In 1983, a new project came to light in the American sports business: the United States Football League (USFL) appeared on the stage to try to compete with the mighty NFL for the football fans’ preference. Nowadays, 36years after its latest official game, the USFL is on the verge of coming back.
Since its birth, the USFL has held 3 seasons: 1983, 1984, and 1985. A total of 23 teams have participated during the existence of this football league, some of them were the result of the fusion ofsquads that were the league’s dean.
The 3 official USFL champions were the Michigan Panthers, in 1983, Philadelphia Stars, in 1984, and the Baltimore Stars, in 1985. Several of this league’s players moved to the NFL and had more than decent careers such asHerschel Walker, Jim Kelly, Doug Flutie, andSteve Young.
The details of the USFL return: teams, start date, and more
On November 22, 2021, it was officially announced the United States Football League come back to life. Eight teams split into two divisions will compete for the glory of this league. The North Division is made up oftheMichigan Panthers,New Jersey Generals,Philadelphia Stars, andPittsburgh Maulers. On the other hand, theBirmingham Stallions,Houston Gamblers,New Orleans Breakers, andTampa Bay Bandits belong to the Southern one.
The USFL’s regular seasonwill be fromApril 16 to mid-June. Then, the Play-offs will be held: Semifinals and the Championship game. Every team will have a 10 game schedule. The teams to take part in the inaugural game are the New Jersey Generals and the Birmingham Stallions.
Birmingham, Alabama will be the only site on where the eight USFL teams will play the regular season, among two venues: the Protective Stadium and the Legion Field. The Play-offs round is going to be hosted in Canton, Ohio, at the Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium.
The league’s executives will be Brian Woods , as President of Football Operations, Daryl Johnston as Executive VicepresidentFootball Operations, Mike Pereira as Head of Officiating, and Edward Hartman as Executive Vicepresident Business Operations.
The USFL teams uniforms and coaches
Birmingham Stallions /Skip Holtz
Birmingham Stallions’ Uniforms. (Twitter: @USFLStallions)
Houston Gamblers / Kevin Sumlin
Houston Gamblers’ Uniforms. (Twitter: @USFLGamblers)
Michigan Panthers / Jeff Fisher
Michigan Panthers’ Uniforms. (Twitter: @USFLPanthers)
New Orleans Breakers / Larry Fedora
New Orleans Breakers’ Uniforms. (Twitter: @USFLBreakers)
New Jersey Generals / Mike Riley
New Jersey Generals’ Uniforms. (Twitter: @USFLGenerals)
Pittsburgh Maulers / Kirby Wilson
Pittsburg Maulers’ Uniforms. (Twitter: @USFLMaulers)
Philadelphia Stars / Bart Andrus
Philadelphia Stars’ Uniforms. (Twitter: @USFLStars)
Tampa Bay Bandits / Todd Haley
Tampa Bay Bandits’ Uniforms. (Twitter: @USFLBandits)
