An Early Look at How the USFL Schedule is Taking Shape
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An Early Look at How the USFL Schedule is Taking Shape

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Its been a big week for the USFL in the leadup to season 2. First, it was revealed that the Pittsburgh Maulers would be updating their colors heading into 2023.

Then, the league hosted two back-to-back press conferences to announce their expansion to the north. Wednesday was first up, with Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium serving as home to the Pittsburgh Maulers and New Jersey Generals.

The following day an event was held at Ford Field where they were officially named the final hub and home to the Michigan Panthers and Philadelphia Stars.

Word on the street is that the schedule should be coming in the near future, and with these announcements we’re starting to see how it’s going to take shape early in the season.

Let’s rewind a couple months when the USFL confirmed they would be returning to Birmingham and Protective Stadium.

Included with this news was also a kickoff date. More important to the topic, it states that “the 2022 Champion Stallions will kickoff their title defense on Saturday April 15th, 2023”.

It wasn’t much longer after this came out that the USFL really shook things up by relocating the Tampa Bay Bandits to Memphis under the old Showboats moniker. Along with the location, it also mentioned that the team would be playing at home during the opening weekend.

The Showboats social media account states that kickoff in Memphis will also host games opening weekend. Keep in mind, each hub is home to two USFL franchises.

Now, let’s fast-foward to present day with the latest hub announcements from earlier this week.

When it was revealed that Tom Benson Hall of Fam Stadium would serve as one of the northern USFL hubs, the press release stated that the “Pittsburgh Maulers & New Jersey Generals to kick off first game April 23 at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium”.

The following day at Ford Field it was revealed that the first game would take place on April 30th.

These two latest hub reveals also reveal that neither location will host in the first week of the season. This leaves Birmingham and Memphis as the lone locations for opening weekend.

Knowing this, it seems to imply that none of the teams sharing hubs will be playing each other. Otherwise, you’d end up with two away teams; which I suppose could still be possible.

As a quick reminder, here’s what the full hub layout looks in 2023

North

  • Canton, OH: New Jersey Generals & Pittsburgh Maulers
  • Detroit, MI: Michigan Panthers & Philadelphia Stars

South

  • Birmingham, AL: Birmingham Stallions & New Orleans Breakers
  • Memphis, TN: Memphis Showboats & Houston Gamblers

Assuming everything above is correct, that would mean it would be a battle between the north and south to kickoff week 1. Considering that both Birmingham and Memphis are set to host games on April 16th, it would seem that each venue will host games on both days of opening weekend.

Moving to week 2, Canton host their first games on April 23rd. This happens to land on a Sunday, which would point to Birmingham and/or Memphis hosting games the day prior. Additionally, it also seems to show that Tom Benson will be hosting a double header to start things out.

In week 3 Ford Field makes its debut, and similar to Canton the first games land on a Sunday. The press release takes a bit of the guess work out of it, stating “The Panthers will open their home slate at Ford Field in one of two featured games on Sunday, April 30.”

It’s not a lot to work with, but here’s what we have so far:

Week 1

April 15

  • Protective Stadium: ? at Birmingham Stallions
  • Liberty Bowl: ? at Memphis Showboats or Houston Gamblers

April 16

See also
  • Protective Stadium: ? at New Orleans Breakers
  • Liberty Bowl: ? at Memphis Showboats or Houston Gamblers

or

April 15

  • Protective Stadium: ? at Birmingham Stallions
  • Protective Stadium: ? at New Orleans Breakers

April 16

  • Liberty Bowl: ? at Houston Gamblers
  • Liberty Bowl: ? at Memphis Showboats

Week 2

April 22

  • Protective Stadium/Liberty Bowl: ? at Birmingham Stallions or New Orleans Breakers
  • Protective Stadium/Liberty Bowl: ? at Memphis Showboats or Houston Gamblers

April 23

  • Tom Benson: ? at Pittsburgh Maulers
  • Tom Benson: ? at New Jersey Generals

Week 3

April 29

  • TBD: ? at ?
  • TBD: ? at ?

April 30

  • Ford Field: ? at Michigan Panthers
  • Ford Field: ? at Philadelphia Stars

Keep in mind, other than the items specifically called out during the events or in the press releases, nothing above has been confirmed. That being said, we’re definitely starting to see how the USFL schedule is taking shape in 2023.

Which USFL hub do you plan on attending this season? Let us know down in the comments below or join the conversation on Discord.