The United States Football League, or USFL, is a professional American football league. The league is scheduled to start in April 2022 with two divisions of four teams. Teams will play at Legion Field and Protective Stadium in the host city of Birmingham, Alabama. The playoffs, which will consist of the top two teams in each division, will take place at the Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton, Ohio. When is the first USFL game, and who are the teams playing in the contest?
When is the first USFL game?
- Date: Saturday, April 16
- Time: 7:30 PM ET
- Location: Protective Stadium, Birmingham, Alabama
Who is playing in the first USFL game?
The first game in the inaugural USFL 2022 season will be a matchup between the New Jersey Generals and Birmingham Stallions. This game will essentially be a home bout for the Stallions, as will be the case throughout the entire regular season.
New Jersey Generals
New Jersey is one of only two teams in the USFL that has a base state rather than a base city. They’re one of four teams in the North Division, although all of the USFL regular-season games will be played in Birmingham, Alabama.
The Generals will be led by head coach Mike Riley. He has a long, extensive coaching history at several levels. He was the head coach of Oregon State and Nebraska throughout his collegiate coaching career.
Riley also coached the San Diego Chargers from 1999 to 2001. He last acted as an offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for the Seattle Dragons in the XFL in 2020.
New Jersey enters the USFL draft with the fourth overall pick, giving them a potential edge over half of the league.
Birmingham Stallions
Birmingham is the only team in the USFL that will have home-field advantage throughout the entire regular season. All of the games will be played at two different stadiums in Birmingham, giving them an edge. With that said, they won’t have an edge in the playoffs, which will be played at a neutral site in Canton, Ohio. They’re one of the four teams in the South Division of the USFL.
Skip Holtz will act as the head coach of the Stallions. He has plenty of experience coaching at a collegiate level. He acted as the head coach of Connecticut, East Carolina, South Florida, and Louisana Tech. Holtz coached at other colleges as well, although he wasn’t the head coach in those situations. He doesn’t have any professional experience, though. Birmingham owns the sixth overall pick in the USFL draft.
How can you watch the first USFL game?
You can watch the first USFL game on FOX or NBC. It will air live at 7:30 PM ET on Saturday, April 16.