A recent brushfire has flared up on r/UnitedFootballLeague and r/battlehawks about Friday night time slots and how they aren't ideal for attendance. The kindling for this wildfire stems from St. Louis on pace for its lowest attendance ever. Of course, 18k is a total that other cities strive for. Some Battlehawks fans have expressed an interest for no Friday night games and one zealous fan did not want any night games. I could write a whole tome on UFL fans and their, frankly, unrealistic expectations, but a thought entered my mind; did FOX want St. Louis for its Friday night lineup? Best and largest fan base in the league makes for a good audience builder.
We know that FOX has developed a strategy for conditioning audiences into watching sports on Friday night. The fourth big network has found great success with College Football in the fall, men's basketball in the winter, and the UFL games have constantly drawn 600k plus - when the NFL draft isn't on - in the spring.
So, I decided to take a garner at the 2026 Friday night schedule:
Week 1: Birmingham at Louisville
Week 2: DC at Columbus
Week 3: Orlando at Louisville
Week 4: Dallas at Columbus
Week 5: DC at Birmingham
Week 6: Houston at Columbus
Week 7: Columbus at St. Louis
Week 8: Orlando at Dallas (Ft. Hood)
Week 9: DC at Orlando
Week 10: Dallas at St. Louis
What are the numbers?
Home games: Columbus (3), Louisville (2), St. Louis (2), Birmingham (1), Dallas (1), and Orlando (1)
Participation: Columbus (4), Dallas (3), DC (3), Orlando (3), Birmingham (2), Louisville (2), St. Louis (2), Houston (1)
Setting aside that the UFL doesn't have first right for many venues and that certainly impacts scheduling, an observer can see a coalescing strategy.
FOX, or the UFL, clearly wanted to push the new markets early and often. Six of the ten slots went to Columbus, Louisville, and Orlando and the first four Friday nights were broadcasted from Columbus and Louisville. Smart move as the two new cities recorded solid numbers.
St. Louis gained two dates because the rocking BattleDome looks and sounds great and should be filled later in the season. Want to impress potential viewers? The raucous Kaw is Law fans are the ambassadors.
Birmingham's name holds cache, so write in a slot in the starting gate for the Stallions.
As for Ft. Hood, Americans love their patriotic displays and America250 branding is huge. Dallas' attendance has been hit and mostly miss. No great loss and the soldiers at renamed Ft. Hood can enjoy a contest.
- As a side comment, if any Civil War general would have loved football, John Bell Hood was your man. He would have been the perfect old-school football coach: fullback dive up the middle! McClellan would have been the overly cautious coach kicking 19-yard field goals. Yes, I am a history buff.
Interestingly, DC and the Beer Snake (great band name!) did not receive a home game but were slotted for three contests. The DC brand, as defending champions (pun intended) and a spring mainstay, holds value for FOX and the UFL. Maybe Audi Field wasn't available, but still, make sure those Defenders are playing Fridays!*
As for Houston? Well, participation trophies exist.
Maybe all this analysis is overthinking it, but I doubt it. Expect OKC and the other expansion team (insert desired city here) in 2028 to land Friday night slots. Or that wish-listed CW TNF game! A blogger can dream!
*Speaking of musical jargon - FNF needs a theme song.
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