Editorial: The UFL in 2009

Michael Huyghue, UFL

Two days ago, UFLAccess became the first media outlet to report the United Football League had decided to kickoff in 2009 rather than August 2008 as had been previously planned. Commissioner Huyghue, who was at the National Football League’s combine in Indianapolis, reported this information to us via email after we asked him to confirm or deny reports of a potential March 1^st announcement we had reported just the day before. Huyghue told us the league will announce six teams, six ownership groups, six stadium deals, and a national television deal towards the end of March. He also said the league might also announce coaches and general managers at that time.

We expect to speak to the commissioner in a few days to gain further details regarding this upcoming announcement.

Since then UFLAccess has gained some further information from folks who knew folks at the combine – so take these words with something of a grain of salt as this is not first hand – but we have been told that, as we reported initially, Commissioner Huyghue met with agents on Friday night at the NFL Combine and reported to them that the United Football League will hold the first draft in April of 2009 with kickoff coming in 2009 as well. We hope to find out the official kickoff date – or the tentative one at least – from the commissioner this week.

Other information that we have heard includes the fact that the $20,000,000 salary cap is still going to be in place and, according to one source, the UFL will likely begin signing targeted players as early as this fall. This fits in with what the commissioner told us when he said they intend to announce six teams for ramping up in 2008. Based upon prior reports from the league, and from our own reporting, we anticipate those six teams will likely be joined by more as we get closer to 2009. Therefore, you can expect we will have a lot of news to report over the next sixteen months.

The unfortunate impact of this news is it won’t dampen the skepticism that already exists about NFL challengers and alternatives. In fact, you can expect the league will be reported upon by most news outlets as “The United Football League, originally planned to kickoff in 2008, announced today…”. This won’t help reduce the criticism that will come from certain sources. The good news for fans of the league is that those critics and skeptics should be slowed somewhat when the official announcement finally occurs. Huyghue told me from day one – as did others involved in the effort – that the league has made it a top priority to land top notch, high profile ownership groups that will help erase doubts about this venture. We will find out if that is the truth in March but I believe that should be the case based off the names we have heard tossed around both in the media and behind the scenes.

So why the postponement? We will officially find out from Huyghue, but it is obvious the major reason is this undertaking is incredibly massive. The launching of a new football league, when done correctly, is never an easy task. I had been convinced for a long time the UFL would kickoff in August as initially expected, but it is clear various stumbling blocks came up as time progressed. One of the reasons, I have to believe, is they had only lined up six ownership groups and six stadium deals for August. It is difficult to launch a truly national league with less than eight teams if you hope to have a national imprint.

From various folks I spoke to it is clear the UFL has accomplished a lot so far behind the scenes, but they also ran into difficulties. Some communities weren’t as receptive as others, and some ownership groups fence straddled from day one. That is the reason why, in my opinion based off of what I have heard, the league will announce only six teams at the end of March – and why I believe they will be working over the coming months towards adding at least two more teams. From a fan perspective I’d love to see ten teams or more in year one, but we shall see.

In November I heard the UFL had four cities lined up and was considering announcing them in mid-December with the other four to come in January. It is clear that things moved slower than they had hoped in that arena since it is now mid-February and the league has decided to kickoff in 2009 and will now formally announce the effort in March.

When I last interviewed Commissioner Huyghue at length for UFLAccess he told me they fully intended to kickoff in 2008 unless they decided they couldn’t finish everything that needed to be done. Among other things, they are even putting new fields down in some of the stadiums. He also told me that in many areas they were ahead of where they had hoped to be, but they understood how much they had left to do. 

While we hope to flesh out more details this week with the commissioner it is clear from our conversations with him that with reportedly six teams in place, six ownership groups, and a television deal that the league is in good shape for a 2009 kickoff. It is unfortunate we won’t see an alternative to the NFL this year, but for the long time success of the league 2009 might just be the best thing for this venture. Six teams, six owners, and six management groups will promote the league in those markets with national hype likely building as things come along. The good news is rather than five months to throw everything together, the league will now have sixteen months or so to further lay the foundation for a successful venture. This should allow them to add more teams, grow the buzz, and put in place the front offices and rosters that will be needed to capture the attention of the sporting fans in each market.

It should also lead to a better product on the field, something the XFL dealt with as they threw everything together in less than a year. That would likely have been true of the United Football League, even with everything they had done behind the scenes, had they decided to begin play this August.

Many have asked me why I am confident of this venture despite the relative lack of media coverage among the mainstream media in recent months, and the simple answer is the folks that are involved in this venture. Michael Huyghue is an experienced football guy and businessman, and in our conversations he has shown himself to be  a first class individual. The UFL also has Larry Upson and other former NFL executives among the upper tier of the league. Combine that with the investors behind the league such as William Hambrecht, Tim Armstrong, and Mark Cuban, and you will understand why I am confident as things come together people will be impressed by this venture. The folks behind this effort are not interested in building a fly by night organization, which isn’t to say that the UFL will ultimately be successful – after all, stumbling blocks have already occurred – but I do believe we are watching the development of the best effort at an alternative since the United States Football League in the early 1980’s.

Hopefully we will have more concrete details to reveal as we talk in length with Michael Huyghue this week and as the formal announcement occurs in March. UFLAccess intends to be there at every step along the way from now until the UFL hits the field in 2009.

Thank you all for being here with us as we continue to build this community and news site.

Nation Hahn @ February 26, 2008