The United Football League had a banner day today, formally announcing their first head coach and the site of the first ever UFL game on October 8, 2009. It has long been said that start up leagues have two chances to make a good impression. The first being the day of their announcement, the second being the inaugural game. From every indication the first day should leave a positive impression on football fans.

The press conference was held at AT&T Park in San Francisco, which was also announced as the home of the new United Football League San Francisco franchise. AT&T Park will also hold the inaugural UFL game on Thursday night October 8, 2009, which will be broadcast in High Definition on Versus. League executives including Commissioner Michael Huyghue were present at the conference, as were lead investors William Hambrecht and Paul Pelosi.

During the media call following the press conference Paul Pelosi, who was introduced as the lead investor in the San Francisco franchise, said that, ““From a financial point of view this is a good opportunity. A recession is always a time of opportunity. With $30 million in equity we’re launching a four team league with affordable tickets and four great teams. We’re going to do well with the fans and with the High Def in homes. We are going to have regional TV on Fridays.”

Pelosi went on to reveal that an initial public offering is still in the cards for the UFL in year two or three, if everything goes well.

Michael Huyghue went on to say that the lead UFL investors in each market will be unveiled soon in reference to a question from a Las Vegas media outlet. He did, however, confirm the UFL will play in Sam Boyd Stadium and that they are in negotiations with CitiField in New York City for those franchises.

The four Head Coaches were introduced in the following order: Dennis Green will be the Head Coach of San Francisco, Jim Fassel will lead Las Vegas/Los Angeles, Ted Cottrell will lead New York/Hartford, and Jim Haslett will Coach the UFL Orlando squad. All four guys sounded genuinely excited about the UFL and dismissed suggestions that they would use the UFL as a stepping stone to get back into the National Football League.

Fassel would say, “The UFL has great people and great coaching. It will be a great, competitive league. People have asked me if I am doing this to get back into the NFL and, to be honest, the only time that pops into my head is when I am asked. I am excited about this opportunity.”

This answer was a theme among the inaugural slate of United Football League Coaches, with Ted Cottrell saying, “I am not looking to get back into the NFL. I want to be a United Football League Coach.”

Green and Haslett joined the chorus in expressing their excitement. Dennis Green, in particular, came back time and time again to the fact the United Football League will develop coaches and players on every level, thereby improving the level of professional football. The league will take 60 players into camp and cut 10 leaving them with a roster of 50 players. 45 will be active on game day, with 5 on the reserve squad. The minimum salary in year one will be the equal, on a weekly basis, to the NFL Practice Squad.

The coaches all said they are working on assembling staff and anticipate having them together in the near future. Jim Fassel actually mentioned that he had almost his entire staff in place, which prompted Ted Cottrell to joke that Fassel was getting an “illegal” head start on everyone else.

Dennis Green was dismissive of only having seven months to get the league together saying, “We don’t need a lot of time. We’ll be able to scout different camps, scout the NFL preseason games, get players who were cut or overlooked. The UFL training camp will be longer than the NFL one, plus we’ll all be together in Casa Grande. We are going to have talented, experienced coaching staffs who can get these teams together.”

Green also said, “My number one goal is to build a top notch UFL team here in San Francisco.”

The coaches seemed to have the competitive juices flowing and remarked on how eager they are to get out there and compete against one another on Thursday and Friday nights this fall. Thursday night will typically play home to a Versus nationally televised game, while Friday night will see a regional television broadcast with partners to be named later.

When asked about 2010, Michael Huyghue announced the United Football League has secured verbal ownership agreements with two groups, which is great news for fans who anticipate seeing the UFL for years to come. Judging from the league’s plan in year one, a reasonable guess would be Hartford and Los Angeles contain those two commitments, but Huyghue declined to officially state the two cities. He also said their intentions are to add at least two, preferably four teams for 2010.

The media call portrayed the coaches and executives as excited about kickoff. As Ted Cottrell said, “We are all excited about the UFL, you should be able to tell by our voices. The UFL gave me a chance to fulfill my dream to be a Head Coach.”

That enthusiasm was evident throughout. Now the league has seven months to translate that enthusiasm to the fans in the host markets and to find players as talented and invested in the UFL as the coaches. Should they do that then the UFL’s second opportunity to capture a good impression with the fans should go as well as their announcement today.

Stay tuned to UFL Access and the official site for more regarding the league’s launch.