Football is about to undergo some big changes in 2024, and that is not limited to just the seismic shifts in college football conference realignment.
This may not be college football related, but the spring football calendar just got a bit more crowded alongside the spring football practices going on at Penn State and across the nation. On Sunday, the XFL and USFL formally announced their anticipated merger and confirmed the new season between the brand new United Football League will kick things off on March 30.
The XFL and USFL have each been professional football leagues serving as a potential path to the NFL for players out of college who didn’t latch on with an NFL roster for one reason or another or players looking to redeem themselves a bit with hopes of making it back to the NFL. A handful of former Penn State players have taken part in each spring football league over the last few years, and we will be sure to keep an eye on the UFL rosters moving forward to see if any former Nittany Lions are to be found in the newly merged league.
XFL 🫱🏼🫲🏾USFL 🟰UFL
The start of a new legacy.#UFL | #SpringFootball pic.twitter.com/tBwXNg77mZ
— XFL (@XFL2023) December 31, 2023
You have to love how the league is going to make its debut as week. The champions of each league from last season, the Birmingham Stallions of the USFL and the Arlington Renegades of the XFL, will take center stage in the first game of the year. It’s not quite like a professional wrestling title belt unification match, but we’ll take it!
The Renegades acquired the rights to former Penn State defensive star Grant Haley, most known for his return of a blocked field goal for a touchdown against Ohio State in 2016.
The full list of teams expected to play in the newly rebranded league will be confirmed on Monday during ESPN’s broadcast of College GameDay from the Rose Bowl.
Consider this the professional football equivalent of the Big Ten added four teams from the Pac-12 or the Big 12 picking the scraps of the Pac-12. Maybe Oregon State and Washington State can petition to join the UFL?
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