Utah United Academy to bring USL League Two franchise to Utah County in 2024
Utah United Academy to bring USL League Two franchise to Utah County in 2024
Utah United Academy and the United Soccer League announced Tuesday that a new club based in Utah County will begin play in the USL League Two in 2024.
Utah United Academy, co-founded and run by Salt Lake Community College head coach Mark Davis, announced Tuesday that it was partnering with USL League Two to bring a new pre-professional soccer club to Utah County. The new team, whose club name, badge and venue will be announced in the coming weeks, will begin play in USL2 in 2024.
The club is co-owned by Utah County-based businessman Vess Pearson, the CEO and co-founder of Aptive Environmental whose $414 million pest control company also has major accounts with Real Salt Lake and the Utah Jazz, among others.
Below is the team’s full news release:
USL League Two expands to Utah County through partnership with Utah United Academy
UTAH COUNTY, Utah — Utah United Academy and the United Soccer League announced Tuesday that a new club based in Utah County will begin play in the USL League Two in 2024.
The club will be run by officials from United Academy, including technical director Mark Davis and director of coaching Travis Hill.
The official team name, branding and venue for its 2024 home matches will be announced in the coming weeks.
United Academy hopes that the new team will build the Beautiful Game in Utah County by providing a pathway for player development from the youth to the pre-professional level, and beyond.
“It is great if we have all of our young people playing the beautiful game but ultimately it doesn’t mean much if they don’t have places to play and to compete,” said Hill, who also co-founded the Utah-based academy along with Davis. “If there is no way for them to move from youth soccer to pre-professional, college, or a professional team, then we have done a disservice to all those young players out there who want to play at a high level and want to compete. The USL ecosystem does this, and we are proud to be a part of it.”
Added Davis: “Our mission is to compete at a high level and provide young players from the academy a vertical path to reach their dreams in the sport. We plan to recruit from across the state of Utah and across the country to compete in USL League Two.”
The club’s mission is to compete at a high level and provide young players the opportunity to ascend through the academy to fulfill their dreams, both in sport, academics and life. Priorities will include advancing homegrown talent from the U8 level to the senior team in USL League Two, giving players the best shot at a professional career.
“I’m incredibly excited to see where this club goes in our league,” said Joel Nash, USL SVP of Youth and Pre-Professional Properties. “This is going to be a club run by an ambitious group of people that I know will do an incredible job for everyone that’s a part of their organization.”
Utah has over 50,000 youth soccer players across the state, according to data from the Utah Youth Soccer Association. More than 32,000 youth soccer players in Utah compete after age 11, including 2,500 ages 18 and up — with more going on to compete in the NCAA and NJCAA and colleges and universities across the country.
With United Academy, USL League Two returns to a familiar area — one that previously hosted the BYU men’s soccer team that played in USL League Two (then the Premier Development League) from 2003-2017, when it rejoined the collegiate club ranks.
The yet-unnamed Utah County team will compete in the Mountain Division of USL League Two, which currently comprises seven teams in Utah Red Wolves SC, Salt City SC, New Mexico United U23, Boulder County United, Flatirons Rush and Colorado International Soccer Academy (CISA).
Club officials plan to recruit from across the state of Utah, drawing on the connections of Davis, who has helmed the men’s soccer program at Salt Lake Community College for the past six years.
In that time, Davis has led the Bruins to outstanding heights, including the National Junior College Athletic Association national championship in 2021, a run made concurrently by the SLCC women’s program to the NJCAA national championship, as well.
A season later, the Bruins were ranked the No. 1 team in the country en route to a 19-1 record and a berth in the NJCAA semifinals, in addition to a Scenic West Athletic Conference, Region 18 and Western District titles.
A native of West Jordan, Utah, Davis was a four-year varsity standout at Copper Hills High School before helping Iowa Western to a conference championship in 2009 and finishing his collegiate career at BYU-Hawaii.
Following his playing days, Davis coached the Seasiders’ men’s soccer program to three-straight top-four finishes in the NCAA Division II PacWest Conference, including back-to-back-to-back winning seasons for the first time in program history.
He was also the head coach of Real Salt Lake Women from 2015-16, earning UWS West Coach of the Year in 2016 and helping the RSL Women win the WPSL Elite national championship in 2015.
Davis, who also has a master’s degree in coaching and athletic administration from Concordia University-Irvine, is still the all-time winningest coach in BYU-Hawaii soccer history.
ABOUT USL LEAGUE TWO
USL League Two is the leader in pre-professional soccer in North America, playing a vital role as it continues to provide an elite platform for those pursuing professional careers both domestically and internationally.
With more than 110 franchises in 16 divisions and four conferences located throughout the United States and Canada, League Two franchises continue to provide top pre-professional players the opportunity to train and compete at the highest level while maintaining collegiate eligibility. Team ownership comes from the likes of MLS and USL franchises as well as leading business and sports individuals in their respective communities, making League Two the leading development platform for the game both on and off the field.
ABOUT UTAH UNITED ACADEMY
Founded in 2022 by Mark Davis and Travis Hill, Utah United Academy provides elite-level training, tactics and undivided commitment to producing the highest quality youth soccer players across the Wasatch Front. The goal of United Academy is to produce world-class soccer players that hail from Utah and encourage them to advance their careers at the NJCAA, NCAA and professional levels.
The academy currently trains at Salt Lake Community College in Taylorsville, Utah, where it is home to nearly 100 youth soccer players of various ages.
Follow Utah United Academy on X, formerly Twitter, and Instagram.