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UFL Overview
The new United Football League is a United States-based spring football league that plays an outdoor CFL-style brand of football from February to July. The new UFL has fourteen (14) franchises throughout the southeast and mid-west. Although the new UFL is not associated with the previous iterations of the United Football League, the previous versions also had a storied history.
The first iteration of the UFL began operation in 1961 and continued until 1964, completing four full seasons of football. The league served eight teams, primarily based in the Midwestern United States.
After the completion of the 1964 season, league operations decided to suspend league operations. Some of the more ambitious owners of the UFL formed the new Continental Football League. The more conservative owners, who wanted to continue as a regional Midwestern bus league, broke away to form the Professional Football League of America in February 1965.
Among the league's notable feats, it became the first football league to operate teams in both the United States and Canada when it launched the Quebec Rifles in 1964, and it revived the names of the Cleveland/Canton Bulldogs and Akron Pros, two early-era NFL teams.
The United Football League (UFL) would again launch in October 2009 and play five more seasons, with the 2012 season being cut short in October 2012. The minor league, which never had more than five teams playing at once, played most of its games in markets where the National Football League (NFL) had no current presence. Unlike most alternative professional football leagues, the second installment of the UFL played all its games in the traditional fall season, competing directly with the NFL, college, and high school football.
The UFL occupied the second tier of professional football in the United States, behind the National Football League. The league primarily consisted of players who had previously played for an NFL team. Although the league had no connection with the NFL and had never intended to foster any such relationship, some speculated that it could have become a minor or "developmental" league for the NFL.
Early news reports had speculated that based on the UFL's initial plan, the league would become a "competitor" to the NFL. The UFL seemed poised to capitalize on fan disgust with the NFL should the established league lockout its players before the 2011−12 season. The thought was that the NFL would fail to reach an agreement with the NFL players' union after their collective bargaining agreement ended. This would have led to the 2011−12 NFL season being delayed or canceled, leaving the UFL the only pro football available. The NFL did lock out their players, but the situation was resolved in July 2011, before the start of the NFL season. This negated any benefits the UFL might have hoped to reap from the labor dispute.
Throughout the league's history, the Las Vegas Locomotives were:
- The most successful team.
- Winning two of the three championships.
- Appearing in (but losing) the third.
- Having a perfect record for the season at the cessation of operations.
The markets chosen for the 2009 season were New York City (Sentinels), Las Vegas (Locomotives), Orlando (Florida Tuskers), and the San Francisco Bay Area (California Redwoods).
The UFL will debut its third launch and ninth season of competition in the spring of 2023, with fourteen teams competing for a league championship.
America is the land of opportunity, and football is America's game. The new UFL will be where this opportunity and love for football meet.
With 14 franchises based throughout the U.S. South and Midwest, the UFL will provide over 300 players with a professional football opportunity.
UFL LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIPS
1961 Grand Rapids Blazers
1962 Wheeling Ironmen
1963 Wheeling Ironmen
1964 Canton Bulldogs
2009 Las Vegas Locomotives
2010 Las Vegas Locomotives
2011 Virginia Destroyers
2012 Las Vegas Locomotives
NOTABLE FORMER UFL PLAYERS
Daunte Culpepper, QB
Simeon Rice, DE
Brian Griese, QB
Jeff Garcia, QB
Ahman Green, RB
Maurice Clarett, RB
Dominic Rhodes, RB
Brooks Bollinger, QB
Odell Thurman, LB
NOTABLE FORMER COACHES
Dennis Green
Marty Schottenheimer
Jim Fassel
Jay Gruden
Ted Cottrell
