The return of the USFL will have eight teams playing in one centralized location as the league announced Tuesday that all games will be contested at two venues in Birmingham, Ala.
All teams still will have cities attached to their names, with the monikers as a throwback to the last time the league played games from 1983-85. Teams in line to compete in the USFL’s 2022 return include: Michigan Panthers, New Jersey Generals, Philadelphia Stars, Pittsburgh Maulers, Birmingham Stallions, Houston Gamblers, New Orleans Breakers and Tampa Bay Bandits. The eight teams will be split into two divisions.
All 43 games of the league’s 2022 season will be played at either Alabama-Birmingham’s Protective Stadium or the historic Legion Field.
The first game of the USFL’s new era will take place April 16 between the Generals and Stallions at Protective Stadium. The game will air on both FOX and NBC at the same time.
NBC is set to air 21 games across all its broadcast and streaming platforms, while FOX will air 23 games. Most contests will be played Saturday or Sunday, with select games on Friday or Monday.
The USFL originally lasted just three seasons but included players like Jim Kelly, Steve Young, Reggie White, Doug Williams, Sam Mills, Anthony Carter, Herschel Walker, Doug Flutie and Mike Rozier. While the new league obtained original USFL trademarks, including logos and team names, it is not associated with the previous entity.
USFL training camps are set to open March 21, with each team consisting of 38 active players and a seven-man practice squad. The 2022 regular season will run through mid-June and be followed by the playoffs.
Six of the eight head coaches already have been selected: Skip Holtz (Birmingham), Kirby Wilson (Pittsburgh), Kevin Sumlin (Houston), Mike Riley (New Jersey), Todd Haley (Tampa Bay) and Bart Andrus (Philadelphia).
–Field Level Media