Saturday, July 18, 2026

Office Hours: Alex Magleby, co-founder and CEO of the New England Free Jacks

  • Magleby is bullish on rugby’s future in the U.S.
  • Even though Major League Rugby just recently expanded, there is strong demand for more teams in more cities.
New England Free Jacks

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Welcome to a new episode of Office Hours: a podcast with Front Office Sports CEO Adam White and figures from the sports industry. This season is focused on athletes, both current and retired, who have found success in business endeavors off the field.

On today’s episode, we’re joined by New England Free Jacks co-founder and CEO Alex Magleby. In October of 2018, Magleby left USA Rugby to help launch the Free Jacks as part of the inaugural season of Major League Rugby.

Building a sports organization from the ground up is never easy, and doing so in a global pandemic is borderline impossible. Despite the obstacles, Magleby is bullish on rugby’s future in the U.S., MLR’s ability to innovate, and the opportunity that lies ahead for the U.S. on the biggest stages of global rugby competition.

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Highlighted conversation points are below:

2:35 – The postponement of the Olympics and its impact on Rugby

6:00 – Planning his post-rugby playing moves

11:11 – Getting into entrepreneurship

24:26 – Launching the Free Jacks

31:43 – Rugby post-pandemic

35:48 – MLR expansion

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