When the Birmingham Stallions posted an unexpected shutout of the San Antonio Brahmas in front of 27,396 noisy onlookers at The Dome at America’s Center eight months ago they not only succeeded in becoming the inaugural champions of the United Football League but, in a roundabout way, completed a feat that even the seemingly unbeatable Kansas City Chiefs could not achieve.

For all that the UFL is not the NFL, the Stallions achievement should not be overlooked as their latest crown followed hot on the heels of two others, in the reborn United States Football League in 2022 and 2023, to complete a spring league ‘three-peat’ — and the pride of Alabama will start the forthcoming campaign as hot favourites to land title number four.

Skip Holtz‘s Stallions joined a rarified group by clinching the 2024 UFL title, with Vince Lombardi’s 1965-67 Green Bay Packers and Hugh Campbell’s 1978-82 Canadian Football League champion Edmonton Elks as the only other pro football clubs to win three straight championships. Kansas City, meanwhile, is far from alone in lamenting their failure to show up against the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl LIX, as their two-in-a-row achievement leave them in a pool with the likes of the 1970s Dolphins and Steelers, the ‘80s 49ers, ‘90s Cowboys and Broncos, and the Patriots of the Oughts, all of whom went back-to-back but no further.

The Stallions won the USFL conference title as an explosive offensive powerhouse, just as they had been when the acronym stood for an entire league and not just a division within one. However, they showed versatility and adaptability when it mattered most, adopting their opponent’s hard-nosed defensive style while grinding out scores on offense. The Brahmas, winners of the XFL conference named in deference to the other legacy league that combined with the USFL to form the UFL for 2024, arrived at the title game as the number one scoring defense in the entire competition, having given up more than 20 points just once in a game they avenged with victory in the conference championship game at the same St Louis venue. Trailing by 22 at the end of the third quarter was not what Wade Phillips’ side had been expecting at all, especially without having been able to put a point on the board for themselves.

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The Stallions duly ended the season with an 11-1 record, their only defeat having come against those same Brahmas in San Antonio in the penultimate week of the regular season. Add on the results from the two years in the reborn USFL, and Holtz’s record expands to a mightily impressive 32-4m — not bad for a roster that most who fail to understand the purpose of spring leagues would assume is replete with castoffs and wannabes.

“I’m blessed with some great players,” Holtz said after clinching the UFL crown last June. “We just had to point them in the right direction, and they have taken over the rest. It’s been a true blessing for me — and it’s been a lot of fun. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve said it, but this is the best job I’ve ever had. I love these young men that we’re coaching.

“I think they’re here because they love ball, and I think every one of them has a different ‘why’. If we brought up our whole team, they could all tell their own story of where they’re trying to go and what they’re trying to do. They’re hungry. They’re respectful. They take notes. They ask questions. They’re involved. They want to get better. And, for me as a coach, my favourite part of coaching is watching a player and a team develop.”

For all his recent success, however, Holtz — who has held the reins for every single Stallions game since the famous name was resurrected in 2022 — knows that repeating only gets harder.

“It is hard to continue to win,” he noted. “You put a target on your chest, and everybody shoots for you. Everybody’s circling that game and you are going to get everybody’s best effort. But, as I have told the team, the only thing better than playing against the Stallions is having the opportunity to play for them and the pride [of] knowing that everybody’s going to take their best shot at us.

“There are stages of a championship that you have to go through as a football team. You have to learn how to compete, then you learn how to win, then you have to learn how to handle winning — and that is probably one of the hardest steps to take. But the championship culture really takes off when you learn how to handle winning and your players take over the culture.”

Holtz was quick to point to the ‘the buy-in factor’ of having leaders like quarterback Adrian Martinez and linebacker Kyahva Tezino on his team — something he says allows him to be ‘the duck that floats on top of the water while there’s a whole lot of people pedalling like hell underneath’.

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As things stand, Martinez, MVP of both the league and title game last season, will not be returning to Birmingham for the 2025 UFL campaign. Like many of the league’s standouts, he got the opportunity to try out for — and, in his case, stick with — and NFL team, and remains in New York as part of the extended Jets’ roster, having signed a futures contract at the end of the 2024-25 campaign. The deal ensures that the Jets — who dispensed with future Hall-of-Famer Aaron Rodgers shortly before Super Bowl Sunday — will keep Martinez on their practice squad to begin the 2025 season, having seen him lead the team to an unbeaten three-win run in last year’s preseason.

The Stallions will not be without standout QB talent, however, with one-time Carolina Panthers’ draft pick Matt Corral — who spent time with the Minnesota Vikings this past season when J.J. McCarthy went down injured — being joined by the Birmingham’s 2023 USFL MVP and championship winner Alex McGough, who has been a part of Green Bay’s practice squad for the past two seasons.

Like the majority of teams in the UFL, the Stallions are also not short of names that NFL fans, particularly those who follow the annual draft and ensuing roster churn, will recognise, including DEs Bradlee Anae and Myjai Sanders, WR Amari Rodgers, LB Tae Crowder, RB Larry Rountree and TE Jace Sternberger. But the names to watch as the team returns the bulk of its 2024 roster might be the lesser-heralded RBs Ricky Person and C.J Marable, and WR Binjimen Victor, who all played a part in the fiery offense that got the team to the championship game.

While the league knows that it still has a long way to go before it can say that it is ‘established’, its presence is at least gaining traction with the custodians of football history. The Pro Football Hall of Fame recognised the first UFL season by putting Martinez’s jersey from the title game on display, along with the game ball. It’s not the first time that the Hall of Fame has honoured spring football, or the UFL in particular, as the ball that Michigan Panthers (and now Detroit Lions) kicker Jake Bates converted from 64 yards in Week 1 is also on show, alongside individual XFL and USFL sections, that latter that includes jerseys and helmets from the 1980s iteration, as well items — including a Stallions helmet — from the modern version.

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Such is the league’s belief that it is here to stay, expansion plans are now in the works with a view to growing beyond the current eight teams in 2026. Proposals from prospective markets have been officially requested as those installed in the new headquarters in Arlington look expand beyond the existing eastern location bias.

“As the UFL lays the groundwork for future growth, we’re excited to begin exploring new markets for expansion, where spring football can not only live, but thrive,” UFL president and CEO Russ Brandon explained. “These expansion efforts validate our vision and early success, demonstrating how spring football resonates with fans and reinforcing our commitment to broadening its reach. With the strength and structure of our ownership group, along with our media partners, we are well-positioned for the long haul and look forward to identifying communities that have the potential, and desire, to host a UFL team.”

Naturally, initial speculation has tabbed previous USFL and XFL hosts amongst the most likely expansion candidates, including Seattle (previously home to the XFL’s Sea Dragons) and both Portland and New Orleans (which provided homes to the USFL’s Breakers). However, cities that had involvement in other start-up leagues, such as San Diego (AAF’s Fleet) are also being mentioned, alongside Tulsa (USFL Oklahoma Outlaws), New York/New Jersey (XFL’s Guardians), Omaha (original UFL’s Nighthawks) and Orlando (both the AAF’s Apollos and original USFL’s Renegades). Given the reborn USFL’s decision to play its championship game at the Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium, even Canton itself is getting love in some quarters.

That, however, is all in the future. Right now, the league’s attention will be on any team that can find a way to halt the runaway Stallions.

The 2025 season kicks off on March 28th, 2025, with a 10-week regular season schedule leading up to the second UFL Championship Game on June 14th.