We’re only three weeks away from the first United Football League offseason, following the Premiere Season which should be looked at as the year that laid the foundation for the league. 11,000, or so, fans have attended the game on average with over 100,000 fans tuning in to the weekly broadcasts. Those fans set the foundation for the future, a foundation that the league will look to expand during their first offseason.
UFL Commissioner Michael Huyghue laid out the following schedule for the offseason on Inside the UFL Radio last week and while it should be looked at as tentative for now – we can expect it to resemble this time line fairly closely:
- Two UFL expansion teams announced, around the Championship Game. Frontrunners, as discussed in UFL Buzz, are thought to be Hartford and Los Angeles with Salt Lake City purported to be a dark horse possibility. We expect to hear the two teams during the week of the Championship Game or immediately following. Ownership groups in both Los Angeles and Hartford have been identified.
- UFL Combine, February. A Combine will be held in Orlando in February featuring 150, or more, players ranging from the last few dozen invited to the NFL combine and those who just missed the cut. This will offer players a chance to impress UFL brass and potentially NFL scouts.
- UFL Draft, April. Scheduled to be held a week before the NFL Draft, similar format to the NFL Draft as well. Held at this time to inject UFL talk into the NFL Draft buzz and to push the UFL into the discussion during the NFL Draft. Imagine if a 1st Round UFL Draft pick is selected in the 5th Round of the NFL Draft – it could be a discussion point after he is selected. “Will he go the UFL route to get playing time?”
- Mini-camps, May. Each UFL team will follow a more exact offseason schedule with mini-camps scheduled for May for three or four days.
- UFL Training Camp, August. Held in Casa Grande and other facilities. Teams will then decamp to their home markets, an upgrade from this year which should help build the bonds between teams and their respective cities.
- UFL kickoff, early September. I’d look to Labor Day so they get a jump on the NFL.
Along the way we will see new uniforms for each team, the nicknames for the expansion teams, player signings/cuts/trades, more corporate partners and deals to announce, etc.
Ticket sales are planned to begin MUCH earlier as the short time frame is one of the leading culprits for lower ticket sales, we should also expect ramped up marketing.
The main thing I’d like to see different is to have UFL draft a week after the NFL Draft… That way you know, in a little more “concrete” sense, who your pool is. For example, New York drafts a player, player gets a 3rd round NFL pick, NY is screwed out of the draft pick….
Will there be a UFL pre-season? What would really be great is if they could schedule a pre-season game with an NFL team.
Well, I guess the thinking with doing the UFL draft before the NFL draft is to try to “inject” the UFL name in the mix, and that UFL teams generally know where a guy will be picked, or if they will be picked in the NFL draft (i.e., doubtful a UFL team will pick anyone projected for the first 2 rounds, maybe even 3). Although, I doubt even a 5th round NFL pick that went 1st round in the UFL will pick the UFL, except for maybe a QB who has two veterans in front of him. The other thing is, my guess is you could go to the NFL team, if they decide to cut you, the drafted UFL team still holds your rights.
I get what the UFL is trying to do, I just don’t know that is will really work.
11,000 or so, on average, have attended games?
The average of their announced crowds has been 9,599. You’re pretty liberal with the notion of “or so.”
Just sayin’. It’s amazing that they’ve been able to get this thing off the ground, but don’t go exaggerating.
Um, not sure where you get your numbers but the average is 10,747 per the league and Hartford Courant and my own math.