A fan asked Mike Repole when the UFL would name its two new teams. The UFL co-owner gave an outside date.
"No later than October 1st," Repole posted on X on September 1, replying to the @UflFans account. That sets a ceiling, not a set date. The announcement could come sooner. It is the first timeline attached to the two markets that will replace Birmingham and Houston in 2027. The league itself has not put out one.
Repole runs the UFL's business operations through his private equity firm, Impact Capital. He joined the ownership group in July 2025 alongside FOX, RedBird Capital Partners, ESPN, Dany Garcia and Dwayne Johnson.
What the League Has Said
The UFL announced on July 30 that it is leaving Birmingham and Houston. Two replacement markets join for 2027. The release did not name them and did not say when it would.
Repole gave one reason for Birmingham: "With Birmingham, this decision was 100% due to the wrong sized venue." Protective Stadium seats 47,100. Birmingham averaged 8,248 fans in 2026. Houston averaged 5,683, last in the league.
The same release laid out the standard for any new market: "the right market, the right sized venue, and a passionate fan base."
The league also confirmed 10 teams by 2028, with Oklahoma City as the ninth franchise, and 12 teams by 2030. The release said 2029 is possible if interest holds.
How the UFL Has Timed Past Announcements
The last round of new markets landed in the fall. The UFL announced Columbus, Louisville and Orlando on October 7, 2025. The 2026 season kicked off March 27, 2026. That is 171 days between announcement and opening night.
The same release moved Arlington to Dallas and renamed the Houston Roughnecks the Houston Gamblers, with new venues for both.
The 2027 comparison has a moving part. Repole told Spectrum News in February that the next season starts sooner.
"I can't give you the exact day, but I'll give you a Mike Repole guarantee. The season next year will start earlier than it starts this year," Repole said. He tied the change to the league's growth to 10 teams. The UFL has not released a 2027 schedule or a kickoff date.
That shortens the runway from both ends. The 2026 season ran from March 27 to the June 13 championship. If 2027 opens before late March and the markets are named on October 1, the two new teams get less setup time than Columbus, Louisville and Orlando had. Naming them ahead of October 1 gives some of that back.
Oklahoma City sits outside this comparison. The league announced OKC on April 9, 2026, but for a 2028 debut in a downtown stadium that is still under construction. That timeline tracks a building, not an open slot in next season's league. UFL President and CEO Russ Brandon said Oklahoma City had "long been one of the most glaring vacancies on the professional football map."
What Came After the Last Announcement
The October 2025 release opened season ticket deposits in Columbus, Louisville and Orlando the same day. Head coaches, uniforms and the 43-game schedule followed. The league also dropped its two-conference format for a single eight-team standings table with four playoff spots.
That is the sequence fans can expect once the 2027 markets are named.
The Markets Repole Has Named
Repole has floated candidates twice this year without confirming any.
On the Pat McAfee Show in April, he listed Austin, Salt Lake, Omaha, Albuquerque and New York City. He told McAfee the league targets 15,000 to 25,000-seat soccer stadiums: "The smaller the stadium, the easier it is to fill."
On June 13 he gave ESPN's Kevin Seifert nine markets: New England, Austin, Raleigh, Queens, New Mexico, Greenville, Charleston, Utah and Boise. In that same conversation he put the odds of keeping all eight 2026 markets at 80 percent. Six weeks later, two were gone.
We ranked all nine against the league's own venue standard on August 2. Austin and Utah were the only two with a soccer stadium in the target range that will be open in 2027.
What Is Still Open
The league has not confirmed Repole's timeline. It has not named a market, a venue or a team name. Repole's post is the only timeline on the record, and it is a ceiling rather than a scheduled announcement date.
The two 2027 slots are also not the last of it. Oklahoma City holds one of the two 2028 spots. The other has never been named.