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

Football fans dreading the forthcoming sixth-month layoff between NFL games that will begin after Super Bowl 60 is played on Feb. 8 will be happy to know that spring football is returning for another season in 2026.

The United Football League (UFL) announced its schedule for its 2026 season on Jan. 22.

The UFL is in its third year of existence since forming ahead of the 2024 season following the USFL and XFL merger. The spring football league is still comprised of eight teams, though three have been relocated for the 2026 campaign while others have been rebranded.

Per usual, the UFL will feature a 10-week regular season, and every club will play 10 regular-season games with no bye weeks. This year, however, the UFL will not be divided into two conferences. Instead, the eight teams will compete as one division and the four teams with the best records will advance to the playoffs.

The 2026 UFL season will kick off on March 27, when the Louisville Kings will host their inaugural game against the two-time UFL champion Birmingham Stallions. A.J. McCarron is taking over for Skip Holtz in Birmingham, and the season opener will mark the former St. Louis Battlehawks quarterback and Alabama legend's first game as a professional head coach.

The Orlando Storm is also set to host its inaugural game in Week 1. Anthony Becht will lead the relocated squad after spending the last three seasons in charge of the Battlehawks.

The final of the UFL's relocated franchises - the Columbus Aviators - will host their first game in Week 2. Former Ohio State star Ted Ginn Jr., who is now head coach of the Aviators, will lead the team into battle against the reigning UFL champion DC Defenders as part of Fox's "UFL Friday" package.

The UFL will have a Friday night game every week, but it is also experimenting with some other weekday games. The league will play a Tuesday night contest in Week 2 and also has a couple of Thursday games scheduled for Weeks 4 and 6.

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

Below is a full look at the UFL's slate of games for its 2026 season and how to watch each of them.

2026 UFL schedule

(All times Eastern.)

Week 1Friday, March 27

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

Saturday, March 28

• DC Defenders at St. Louis Battlehawks, Noon, ESPN
• Houston Gamblers at Dallas Renegades, 4 p.m., Fox

Sunday, March 29

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

Week 2Friday, April 3

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

Saturday, April 4

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

Sunday, April 5

• Birmingham Stallions at Houston Gamblers, Noon, ESPN2

Tuesday, April 7

• St. Louis Battlehawks at Dallas Renegades, 8 p.m., FS1

Week 3Friday, April 10

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

Saturday, April 11

• Houston Gamblers at DC Defenders, Noon, ESPN

Sunday, April 12

• Columbus Aviators at Dallas Renegades, Noon, ABC
• Birmingham Stallions at St. Louis Battlehawks, 3 p.m., ABC

Week 4Thursday, April 16

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

Friday, April 17

• Dallas Renegades at Columbus Aviators, 8 p.m., Fox

Saturday, April 18

• St. Louis Battlehawks at DC Defenders, 12:30 p.m., ABC
• Orlando Storm at Birmingham Stallions, 4 p.m., Fox

Week 5Friday, April 24

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

Saturday, April 25

• St. Louis Battlehawks at Orlando Storm, 7 p.m., ESPN

Sunday, April 26

• Columbus Aviators at Houston Gamblers, 12 p.m, ABC
• DC Defenders at Dallas Renegades, 3 p.m., ABC

Week 6Thursday, April 30

• St. Louis Battlehawks at Louisville Kings, 8 p.m., FS1

Friday, May 1

• Houston Gamblers at Columbus Aviators, 8 p.m., Fox

Saturday, May 2

• Dallas Renegades at DC Defenders, Noon, ABC

Sunday, May 3

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

Week 7Friday, May 8

• Columbus Aviators at St. Louis Battlehawks, 8 p.m., Fox

Saturday, May 9

• Louisville Kings at DC Defenders, 1:30 p.m., Fox
• Dallas Renegades at Birmingham Stallions, 8 p.m., ESPN

Sunday, May 10

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

Week 8Friday, May 15

• Orlando Storm at Dallas Renegades, 8 p.m., Fox

Saturday, May 16

• DC Defenders at Louisville Kings, Noon, ABC
• Houston Gamblers at St. Louis Battlehawks, 3 p.m., ABC

Sunday, May 17

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

Week 9Friday, May 22

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

Saturday, May 23

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

Sunday, May 24

• Dallas Renegades at Louisville Kings, 4 p.m. Fox
• St. Louis Battlehawks at Houston Gamblers, 7 p.m., ESPN2

Week 10Friday, May 29

• Dallas Renegades at St. Louis Battlehawks, 8 p.m., Fox

Saturday, May 30

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

Sunday, May 31

• Orlando Storm at DC Defenders, Noon, ABC
• Louisville Kings at Columbus Aviators, 6 p.m., Fox

UFL playoff gamesSunday, June 7

• Playoff game No. 1, 3 p.m., ABC
• Playoff game No. 2, 6 p.m., Fox

UFL championship gameSaturday, June 13

• UFL championship game, 3 p.m., ABC

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: UFL schedule 2026: Dates, times, TV info for spring football games