stadium	0 (N/A)
	Connecticut Wildcats	2003–2015	Norwalk, CT	Andrews Field	0 (N/A)
	D.C. Slayers	2003–2016	Washington, D.C.	Duke Ellington Field	0 (N/A)
	New Haven Warriors	2006–2012	West Haven, CT (New Haven)	Ken Strong Stadium	0 (N/A)
	New Jersey Turnpike Titans	2011–2012	Jersey City, NJ	Cochran Stadium	0 (N/A)
	New York Knights	1997–2018*	New York City	The Castle Pier 40	0 (N/A)
	Oneida FC	2011–2012	Cambridge, MA	Henry G. Steinbrenner Stadium	0 (N/A)
	Rhode Island Rebellion	2011–2017	Providence, RI	Marvel Field	0 (N/A)

*= On hiatus due to return in 2021.

As part of the 2011 season, a former AMNRL team, the Pittsburgh Sledgehammers, participated as a "developmental team", playing a more limited schedule while developing the club for future seasons.[7] Several other clubs have registered "developing" teams: these include the Denver Wolverines, the Los Angeles Raiders, the Orange County Outlaws, the Seattle Force and Texas Rugby League (which will field two teams, the Dallas Dragons and the Houston Hornets). Several of these are established developing teams that were previously aligned with the AMNRL; the USARL has committed to support them in their development.[18] Another team, the Utah Avalanche, were formerly affiliated as a developmental team, and participated in the 2011 USARL 9s tournament.[19]

In 2011 the Jacksonville Axemen also launched a reserve grade competition, the "Firehouse Subs" Southeastern Rugby League Championship, which acts as a feeder club system for the Axemen to further develop players. The competing teams are the Daytona Gearheads, the Jacksonville Hatchets, and the Orlando Adrenaline.[20] A fourth team, the Tampa Inferno, joined the championship in 2013.[21] From 2014–2017, Daytona and Orlando formed a joint venture Central Florida side to compete in the USARL South Conference.

New England Immortals

The New England Immortals RLFC were founded in 2010 and consisted of the top players from the 3 New England based AMNRL clubs. They played their inaugural match against the Canadian National Team, on 31 July 2010, defeating the Canadians 12–8 in a tightly contested match. After the AMNRL/USARL split in 2011, the Immortals were transferred to the USARL and became the only form of representation for USARL clubs due to the RLIF regulation that USARL-based players could not represent the Tomahawks. The Immortals took to the field for their second match since their inception, and despite putting up a hard fight, they were out classed by the more experienced Marines, losing by a score of 68–12. As of 2014, due to budgetary cuts and restructuring of the USARL competition, the Immortals have not played a match since their loss to the Royal Marines.

USA Pioneers

In 2014, the league established a touring developmental side, the USA Pioneers, to play friendly matches against foreign nations. They completed a two match tour in Jamaica in April 2014, winning their first game against a Jamaican domestic outfit, but fell short to the semi-professional Hurricanes Rugby League whilst still proving to be strong opposition for the Jamaicans.[23] The Pioneers played a friendly against a touring New Zealand Police squad the following August, losing 6–62 against very strong opposition.

Presidents Barbarians

The USARL established another team to play a second match against the New Zealand Police and to 'curtain-raise' the 2014 USARL National Championship between the Philadelphia Fight and the Jacksonville Axemen. This representative consisted of overseas-imports from Australia, New Zealand, United Kingdom and France; similar to Super League's Exiles. They were beaten by the Kiwis 16–46.