No spring football league has been able to carve out a lasting niche as an NFL offseason alternative. The UFL is seeking to change that in its second season as a united front.
The UFL is hardly the first spring league to try to accomplish this goal. Since 2019, three leagues – the AAF, the USFL and the XFL – have all tried to gain staying power in the American sports calendar.
While the AAF folded during its inaugural year in 2019, the USFL and XFL merged into the UFL, hoping that coming together would give them a better chance to create a lasting and successful league.
Here's what to know about the UFL's brief history, as well as who owns it and what personnel each team will have in 2025.
What is the UFL?
The UFL is a spring football league that was created in 2024. The league formed after the USFL and XFL merged from two, separate eight-team leagues that competed head-to-head in the 2023 season into one eight-team league.
The UFL serves several purposes. Chiefly, it provides opportunities for players on the fringes of NFL rosters a chance to prove themselves on the field. It works to develop those players and coaches and prepare them for potential NFL opportunities, which many have received in recent seasons.
The UFL also provides an oasis for football fans by providing them with competitive games in the midst of the NFL's lengthy offseason.
Like its predecessors, the UFL operates with a 10-week regular season and a two-week postseason. The season begins on March 28 and will complete play with its championship game on June 14.
What does UFL stand for?
UFL stands for "United Football League." It was a familiar name chosen by the USFL and XFL after their merger, as another spring league with the United Football League moniker operated from 2009-12.
This iteration of the UFL has no relation to that league or the spring football league that ran from 1961-64.
Who owns the UFL?
The UFL is a joint venture between Fox Sports, RedBird Capital Partners, Dany Garcia and Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. Fox Sports, which originally invested in the USFL, owns 50% of the league; the other 50% is shared by the other three partners, according to Fox Sports' website.
Garcia and Johnson were previously co-owners of the XFL; Garcia served as the chair of the league.
UFL teams 2025
The UFL will have eight teams during the 2025 season. They are separated into two divisions, the USFL and XFL divisions, and are as follows:
USFL division
- Birmingham Stallions
- Houston Roughnecks
- Memphis Showboats
- Michigan Panthers
XFL division
- Arlington Renegades
- D.C. Defenders
- San Antonio Brahmas
- St. Louis Battlehawks
These teams are the same eight that participated in the first UFL season. There were no relocations nor was there any expansion ahead of the 2025 campaign.
The UFL is exploring expansion for future seasons, as the league's executive vice president Daryl Johnston told USA TODAY in a phone interview.
UFL coaches 2025
Seven of the UFL's eight coaches from 2024 are returning to action in 2025. The lone exception is Memphis Showboats coach Ken Whisenhunt, who replaced John DeFilippo after he spent two seasons coaching the Showboats and now-defunct New Orleans Breakers.
Here is the full list of coaches for the 2025 UFL season, as well as their records coaching in the spring:
Bob Stoops, Arlington Renegades
- Season: Fourth
- Regular-season record: 9-16
- Playoff record: 2-0
Skip Holtz, Birmingham Stallions
- Season: Fourth
- Regular-season record: 26-4
- Playoff record: 6-0
Reggie Barlow, D.C. Defenders
- Season: Third
- Regular-season record: 13-7
- Playoff record: 1-1
CJ Johnson, Houston Roughnecks
- Season: Third
- Regular-season record: 6-14
- Playoff record: 0-0
Ken Whisenhunt, Memphis Showboats
- Season: First
- Regular-season record: 0-0
- Playoff record: 0-0
Mike Nolan, Michigan Panthers
- Season: Third
- Regular-season record: 11-9
- Playoff record: 0-2
Wade Phillips, San Antonio Brahmas
- Season: Third
- Regular-season record: 14-6
- Playoff record: 1-2
Anthony Becht, St. Louis Battlehawks
- Season: Third
- Regular-season record: 14-6
- Playoff record: 0-1
UFL rosters 2025
Below are the links to the official UFL roster pages for each team for the 2025 season:
- Arlington Renegades
- Birmingham Stallions
- D.C. Defenders
- Houston Roughnecks
- Memphis Showboats
- Michigan Panthers
- San Antonio Brahmas
- St. Louis Battlehawks
UFL schedule 2025
(All times Eastern.)
Week 1
Friday, March 28
- St. Louis Battlehawks at Houston Roughnecks, 8 p.m., Fox
Saturday, March 29
- San Antonio Brahmas at Arlington Renegades, 4 p.m., Fox
Sunday, March 30
- Michigan Panthers at Memphis Showboats, 12 p.m., ESPN/ESPN+
- Birmingham Stallions at DC Defenders, 3 p.m., ESPN/ESPN+
Week 2
Friday, April 4
- Birmingham Stallions at Michigan Panthers, 8 p.m., Fox
Saturday, April 5
- Memphis Showboats at DC Defenders, 8 p.m., ABC/ESPN+
Sunday, April 6
- Houston Roughnecks at Arlington Renegades, 12 p.m., ESPN/ESPN+
- San Antonio Brahmas at St. Louis Battlehawks, 6:30 p.m., FS1
Week 3
Friday, April 11
- Arlington Renegades at Birmingham Stallions, 8 p.m., Fox
Saturday, April 12
- Houston Roughnecks at Memphis Showboats, 2:30 p.m., ESPN/ESPN+
Sunday, April 13
- San Antonio Brahmas at Michigan Panthers, Noon, ABC/ESPN+
- DC Defenders at St. Louis Battlehawks, 3 p.m., ABC/ESPN+
Week 4
Friday, April 18
- Memphis Showboats at Michigan Panthers, 8 p.m., Fox
Saturday, April 19
- St. Louis Battlehawks at Arlington Renegades, Noon, ABC/ESPN+
- Birmingham Stallions at Houston Roughnecks, 7 p.m., Fox
Sunday, April 13
- San Antonio Brahmas at DC Defenders, 5 p.m., Fox
Week 5
Friday, April 25
- Memphis Showboats at Birmingham Stallions, 8 p.m., Fox
Saturday, April 26
- Michigan Panthers at St. Louis Battlehawks, 7 p.m., ESPN/ESPN+
Sunday, April 27
- DC Defenders at Arlington Renegades, Noon, ESPN/ESPN+
- Houston Roughnecks at San Antonio Brahmas, 3 p.m., ESPN/ESPN+
Week 6
Friday, May 2
- Arlington Renegades at St. Louis Battlehawks, 8 p.m., Fox
Saturday, May 3
- Memphis Showboats at Houston Roughnecks, Noon, ABC/ESPN+
Sunday, May 4
- DC Defenders at Michigan Panthers, Noon, ESPN2/ESPN+
- San Antonio Brahmas at Birmingham Stallions, 4 p.m., Fox
Week 7
Friday, May 9
- DC Defenders at San Antonio Brahmas, 8 p.m., Fox
Saturday, May 10
- Michigan Panthers at Arlington Renegades, 1 p.m., Fox
Sunday, May 11
- Houston Roughnecks, Noon, ABC/ESPN+
- St. Louis Battlehawks at Memphis Showboats, 3 p.m., ESPN/ESPN+
Week 8
Friday, May 16
- Memphis Showboats at San Antonio Brahmas, 8 p.m., Fox
Saturday, May 17
- Michigan Panthers at Houston Roughnecks, 1 p.m., Fox
- Birmingham Stallions at St. Louis Battlehawks, 1 p.m., Fox
Sunday, May 18
- Arlington Renegades at DC Defenders, Noon, ABC/ESPN+
Week 9
Friday, May 16
- San Antonio Brahmas at St. Louis Battlehawks, 8 p.m., Fox
Saturday, May 17
- Arlington Renegades at Memphis Showboats, Noon, ABC/ESPN+
- Michigan Panthers at Birmingham Stallions, 3 p.m., ABC/ESPN+
Sunday, May 18
- DC Defenders at Houston Roughnecks, 4 p.m., Fox
Week 10
Friday, May 30
- St. Louis Battlehawks at DC Defenders, 8 p.m., Fox
Saturday, May 31
- Houston Roughnecks at Michigan Panthers, 3 p.m., ESPN/ESPN+
Sunday, June 1
- Arlington Renegades at San Antonio Brahmas, Noon, ABC/ESPN+
- Birmingham Stallions at Memphis Showboats, 3 p.m., Fox
Conference championship games
Sunday, June 8
- Conference championship game No. 1, 3 p.m., ABC
- Conference championship game No. 2, 6 p.m., Fox
UFL championship game
Saturday, June 14
- USFL champion vs. XFL champion, 8 p.m., ABC
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: What is the UFL? Who owns it, teams, rosters, more to know
