When the 2025 United Football season ended with the championship game at the Dome at America’s Center in St. Louis, Missouri, it didn’t take long for rumors to begin swirling about the future of several franchises within the league.
Mike Repole named Head of Business Operations
During the offseason, billionaire entrepreneur Mike Repole joined the ownership group and assumed the role as head of business operations. Repole, co-founder of Vitaminwater and BodyArmor, made known his desire of relocating several franchises to smaller, more TV friendly venues.
Birmingham put on Notice for poor Attendance
In addition to his desire to relocate as many teams as possible to smaller playing venues, Repole also targeted several markets that were underperforming at the gate. Among those, the Birmingham Stallions, winners of two USFL titles as well as the inaugural UFL championship, came very close to being relocated.
Birmingham Spared: For Now
After weeks of uncertainty, it was determined that the Stallions would remain in Birmingham. According to AL.com, Repole decided not to relocate the Stallions because “he viewed Birmingham as a strategic market with a deep-rooted passion for football that not yet had been fully captured by the league’s marketing efforts.”
A.J. McCarron named new Stallions Head Coach
In December of 2025, former Alabama and NFL quarterback A.J. McCarron was named to replace Skip Holtz, who stepped down as head coach after four seasons. McCarron, a Mobile, Alabama native, will be making his coaching debut, on any level, when the Stallions open the season on the road at Louisville this Saturday.
Attendance Critical for Birmingham in 2026
Despite their on field success, attendance has been an ongoing issue for Birmingham. Repole has publicly made that fact known. According to AL.com, Repole has set a goal for Birmingham to average at least 15K per game in 2026. Falling significantly lower that that number could spell trouble for Birmingham beyond the 2026 season.