UFL schedule 2026: Dates, times, TV channel for every spring football game

Fans who are dreading the upcoming six-month hiatus between NFL games will be happy to know that spring football will get another season in 2026 as the NFL begins its six-month hiatus following Super Bowl 60 on February 8.

On January 22, the United States Football League (UFL) announced the schedule for the 2026 season.

advertise

The UFL is in its third year since its formation ahead of the 2024 season following the merger of the USFL and XFL. The spring football league still consists of eight teams, but three of those teams have moved for the 2026 season and others have had their names changed.

As per tradition, the UFL will have a 10-week regular season with each club playing 10 regular season games with no bye weeks. This year, however, the UFL will not be split into two conferences. Instead, eight teams will compete as a division, with the four teams with the best records advancing to the playoffs.

The 2026 UFL season will kick off on March 27 when the Louisville Kings take on the two-time UFL champion Birmingham Stallions in their first game. AJ McCarron will replace Skip Holtz in Birmingham, and the season opener will mark the former St. Louis Warhawks quarterback and Alabama legend’s first game as a professional head coach.

The Orlando Storm will also host their first game in Week 1. Anthony Becht will lead the relocated team after spending the past three seasons in charge of the Warhawks.

advertise

The final UFL relocation team, the Columbus Aviators, will host their first game in week two. As part of Fox’s “UFL Fridays” package, former Ohio State star Ted Ginn Jr., now head coach of the Pilots, will lead the team against the defending UFL champion DC Defenders.

The UFL has one Friday night game each week, but it’s also experimenting with some other weekday games. The league will have a Tuesday night game in Week 2 and several Thursday games in Weeks 4 and 6.

The UFL maintains broadcast partnerships with ESPN and Fox, so all 43 games will be televised by those networks and their sister stations. The ESPN family of networks will broadcast a total of 22 games, while Fox will have rights to the remaining 21 games.

Here’s a look at all the games for the UFL’s 2026 season and how to watch each game.

advertise

2026 UFL Schedule

(All times Eastern.)

first week

Friday, March 27

• Birmingham Stallions vs. Louisville Kings, 8 p.m., Fox

Saturday, March 28

• DC Defenders at St. Louis Warhawks, noon, ESPN

• Houston Gamblers vs. Dallas Renegades, 4 p.m., FOX

Sunday, March 29

• Columbus Aviators vs. Orlando Storm, 8 p.m., ESPN

Week 2

Friday, April 3

• DC Defenders vs. Columbus Aviators, 8 p.m., Fox

Saturday, April 4

• Louisville Kings vs. Orlando Storm, 8 p.m., ESPN

Sunday, April 5

• Birmingham Stallions vs. Houston Gamblers, noon, ESPN2

Tuesday, April 7

• St. Louis Warhawks vs. Dallas Renegades, 8 p.m., FS1

Week 3

Friday, April 10

• Louisville Kings at Orlando Storm, 8 p.m., Fox

Saturday, April 11

• Houston Gamblers vs. DC Defenders, noon, ESPN

Sunday, April 12

• Columbus Aviators vs. Dallas Renegades, noon, ABC

• Birmingham Stallions vs. St. Louis Warhawks, 3 p.m., ABC

Week 4

Thursday, April 16

• Louisville Kings vs. Houston Gamblers, 8 p.m., ESPN App

Friday, April 17

• Dallas Renegades vs. Columbus Aviators, 8 p.m., FOX

Saturday, April 18

• St. Louis Warhawks vs. DC Defenders, 12:30 p.m., ABC

• Orlando Storm vs. Birmingham Stallions, 4 p.m., Fox

Week 5

Friday, April 24

• Louisville Kings vs. Birmingham Stallions, 8 p.m., Fox

Saturday, April 25

• St. Louis Warhawks vs. Orlando Storm, 7 p.m., ESPN

Sunday, April 26

• Columbus Aviators vs. Houston Gamblers, 12 p.m., ABC

• DC Defenders vs. Dallas Renegades, 3 p.m., ABC

Week 6

Thursday, April 30

• St. Louis Warhawks vs. Louisville Kings, 8 p.m., FS1

Friday, May 1

• Houston Gamblers vs. Columbus Pilots, 8 p.m., FOX

Saturday, May 2

• Dallas Renegades vs. DC Defenders, noon, ABC

Sunday, May 3

• Birmingham Stallions vs. Orlando Storm, 4 p.m., Fox

Week 7

Friday, May 8

• Columbus Aviators vs. St. Louis Warhawks, 8 p.m., Fox

Saturday, May 9

• Louisville Kings vs. DC Defenders, 1:30 p.m., Fox

• Dallas Renegades vs. Birmingham Stallions, 8 p.m., ESPN

Sunday, May 10

• Orlando Storm vs. Houston Gamblers, 6 p.m., FS1

Week 8

Friday, May 15

• Orlando Storm vs. Dallas Renegades, 8 p.m., FOX

Saturday, May 16

• Washington Defenders vs. Louisville Kings, noon, ABC

• Houston Gamblers vs. St. Louis Warhawks, 3 p.m., ABC

Sunday, May 17

• Columbus Aviators vs. Birmingham Stallions, 1 p.m., Fox

Week 9

Friday, May 22

• DC Defenders vs. Orlando Storm, 8 p.m., Fox

Saturday, May 23

• Birmingham Stallions vs. Columbus Aviators, 3 p.m., ABC

Sunday, May 24

• Dallas Renegades vs. Louisville Kings, 4 p.m. on Fox

• St. Louis Warhawks vs. Houston Gamblers, 7 p.m., ESPN2

Week 10

Friday, May 29

• Dallas Renegades vs. St. Louis Warhawks, 8 p.m., Fox

Saturday, May 30

• Houston Gamblers vs. Birmingham Stallions, 3 p.m., ESPN2

Sunday, May 31st

• Orlando Storm vs. DC Defenders, noon, ABC

• Louisville Kings vs. Columbus Aviators, 6 p.m., Fox

UFL playoffs

Sunday, June 7

• Playoff Game 1, 3 p.m., ABC

• Playoff Game 2, 6 p.m., Fox

advertise

UFL Championship

Saturday, June 13

• UFL championship game, 3 p.m., ABC

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 2026 UFL schedule: Spring football dates, times, TV info