The USFL announced the matchups for the 10-week inaugural season for the eight-team league on Monday.
Each team will face divisional rivals twice and teams in the opposite division once.
The kickoff game for Week 1 will feature the New Jersey Generals against the Birmingham Stallions at 7:30 p.m. ET on April 16. The game will be broadcast on FOX, NBC and Peacock.
The Week 1 inter-divisional matchups includes the Houston Gamblers at the Michigan Panthers, the Philadelphia Stars at the New Orleans Breakers and the Tampa Bay Bandits at the Pittsburgh Maulers. Each of the games will be played at Birmingham’s Protective Stadium, which will play host to most of the USFL’s regular-season games this year.
“Football is America’s favorite sport, so we’re proud to give fans 10 weeks of highly competitive regular-season matchups this spring,” said Daryl Johnston, USFL executive vice president of football operations. “We’re confident and ready to kick-off our inaugural season on April 16.
“Our eight teams are loaded with incredible players, and we anticipate heated rivalries to develop as the season unfolds. We purposely back-loaded divisional matchups down the stretch to make for an exciting run-up to the playoffs.”
Specific dates, start times and location are set for the first two weeks. Games will then be assigned specific dates and times on the Monday two-weeks prior beginning with Week 3.
WEEK 1 (April 16-17 at Protective Stadium)
New Jersey Generals at Birmingham Stallions (Saturday 4/16 at 7:30 p.m. ET)
Houston Gamblers at Michigan Panthers (Sunday 4/17 at 12:00 p.m. ET)
Philadelphia Stars vs. New Orleans Breakers (Sunday 4/17 at 4:00 p.m. ET)
Tampa Bay Bandits at Pittsburgh Maulers (Sunday 4/17 at 8:00 p.m. ET)
WEEK 2 (April 22-24 at Protective Stadium)
Michigan Panthers at New Jersey Generals (Friday 4/22 at 8:00 p.m. ET)
Pittsburgh Maulers at Philadelphia Stars (Saturday 4/23 at 12:00 p.m. ET)
Birmingham Stallions at Houston Gamblers (Saturday 4/23 at 7:00 p.m. ET)
New Orleans Breakers at Tampa Bay Bandits (Sunday 4/24 at 3:00 p.m. ET)
WEEK 3 (April 30-May 1)
Birmingham Stallions at New Orleans Breakers
New Jersey Generals at Philadelphia Stars
Pittsburgh Maulers at Michigan Panthers
Tampa Bay Bandits at Houston Gamblers
WEEK 4 (May 6-8)
New Jersey Generals at Pittsburgh Maulers
Houston Gamblers at New Orleans Breakers
Philadelphia Stars at Michigan Panthers
Tampa Bay Bandits at Birmingham Stallions
WEEK 5 (May 13-15)
Birmingham Stallions at Philadelphia Stars
Michigan Panthers at Tampa Bay Bandits
New Orleans Breakers at New Jersey Generals
Pittsburgh Maulers at Houston Gamblers
WEEK 6 (May 21-22)
Houston Gamblers at New Jersey Generals
Michigan Panthers at Birmingham Stallions
Pittsburgh Maulers at New Orleans Breakers
Tampa Bay Bandits at Philadelphia Stars
WEEK 7 (May 28-29)
Birmingham Stallions at Pittsburgh Maulers
New Jersey Generals at Tampa Bay Bandits
New Orleans Breakers at Michigan Panthers
Philadelphia Stars at Houston Gamblers
WEEK 8 (June 3-5)
Houston Gamblers at Tampa Bay Bandits
Michigan Panthers at Philadelphia Stars
New Orleans Breakers at Birmingham Stallions
Pittsburgh Maulers at New Jersey Generals
WEEK 9 (June 11-12)
Houston Gamblers at Birmingham Stallions
New Jersey Generals at Michigan Panthers
Philadelphia Stars at Pittsburgh Maulers
Tampa Bay Bandits at New Orleans Breakers
WEEK 10 (June 18-19)
Birmingham Stallions at Tampa Bay Bandits
Michigan Panthers at Pittsburgh Maulers
New Orleans Breakers at Houston Gamblers
Philadelphia Stars at New Jersey Generals
For those who cannot possibly get enough football (like me), don’t worry, spring and summer football is coming! With the ?@USFL? announcing its schedule today, I thought I’d take a peek ahead for the most intriguing matchups. https://t.co/yvsJ15qQNu
— Rob Rang (@RobRang) March 8, 2022
NBC is set to air 21 games across all its broadcast and streaming platforms, while FOX will air 23 games across its networks. Most contests will be played Saturday or Sunday, with select games on Friday.
The top two teams from the North and South Divisions will advance to the two semifinal games on June 25, with the first USFL Championship Game scheduled for July 3. The playoffs will be played at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium next to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio.
Training camps are set to open March 21, with each team consisting of 38 active players and a seven-man practice squad.
–Field Level Media