After getting the "hard-won sanctioning of both World Rugby and USA Rugby," Professional Rugby Organization (PRO) Rugby was "officially founded in October and hustled to put the pieces together" before its season began last month, according to Tod Leonard of the SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE. PRO CEO Doug Schoninger said this year will be a "beta" season for the league. But Leonard noted there was a "reason for the urgency" this season, as the sport "will make its return to the Olympics this summer for the first time" since '24. The Rugby World Cup also is "two years from now" in S.F. The U.S. team is "among the favorites to win an Olympic medal in Brazil, and the hope of PRO Rugby is that exposure would produce a considerably larger appetite here." PRO Dir of Rugby Operations Steve Lewis said, "The credibility and interest in the game would explode." Former U.S. national team member Brian Doyle said, "It’s a real big job. If we can get through the rocky patches, it feels like it could happen. We’re here. We just need the buy-in from the rest of the U.S. We need some non-rugby traditionalists to start getting involved" (SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE, 5/15).
