NEWS

Dallen Stanford and Brian Vizard Set to Call Major League Rugby Action on CBS Sports Network

MLR Game of the Week on CBS Sports Network highlights opening weekend

SALT LAKE CITY (April 19, 2018) – Dallen Stanford and Brian Vizard will headline a talented pool of commentators calling MLR’s inaugural season, the league announced today. Stanford will call play-by-play while Vizard will provide color commentary for the majority of MLR Game of the Week matches on CBS Sports Network.

A Cape Town, South Africa, native, Stanford has extensive experience calling men’s and women’s USA Eagles matches as well as the HSBC Sevens World Series. Since 2012, he has appeared on ESPN, CBS Sports, FOX Soccer Plus, ABC and The Rugby Channel.

After moving to the U.S. in 2003, Stanford enjoyed a successful career with the Eagles in Rugby Sevens and captained USA Rugby at the Maccabiah Games in Sevens and 15s. Since 2011, he has been the Los Angeles program director for non-profit Play Rugby USA, which uses the unique power of rugby to empower and inspire youth, primarily from underserved communities. He also works as the sports partnership director for Friends of the British Council, a non-profit where he manages partnerships with Premiership Rugby and its corporate social responsibility plans for the U.S. market.

Vizard is a 2016 inductee into the U.S. Rugby Hall of Fame. He has called over 700 rugby matches since 1995 and has appeared on the ESPN family of networks as well as FOX and FOX Sports 1.

As a player, Vizard competed for the Eagles in the 1987 Rugby World Cup and captained the 1991 Rugby World Cup team. He also took the field in the inaugural Sevens Rugby World Cup in 1993. In 2014, he won the Craig Sweeney Award, recognizing past U.S. international players who have given back to the sport. Vizard currently serves as executive director of the United States Rugby Foundation.

CBS Sports Network will televise a 13-game package including 10 MLR Games of the Week, two playoff semifinal matches on June 30 and MLR Championship on July 7.

Full list of MLR Games of the Week on CBS Sports Network:

Home Team vs. Away Team Date Time (EST) Glendale Raptors vs. Austin Elite April 21 5 p.m. Seattle Seawolves vs. Glendale Raptors April 28 10:30 p.m. San Diego Legion vs. Houston SaberCats May 4 8:30 p.m. Utah Warriors vs. Austin Elite May 11 9 p.m. NOLA Gold vs. Houston SaberCats May 19 1 p.m. Austin Elite vs. San Diego Legion May 25 9 p.m. Houston SaberCats vs. Seattle Seawolves June 2 9 p.m. Austin Elite vs. Seattle Seawolves June 8 9 p.m. Utah Warriors vs. NOLA Gold June 16 4 p.m. San Diego Legion vs. Glendale Raptors June 23 10:30 p.m.

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About MLR

MLR is a professional rugby league that will launch in April of 2018. It’s an initiative of the American rugby community, in partnership with private investors, who believe that American rugby can thrive at the highest levels: as a commercial enterprise; as an influential player on the international scene; and as a participation sport at the youth and senior level. MLR will be the pinnacle of the American rugby, and provide a rallying point for local communities, a focal point for American rugby fans, and an aspirational destination for young athletes.

Media Contact:

Major League Rugby: Jessica Kunzer, 801-647-2510, jkunzer@dragonflimedia.com