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Why not check out United Football League (2009–2012)
The United Football League (UFL) is a professional American football high-level minor league which started play in March 2024. It was created following the merger of the latest incarnations of the XFL and United States Football League (USFL). It consists of six teams, all of which were members of the XFL or USFL prior to the UFL's creation, concentrated in the Midwest and Southern United States.
Each team plays a ten-game schedule with no bye weeks, playing two games against each conference rival (one home and one away) and one game against each team in the other conference.
2027 UFL season
Since 2026, the charter members in the inaugural 2024 season which continue to play in the league are St. Louis Battlehawks, DC Defenders, and Dallas Renegades, all of which came from the XFL, and three expansion teams Columbus Aviators, Louisville Kings, and Orlando Storm. None of the remaining USFL teams (Birmingham Stallions and Houston Gamblers) have survived.
Birmingham were looking to move from Protective Stadium, where they were playing lease free, and chose Hoover Metropolitan Stadium but this was rejected by the city and one of the reasons why Birmingham were dropped from the league. Houston had instability from annual stadium changes and the substitution of the successful XFL Roughnecks with the Gamblers as well as consistently having attendance among the UFL's worst attendance despite moving from the larger Rice Stadium and TDECU Stadium to the smaller Shell Energy Stadium in 2026.
Despite the recent changes experienced by the league, interest from potential expansion cities remains stronger than expected and that investor Mike Repole announced that he has moved the league's expansion timetable up so that in addition to the two replacements for Birmingham and Houston, and the additions of Oklahoma City and the undecided tenth team in 2028, the 11th and 12th franchises could be added as soon as the 2029 season instead of 2030.
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Archive
This is a an historical archive of the league logo used since 2024.
2026
2024League History
Since its formation, the UFL has expanded through new franchises, realignments, and structural changes that shaped the modern 6‑team league, due recent . These developments include new expansion clubs, teams joining from former leagues, and divisional adjustments over time.
| Years | Teams Added |
|---|---|
| 2024-2025 | 8 | Arlington Renegades (XFL) Birmingham Stallions (USFL) DC Defenders (XFL) Houston Roughnecks (USFL) (R) Memphis Showboats (USFL) Michigan Panthers (USFL) San Antonio Brahmas (XFL) St. Louis Battlehawks (XFL) |
| 2026 | |
| 8 | Arlington Renegades › Dallas Renegades Houston Roughnecks › Houston Gamblers |
Columbus Aviators (E) Louisville Kings (E) Orlando Storm (E) |
|
Memphis Showboats (D) Michigan Panthers (D) San Antonio Brahmas (D) |
|
| 2027- | |
| 6 | Birmingham Stallions (D) Houston Gamblers (D) |
(D) - Defunct
(E) - Expansion
(R) - Relocation
(R) Houston Gamblers operated under the identity of the Houston Roughnecks (2024-2025) but shared no other commonalities with that team.
Recent changes
These are the changes for the 2027 UFL season:
| Team | Division in 2026 | Division in 2027 |
|---|---|---|
| Birmingham Stallions | UFL Division | Folded |
| Houston Gamblers | UFL Division | Folded |