Welcome back to season two of the USFL. The 2023 opening weekend will take place on Saturday, April 15, and Sunday, April 16.
Last season saw many achievements, including it being the first spring professional football league in 40 years to successfully complete a regular season, playoffs, and a championship game.
Reigning Champs
The reigning USFL champions are the Birmingham Stallions, who are once again led by head coach Skip Holtz (the former ECU Pirates head coach and the son of legendary Notre Dame and New York Jets head coach Lou Holtz). The team has a stacked roster led by former NFL running back Bo Scarbrough.
Stallions RB Bo Scarbrough (25) – Austin McAfee/Getty Images
Scarbrough was drafted by the Dallas Cowboys in the seventh round of the 2018 NFL draft after a great college career with the Alabama Crimson Tide. He won 2 out of 3 national championships there.
Scarbrough made the Birmingham Stallions roster in 2022. He carried the backfield and had a dominant game in the USFL Championship game, where the Stallions prevailed 33-30 over Case Cookus and the Philadelphia Stars.
Name Change
There is a “new” team for the 2023 edition of the USFL. It’s very hard to call this team new as they were in the original USFL that ran from 1983-1985. Please join us in re-welcoming the Memphis Showboats who are relocating from the Tampa Bay Bandits.
They will still be led by former NFL head coach Todd Haley who brings with him a great deal of experience and knowledge to his team.
How Many Teams are in the USFL?
North Division:
*Michigan Panthers
*New Jersey Generals
*Philadelphia Stars
*Pittsburgh Maulers
South Division:
*Birmingham Stallions
*Houston Gamblers
*New Orleans Breakers
*Memphis Showboats
Ford Field, Detroit, Michigan – Raj Mehta/USA Today Sports
Host Cities
There has been a notable switch in the host cities from last season when all ten regular season games were played in Birmingham, Alabama, and the playoff games took place in Canton, Ohio.
This year, The USFL is presenting four host cities, including Canton, Birmingham, Detroit, and Memphis.
Playing at Tom Benson Stadium in Canton, Ohio, for their home games will be the New Jersey Generals, led by reigning USFL Coach of the Year Mike Riley, and the Pittsburgh Maulers, led by new head coach Ray Horton.
Playing at Protective Stadium in Birmingham, Alabama, will be none other than your defending USFL Champions, Birmingham Stallions.
They are led by head coach Skip Holtz. Joining them will be the New Orleans Breakers led by new head coach John DeFilippo after former head coach Larry Fedora stepped away from the team last September.
Playing at Ford Field in Detroit will be the Michigan Panthers, led by new head coach Mike Nolan after former coach Jeff Fisher resigned. The reigning USFL runners-up, the Philadelphia Stars, led by head coach Bart Andrus will also be located there.
Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium, Memphis, Tennessee – Evan Barnes/The Commercial Appeal
Lastly, playing at Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium in Memphis, Tennessee, will be the Memphis Showboats, led by head coach Todd Haley.
The Houston Gamblers are led by new head coach Curtis Johnson after former head coach Kevin Sumlin left to take the Co-OC position at Maryland. They, too, will be joining them playing there.
General Info.
There are ten weeks in the season. Each squad will face each other with divisional opponents playing twice and squaring off against non-divisional opponents once.
When the complete ten-week season comes to an end, the best two teams from each division will face each other in two playoff games at the end of June. The winners will proceed to the USFL Championship game at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton, Ohio.
USFL Schedule/Tickets
To see the full USFL schedule and purchase tickets, please check out the link below:
