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Overview
In this episode of the With You! Rugby Podcast, host Jon Hinkin sits down with Alex Magleby, a member of the US Rugby Foundation Hall of Fame Class of 2026. Known throughout the rugby community simply as "Mags," Alex has spent nearly three decades shaping American rugby as a player, coach, and now co-president of Major League Rugby, and his fingerprints are on nearly every rung of the sport's development pathway in the United States.
The conversation opens unconventionally, tracing Mags' path backward from his current role running MLR through a coaching career that took him from Dartmouth's sidelines to the helm of the U.S. Sevens National Team, and further back still to his playing days earning caps at the Millennium Stadium and chasing silverware on the World Sevens Series. Along the way, Alex built systems, programs, and pipelines that didn't exist before he built them, embodying the rugby ethos of leaving things better than he found them.
Show Notes
[0:02] Introduction to the With You! Rugby Podcast and a preview of Hall of Fame Week in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, including the induction ceremony and USA Men's Test Match against Argentina.
[1:15] Jon welcomes Hall of Fame inductee Alex Magleby, reflecting on their decades-long friendship within American rugby.
[1:47] Starting the conversation out of order: how Mags landed his current role with Major League Rugby after his time as USA Rugby's national team general manager came to a close in 2018.
[4:20] Backing up to Mags' role in identifying the gap in the American rugby pathway and helping build MLR as the commercial bridge between the collegiate and international game.
[7:14] Jon reflects on what sets Mags apart: a career defined by team-first leadership rather than personal accolades.
[9:00] Growing up playing multiple sports in Salt Lake City, Utah, and falling into the legendary Highland High School rugby program under Hall of Fame coach Larry Gelwix.
[13:15] Choosing Dartmouth College, and being pulled into the rugby team within his first week on campus by an upperclassman who recognized his Highland Rugby t-shirt.
[16:49] A history lesson on rugby's roots at Dartmouth and in American college sports, including the sport's evolution into American football and its post-WWII revival via a Bermuda spring break trip.
[19:40] Mags' freshman-year team finishing fifth in the country, and touring to Wales and London to play London Irish in the early days of professional rugby.
[23:42] The unlikely phone call at a Dartmouth party that led to his first national team selection for the inaugural World Sevens Series in Paris.
[27:00] Training in Aspen, and touring to Jerusalem and Budapest Sevens against a backdrop of major world events.
[29:11] Earning his first cap for the USA against Wales at the Millennium Stadium in the fall of 1999.
[30:09] Playing in New Zealand, the pivotal call from Dartmouth pulling him into coaching, and starting a video analytics company that reshaped how he approached the game.
[34:07] Crediting mentor Coach Tom Billups, and Dartmouth's rise to CRC championship success under Mags' coaching.
[34:48] Volunteering across USA Rugby committees before working his way into scouting, selecting, and eventually coaching the Collegiate All-Americans program.
[36:38] The landmark 2011 Collegiate All-Americans tour against New Zealand Universities, and the wave of future test players it produced.
[37:37] The call from USA Rugby CEO Nigel Melville, taken mid-blizzard on a winter camping trip, offering Mags the full-time U.S. Sevens head coaching position.
[39:06] Reflecting on standout memories across every level: high school, college, club, and national team.
[39:19] Winning the plate at Hong Kong Sevens over Wales, earning his first cap in Wales, and the training grind that bonded teammates for life.
[42:01] Dartmouth's first CRC championship win, broadcast on NBC, and the strategy of "pulling from the top" to grow the American game.
[42:57] How that CRC-era talent pipeline directly fed the rise of USA Sevens standouts like Nate Ebner, Danny Barrett, and Zack Test.
[43:19] The story of recruiting Carlin Isles to rugby and building the training environment, supported by the early Golden Eagles backers, that helped launch his career.
[45:25] Coming up just short at the 2013 Rugby World Cup Sevens in Moscow after a rapid rise up the world rankings.
[46:17] Bringing the conversation full circle to Major League Rugby's current playoff push, broadcast growth, and the rising number of American-eligible players on the field.
[49:37] Closing thoughts on the honor of being nominated by his own teammates for the Hall of Fame.
Wrap Up
Jon closes the episode by celebrating Alex Magleby's remarkable and wide-ranging impact on American rugby. From a rugby-obsessed kid in Salt Lake City to a capped national team player, a builder of coaching pipelines and analytics systems, and now a leader steering Major League Rugby's growth, Mags has spent his career building the pathways that didn't exist before he built them.
The invitation is open to everyone: join the celebration on Friday, August 14th in Fort Lauderdale as Alex Magleby and the rest of the Hall of Fame Class of 2026 are officially inducted into the US Rugby Foundation Hall of Fame.
