WARRIORS ANNOUNCE CHANGES TO FRONT OFFICE

Herriman, Utah — The Utah Warriors announced today they have promoted Brandon Sparks to the role of General Manager and added two experienced individuals to the team’s front office on the marketing and corporate partnerships sides of the business with Hunter Miller and Tom Schimpf joining the Utah Warriors in those respective roles.

“I’m both excited and humble to be taking over the GM role from Kimball,” said Sparks. “His initiatives in the rugby community both locally and nationally have progressed the game of rugby for the betterment of us all. I look forward to continuing those efforts to turn Utah into the epicenter of rugby in America.”

Sparks has served as the Director of Rugby for the Warriors for the past two seasons, joining the team in 2019. Prior to joining the Utah Warriors, Sparks was the Head Coach for the University of Michigan rugby team from 2014-2019 and the founder of the Legacy Rugby Academy in Michigan. Additionally, Sparks served as the head coach of the USA Rugby AIG Women’s Collegiate All-American 7s team from 2015-2017.

“The Utah Warriors’ goal of building North America’s epicenter of rugby has always been top-of-mind when hiring our staff,” said Warriors Chairman and CEO Kimball Kjar. “We’re fortunate to have Brandon now taking the reins of our team and Pathway to us push closer to that objective. His passion for building teams and individuals is something I’ve not seen in many other rugby leaders both domestically and internationally. I’m confident in what Brandon will be able to do to help grow the Warriors into what our organization knows it can become.”

Sparks also brings with him MLR Championship experience, helping to lead the Seattle Seawolves to a Major League Rugby Championship in the league’s inaugural 2018 season as a member of the Seattle coaching staff.

In his new role of General Manager, Sparks will oversee Warriors’ player and team operations as well as talent identification and development.

In addition to the promotion of Brandon Sparks to General Manager, the Utah Warriors have announced two additions to their front office staff. The Warriors have added Hunter Miller as Marketing Manager and Tom Schimpf as Corporate Partnerships Manager.

Miller joins the Warriors after having spent time serving in a communications role with the Utah Jazz, Salt Lake City Stars and Salt Lake Bees. A recent graduate of the University of Utah, Miller returns to the Warriors after having served as media relations coordinator in the team’s inaugural 2018 season.

Schimpf joins the Warriors from Saxton/Horne Advertising, where he’s served as a key accounts manager for the last five years. Prior to his agency role Schimpf worked with the Arizona Coyotes, Utah Grizzlies, Utah Blaze in a variety of partnerships and game operations roles. Schimpf also spent four years working with the Ken Garff Automotive Group overseeing their innovative “Keys to Success” program which supported high school students goals of higher education through academic and sports excellence.

“As we continue to build out the Warriors front office we are thrilled to add two vital pieces to our staff,” said Warriors Chief Revenue Officer Tyler Howell. “Hunter brings a great energy and excitement to our marketing and promotions efforts.  He will be key in helping to build and strengthen the Warriors brand. With Tom we will be able to grow our relationships with local businesses as well as constantly improve the game day experience, further establishing Warriors games as must see events.”

ABOUT THE UTAH WARRIORS 

The Utah Warriors are a founding member of Major League Rugby and one of 12 professional rugby teams competing in the MLR. The Warriors players come from nine different countries and many have local ties to the state of Utah. The team is built upon four core values of Community, Family, Tradition and Respect. To learn about the Warriors 2021 schedule, or to purchase tickets, visit us online at www.warriorsrugby.com.