USFL Officially Announces Launch To Season In Birmingham

BIRMINGHAM, AL — It's official. The United States Football League is coming to Birmingham this spring, with the inaugural game scheduled for April 16 at Protective Stadium.

USFL officials Tuesday held a news conference to formally announce the league has reached agreements with the Birmingham Jefferson Civic Center Authority and the Birmingham Park and Recreation Board to play all 2022 regular-season games in Birmingham.

The USFL will play the majority of its games at Protective Stadium, including the league opener pitting the Birmingjam Stallions against the New Jersey Generals, with some games at historic Legion Field. The USFL's agreements also provide team practice and training facilities, office space, event staff, and other amenities to operate the league from Birmingham.

Fox Sports CEO Eric Shanks said he feels confident that the league will not only flourish, but will also become a staple in the sports world.

"We are starting a new piece of football history here," Shanks said. "We are going to put on an amazing product that all sports fans will enjoy."

The first game will be televised simultaneously by Fox Sports and NBC — the first time the competing networks have collaborated on a sports broadcast since since Super Bowl I aired on NBC and CBS January 15, 1967.

"The first game played in any new league is itself historical and having the USFL’s inaugural game simulcast by NBC and FOX makes it even more so," Shanks said. "It’s rare when two competitors can come together and see how cooperation can lead to long-term benefit, and it wouldn’t be possible without having terrific relationships with Pete, Jon Miller, and so many others at NBC Sports."

NBC Sports and FOX Sports have multi-year agreements with the USFL, which position them as the league’s official media partners, committed to carrying all 43 regular- and postseason games. While the league will release a comprehensive television schedule shortly, NBC Sports will present 22 USFL games in 2022 on NBC (9), USA Network (9), and Peacock (4), and FOX Sports.

"I consider it an honor to welcome the USFL to the Magic City," said Birmingham mayor Randall Woodfin. "This is an amazing opportunity to promote our city on a national stage, and we couldn’t be more excited to partner with this league. The USFL is not only bringing professional football to Birmingham but is committed to being a strong community partner."

About the League

The USFL will launch with eight teams split into two divisions: the Stallions, New Orleans Breakers, Houston Gamblers, and Tampa Bay Bandits in the South Division; and the Michigan Panthers, Pittsburgh Maulers, Generals, and Philadelphia Stars in the North Division.

Each team will play a 10-game schedule, followed by semifinals between the top two teams in each division and a championship game between division winners. In addition, the USFL has multi-year agreements with NBC Sports and FOX Sports, establishing both networks as official broadcast partners, with plans to nationally televise every game on either NBC, USA, Peacock, FOX, or FS1.

The USFL will hold a player selection meeting February 22-23, and training camps will open March 21. Each USFL team will carry a 38-man active roster plus a seven-man practice squad, and players will receive base compensation in addition to being eligible for victory bonuses.

League head coaches include longtime college coach Skip Holtz, who will coach the Stallions; Kirby Wilson, whose 36-year career includes 24 years as an NFL assistant, will be a head coach for the first time as he leads the Pittsburgh Maulers; former NFL and college head coach Mike Riley, who will coach the New Jersey Generals; longtime NFL assistant Todd Haley will coach the Tampa Bay Bandits; former Texas A&M coach Kevin Sumlin will lead the Houston Gamblers; and former NFL assistant Bart Andrus will be the head coach for the Philadelphia Stars.

Brian Woods, a USFL co-founder, serves as President of Football Operations, and former Dallas Cowboys standout and longtime NFL on FOX game analyst Daryl Johnston is Executive Vice President, Football Operations.

The Big Question: Will it Work?

Pro football in Birmingham has had limited success at best over the years, with leagues coming and going, not always due to the fault of Birmingham or its fans.

That long history with "off-brand pro football" was documented in former Birmingham Post-Herald sports editor Scott Adamson's book, The Home Team: My Bromance With Off-Brand Football.

Adamson was on hand at the USFL announcement Tuesday, and said this incarnation of the USFL has some hurdles to jump in order to succeed in Birmingham.

"Well, Birmingham bills itself as the ‘Football Capital of the South’ and it’ll unquestionably be the ‘Spring Football Capital of the United States’ this year with all eight USFL teams playing at Protective Stadium and Legion Field," Adamson said. "I think it’s smart to use the hub model the first year because the league will eliminate travel expenses, rental for multiple stadiums, etc. And making tickets at low as $10 is also smart."

Adamson added, "The question – and this always seems to be the question – is how long will the stakeholders be willing to lose money in order to let the league grow? Three years has become the magic window of opportunity in terms of funding, but I think it’ll take much longer for an entity like this to truly establish itself. Of course FOX owning the league certainly helps.Minor leagues seem to work everywhere but football, and you wonder who’ll finally be able to solve the riddle. It’s like a 16 seed beating a one – it finally happened in the NCAA Tournament, but you had to wonder if it ever would. Now it’s the USFL’s turn to be the 16 seed."