During Monday’s episode of The Herd with Colin Cowherd, the United States Football League (USFL) revealed its eight teams that will compete in the 2022 season. The teams will be split into two divisions. The USFL will play NFL rules with a few tweaks.
The North Division will have the Michigan Panthers, New Jersey Generals, Philadelphia Stars, and Pittsburgh Maulers.
The South Division will consist of the Houston Gamblers, Tampa Bay Bandits, Birmingham Stallions, and New Orleans Breakers.
USFL President of Football Operations Brian Woods on the eight teams said. “We’re excited to take this next major step in the development of a new USFL. These eight teams form the core of our initial league membership and will represent an exciting brand of professional football coming this spring. We look forward to the start of our inaugural season.”
The USFL’s 2022 season will begin in mid-April and run through mid-June, followed by the playoffs. All USFL games will be played in one location, reportedly in Birmingham, Alabama.
Each team will play a ten-game regular-season schedule, with each team playing each other twice in the same division and once in the other division.
The top two teams in each division will qualify for the playoffs, and a week later will be the championship game.
The USFL is owned by FOX Sports. Last week, they announced that Brian Woods, Daryl “Moose” Johnston, Mike Pereira, and Ed Hartman oversee the league.
The original USFL ran from 1983-85 and featured plenty of NFL players, coaches, and Hall of Famers Jim Kelly, Steve Young, Reggie White, George Allen, Marv Levy, Gary Zimmerman, Hershel Walker, Sam Mills, Jim Mora, Kelvin Bryant, and Sean Landeta.
The Michigan Panthers won the first USFL championship in 1983 at Mile High Stadium over the Philadelphia Stars 24-22. The Panthers played their home games at Pontiac Silverdome.
The Philadelphia Stars won the 1984 USFL championship at Tampa Stadium over the Arizona Wranglers 23-3 in front of 52,662 fans. The Stars played at Veterans Stadium and Franklin Field. When the team relocated to Baltimore in 1985, they won the championship over the Oakland Invaders at Giants Stadium 28-24 in front of 49,263 fans.
The USFL will have more announcements regarding schedules and tv networks in the coming weeks.
