The newly-created United Football League (UFL) kicks off its inaugural season this weekend (March 30-31) with all eight teams in action.
The UFL is a professional league that is the result of a merger between the XFL and USFL. Both leagues played in the spring and early summer last year.
Our primary NFLA interest in this new league is focused on the large number of job opportunities that it provides to our Alumni brothers. That includes coaching positions as well as roster spots for young former NFL players, who were cut after just a couple of years on NFL active rosters or practice squads. The UFL will have 50-man rosters.
“One of our goals is to provide a showcase for these young players,” says Daryl (Moose) Johnston, the UFL’s Executive Vice-President of Football Operations. “It’s an opportunity to change a young man’s life in the same way football improved many of our lives years ago.”
The UFL will have wide television and radio coverage. All games will be televised on either Fox, ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, or FX1. In addition, all games will air nationwide on SiriusXM radio.
The UFL teams are aligned into two conferences: one group includes the Birmingham Stallions, Houston Roughnecks, Memphis Showboats, and Michigan Panthers. The other conference has the Arlington Renegades, D.C. Defenders, San Antonio Brahmas, and St. Louis Battlehawks.
NFL alumni, who will be on the coaching sidelines this UFL season, include:
- St. Louis Battlehawks Head Coach Anthony Becht (who played tight end in the NFL from 2000-2011)
- D.C. Defenders Head Coach Reggie Barlow (NFL player 1996-2003)
- Memphis Showboats Defensive Coordinator Carnell Lake (NFL player 1989-2001)
- Arlington Renegades Offensive Coordinator Chuck Long (NFL player 1986-94)
- San Antonio Brahmas Offensive Line Coach Andre Gurode (NFL player 2002-13)
- Michigan Panthers Defensive Backs Coach Brock Marion (NFL player 1993-2004)
We at NFL Alumni continue to support our brothers who have selected coaching as a career on the professional, collegiate or high school level. Good luck to all the coaches and players in the new UFL!
