UFL co-owner Mike Repole discussed why he believes the league will succeed where 40 years of spring football attempts have failed, addressing direct skepticism from Barstool Sports personalities, the ownership group’s financial backing, the stadium strategy that differentiates this league from predecessors, and the announcement of three new franchises for the 2026 season.
Repole joined the ownership group in July and outlined his vision for building the brand market by market.
Barstool’s Skeptical Take on Spring Football Success
Before Repole made his case for the UFL, Big Cat offered his candid assessment of why he expects the league to work despite his initial doubts about spring football.
“The real answer here is Dave and I think this isn’t going to work. And knowing how Mike Repole has done in his business life, he’s basically going to just stuff it in our face. In five to ten years, he’s going to resend me the email about investing in the UFL, and I’m going to be like, man, I could have had all that. So that’s why the UFL is going to work this time.”
This quote reveals that prominent sports media personalities remain skeptical about spring football as a concept but believe in Repole’s business track record enough to think he will prove doubters wrong. This is the type of audience the league needs to get in front of. Appearing on Barstool Sports and ESPN are needed to get the word out. Finally the UFL is leveraging its partnerships with FOX Sports and ESPN.
Repole Acknowledges Spring Football’s Failed History
Rather than dismissing the skepticism, Repole directly addressed the 40-year history of failed spring football leagues.
“I was on the fence. I was leaning towards not doing it. And then I listened to what you and Dave said. It made it a no-brainer for me. I make a lot of my business decisions off what you and Dave say. So valuable to me, and I’m trying to help you out. But listen, Dan, you’re not wrong. Spring football has been around for 40 years. Why hasn’t it made it?”
Repole used humor to acknowledge the legitimate concerns about investing in spring football while showing he understands the historical context. His willingness to say “you’re not wrong” demonstrates he is not ignoring past failures but believes he has identified why previous attempts did not work.
On Why Past Spring Football Leagues Failed
Repole then explained the specific operational mistake that doomed previous spring football attempts.
“Spring football has been around for 40 years. Why hasn’t it made it? I think there are a lot of reasons. One of them that I’m excited about is you can’t put the United Football League into a stadium that fits 75 to 100,000 fans. If we had hockey like that, you couldn’t sell out a 75,000-seat arena. Baseball is going to smaller stadiums, and you look at some of the markets and it looks like COVID games in certain of those stadiums, too. Ten years ago, these soccer MLS stadiums or USL stadiums didn’t exist. Now they have outdoor stadiums that fit 15 to 20,000. So when you put 15,000 in a stadium that holds 75,000, it looks like a COVID game. When you put 15,000 in a soccer stadium, it looks packed and it shows better on TV.”
Repole identified the presentation problem that plagued previous spring leagues: attendance numbers that would be respectable for a startup league appeared terrible in massive NFL stadiums. His point about soccer-specific stadiums not existing a decade ago is crucial—the infrastructure needed for spring football to look legitimate on television simply was not available until recently. This is a big shift in the thinking in the UFL front office. This makes me believe, FOX, RedBird and giving Mike the keys to the United Football League.
On the Ownership Group’s Financial Stability
Repole addressed skepticism about whether the league has the backing to survive long-term, unlike previous underfunded spring football attempts.
“The quality of football has been really good. We’re excited. We’re coming at a time from March to June when people are still looking for football. This is owned by Fox, ESPN, Red Bird Capital, myself, Dany Garcia, and Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson. So we have the financial ability to keep it going. Now we just got to build the brand and the right local markets.”
The ownership structure includes two major broadcast partners (Fox and ESPN), a major investment firm (RedBird Capital), and high-profile individual investors. This addresses the single biggest reason spring leagues fail: undercapitalization. Repole’s emphasis on “financial ability to keep it going” suggests the ownership group is prepared for losses during the growth phase, which is critical for any sports league launch. We are still unsure what level of involvement Dany Garcia, and Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson have at this point, but he did mention them both.
On the Strategy of Right Markets Plus Right Stadiums
Repole outlined his formula for success while announcing three new franchises for the 2026 season.
“We’re announcing Louisville, Columbus, and Orlando. The right market with the right stadium, I think, is the right formula. I think it can be a fun football league and really catch people’s attention March, April, May, and June.”
The three new markets—Louisville, Columbus, and Orlando—all have modern soccer stadiums and strong football cultures. Louisville has Louisville City FC’s stadium, Columbus has the historic Crew Stadium, and Orlando has Inter & Co Stadium.
Repole’s emphasis on “right market with right stadium” as a formula suggests he has specific criteria for expansion and is not just putting teams anywhere.
Summary
Mike Repole provided insight into his strategy for making the UFL the first successful spring football league in 40 years during a podcast interview with Barstool Sports personalities, which is big to get the word out.. He directly acknowledged skepticism from hosts Big Cat and Dave Portnoy while identifying the lack of appropriately sized stadiums as the key reason past leagues failed.
Repole noted that modern soccer-specific stadiums create better optics on television when drawing 15,000-20,000 fans compared to half-empty 70,000-seat NFL stadiums. He emphasized the financial backing from Fox, ESPN, Red Bird Capital, Danny Garcia, and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson gives the league staying power previous spring leagues lacked.
Repole announced three new franchises for 2026 in Louisville, Columbus, and Orlando, emphasizing the importance of matching the right markets with the right stadium infrastructure. The UFL season runs from March to June and kicks off Friday, March 27th.
Repole positioned the league as complementary to the NFL rather than competitive, aiming to serve fan demand for football content during the spring and summer months. They need more of this in the weeks and months ahead.
3 Comments
by King Bomp
“When you put 15,000 in a soccer stadium, it looks packed and it shows better on TV.”
That being said, don’t open upper levels of big stadiums until the lower level is sold out.
by King Bomp
The UFL will succeed if the league listens to their fans. Give the people what they want.
by He Hate Me
Exactly! Like go back to the old kickoff format for starters.