Who remembers the United States Football League? To be honest I've heard of it but not familiar with the defunct league.It was a short-lived professional football league that only played three seasons between 1983 and 1985. It was by far the NFL's strongest competitor since the 1960s version of the American Football League. Unfortunately the league officially folded in 1988.
Here is the official press release issued to the media announcing the plans for the New USFL:
The New United States Football League To Kick Off in February 2010
Redondo Beach, CA – August 13, 2008 – A new professional football league will launch its inaugural season February 20, 2010 as the New United States Football League (USFL), it was announced today by Michael Dwyer, founder and chairman of the new league.
The New USFL season will run from February through June and will feature a sixteen game season with no pre-season games. There will also be wild card and division playoffs leading to a new USFL Championship Game at the end of June. This schedule is designed to avoid any overlap with other major football leagues and provide fans with football excitement year round.
The league will start with 12 teams and grow to a maximum of 16 teams. Teams are currently slotted for California, Oregon, Nevada, Texas, Michigan, Alabama, Arizona, Florida, Mississippi, Utah and New York.
Tom Shapiro, USFL Commissioner and Assistant City Attorney of Santa Barbara, CA, said, “Americans love football – it’s a fact that’s been proven year after year. We’ve worked long and hard to develop a winning league concept that Americans can really buy into. In fact, 30% of each team will be sold to the public in stocks, with an additional 20% of each team held by the league. We think this will help create fan loyalty and discourage teams from moving around.”
He added that the league believes its owners will have the financial strength, personal reputation and professional accomplishments that equal any group of professional league owners in existence today. The stock sales should help generate another $40 to $50 million in capital to help ensure the success of the New United States Football League.
For more information on the new USFL, or to find out about team sponsorship opportunities, contact Michael Dwyer at 310-539-3837 or visit www.NewUSFL.com
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Click here to listen to the USFL's President & CEO, Michael Dwyer give an interview to ESPN radio.
When the original USFL started they competed with the older, more established National Football League by trying not to compete directly. The USFL played its games from March-June schedule but also having slightly different rules. The New USFL will run February to June and not compete during the NFL season.
The New USFL awards 12 states as the home of a New USFL teams. The states are:
Nevada
California (2)
Portland
Texas
Louisiana
Florida
Arkansas
New York
Michigan
Ohio
Alabama
This will be very interesting to see if two league can co-exist in today's sports industry. Let's look at it this way, if it weren't for the original USFL then we wouldn't have such marquee talent such as Herschel Walker, Craig James, Marcus Dupree, Brian Sipe, Doug Flutie, Mike Rozier, Reggie White, Jim Kelly, Steve Young and other young stars of the day.
The USFL is looking to open their office in Redondo Beach, CA.
1 comment:
The first USFL actually looked like it was going to give the NFL a run for the money, but it fizzled. It had the big name players, which I don't think the new USFL has. We'll see how it goes, but there are a lot of obstacles to overcome.
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