USL Championship
The USL Championship is a men's professional soccer league in the second tier of the United States league system. It is organized by the United Soccer League as its premier league for men above USL League One. Operating under a franchise model, 24 teams divided between the league's Eastern and Western conferences compete in an annual round-robin regular season, lasting from spring to fall. At the end of the season, the top team overall wins the Players' Shield, while the top eight teams in each conference advance to a playoff tournament culminating in the USL Championship final, which determines the champion. The league's teams also simultaneously compete in the U.S. Open Cup and USL Cup.
Playing its first season in 2011 as USL Pro, and later the USL, the league formed from the merger of the USL's preceding two pro leagues, after a number of clubs broke away to establish the North American Soccer League. It was initially sanctioned by U.S. Soccer as a third-tier league, but was later promoted to the second tier in 2017. Reserve teams of Major League Soccer franchises also competed in the league from 2014 to the advent of MLS Next Pro in 2022. The Championship adopted its current name following the re-establishment of a second pro league in 2019. A third pro league, USL Premier, is currently being planned to supersede the Championship as the USL's top league.
As of the 2025 season, Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC are the current champions, while Louisville City FC and Orlando City SC have won the most championships each. The current Players' Shield holders are Louisville City FC, while Orlando City SC has won the most Players' Shields. Three former USL Championship teams – Orlando City SC, FC Cincinnati, and Nashville SC – are now MLS franchises.
History
Background
Founding and first seasons (2010–2012)
Though leaked by the Dayton Dutch Lions weeks prior, the USL announced in a September 2010 press release the merger of its First and Second Division into the USL Pro, a new league with D3 status granted by U.S. Soccer. The Lions, then a Premier Development League team, joined the new competition alongside the five remaining Second Division clubs: the Charleston Battery, Charlotte Eagles, Harrisburg City Islanders, Pittsburgh Riverhounds, and Richmond Kickers; and a reactivated Wilmington Hammerheads, who last played in the Second Division. The Austin Aztex, the lone surviving First Division club, joined as Orlando City SC, after relocating to Orlando, Florida. The Rochester Rhinos also joined, aborting their plan to defect from the USL to the NASL.USL President Tim Holt initially hoped to launch USL Pro with 14–20 teams across four conferences. Two of these conferences were to be a "Caribbean" and "Western" division – the league added the Puerto Rico Soccer League's Puerto Rico United, River Plate Puerto Rico, and Sevilla FC Puerto Rico; and the Antigua Barracuda and Los Angeles Blues; as expansion teams to serve as "building blocks" for these divisions. For the inaugural 2011 season, these five clubs were grouped in a "International" division, while the nine existing USL clubs and another expansion team, F.C. New York, were divided into the "American" and "National" divisions.
The league's first match took place on April 2, 2011, at City Stadium in Richmond, Virginia, where the Kickers defeated Orlando City and Stanley Nyazamba scored the league's first goal. The season initially structured the American and National divisions as a de facto single division, with their teams only occasionally playing International opponents. However, financial issues plagued the three PRSL clubs, leading to their expulsion five weeks into the season. The International division was abolished, and the Barracuda and Blues moved to the American and National divisions, respectively. The remaining twelve teams completed the season, and Orlando City were crowned as the inaugural champions. F.C. New York, also weighed by financial issues, departed for the National Premier Soccer League at the end of the season. The American and National divisions were replaced by a single eleven-team table in the 2012 season, during which the Battery won the title.
MLS partnership and expansion (2013–2016)
In the 2013 season, affiliations with Major League Soccer clubs began as part of a partnership that aimed to improve "player development, competition and the overall business" of American soccer, according to MLS executive Todd Durbin. Phoenix FC and VSI Tampa Bay FC entered the league, though both would fold with the Barracuda at the season's end – Phoenix FC had their franchise rights revoked for allegedly committing accounting fraud and wage theft, while the Barracuda and VSI suffered from financial troubles. The Barracuda's final season was one of only six in the history of soccer to be completed without a win or draw. Phoenix FC's franchise rights were awarded to Arizona United SC, who began play the following season. Orlando City earned their second USL Pro title in three years, which was seen as crucial in the club's successful bid to enter the MLS.Choosing not to affiliate with a USL club, the LA Galaxy founded a reserve team, which entered the USL Pro in the 2014 season alongside Arizona United, Oklahoma City Energy FC, and Sacramento Republic FC. The Los Angeles Blues rebranded as Orange County Blues FC. The Republic concluded their inaugural season by winning the Championship and nearly doubling the league's average attendance record. The Eagles and Lions exited for the PDL, while Orlando City became the fifth USL club to gain promotion to the MLS. Upon their exit, the Eagles and Orlando City sold their franchise rights to the Charlotte Independence and Louisville City FC respectively.
File:Devon Williams.jpg|thumb|left|Reserve teams fielded by MLS clubs, such as 2016 champions New York Red Bulls II ', populated the league from 2014 to 2022.
The two clubs began play in the 2015 season of the USL''', which dropped "Pro" from its name, alongside Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC, Saint Louis FC, and the Tulsa Roughnecks. A new Austin Aztex also joined, but entered a hiatus after the season due to financial troubles caused by a historic flood that damaged their home ground. Inspired by the Galaxy, seven more MLS clubs fielded reserve teams into the USL, amid the demise of the MLS Reserve League. The unprecedented growth from 13 to 24 teams necessitated the introduction of the "Eastern" and "Western" conferences, where teams played 22 intraconference and six interconference games, and inspired the USL to apply for D2 status in early 2015. The Rhinos broke all-time USL records for shutouts and fewest goals allowed on their way to their fourth and final USL title.
Three more MLS reserve teams entered in the 2016 season, alongside San Antonio FC, MLS expansion bidders FC Cincinnati, and Rio Grande Valley FC Toros – a "hybrid" club with independent ownership, but managed by the MLS's Houston Dynamo FC. Cincinnati's inaugural season yielded three all-time USL records for single-match attendance, with the highest being 24,376. The New York Red Bulls II became the first MLS reserve team to win a USL title. The Hammerheads left for the PDL, despite a move to Baltimore, Maryland being reportedly planned by the club.
D2 status, NASL demise, and restructure (2017–2019)
Seeking to arrest financial losses incurred while playing in the NASL, the Ottawa Fury and Tampa Bay Rowdies defected to the USL ahead of the 2017 season, triggering a revocation of the NASL's D2 status, as its membership fell below the twelve required. As an interim solution, U.S. Soccer awarded a provisional D2 status to both the NASL and USL. Reno 1868 FC also joined, while the Montreal Impact folded their reserve team for a Fury affiliation. Arizona United SC rebranded as Phoenix Rising FC, following its sale to an ownership group that included Premier League Hall of Famer Didier Drogba, who also signed for the club. Louisville City won back-to-back championships in 2017 and 2018 – the latter by defeating the Rising in Drogba's final professional game. At the end of 2017, the Rhinos entered a hiatus in an attempt to shore up new investors, while Orlando City B went on hiatus due to a lack of players and staff.For the 2018 season, the USL gained full D2 status, while the NASL was stripped of theirs. A preliminary injunction against the decision was denied, leading to the NASL's collapse, and its clubs scattering. Two of them, Indy Eleven and North Carolina FC, joined the USL alongside Fresno FC, Las Vegas Lights FC, and MLS expansion bidders Nashville SC. A fifth NASL club, San Diego 1904 FC, were denied entry as concerns arose over its ownership, home ground, and lack of local investment. Atlanta United entered their reserve team, while the Vancouver Whitecaps folded theirs for a Fresno affiliation. The Islanders rebranded as Penn FC. Having won their bid to enter the MLS, Cincinnati's final season set all-time USL records for single-match attendance, average attendance, and total attendance.
After a decade playing as a single league, the USL returned to a two-division structure in the 2019 season. It rebranded its D2 league as the USL Championship and introduced a new D3 league, USL League One, to which the Kickers, OCB, Penn, Rhinos, and Toronto FC II moved. D.C. United's Loudoun United FC became the league's final MLS reserve team, entering alongside Birmingham Legion FC, El Paso Locomotive FC, Hartford Athletic, Memphis 901 FC, and New Mexico United. The Aztex returned from its hiatus after rebranding as Austin Bold FC. Real Monarchs became the second and last MLS reserve team to win a USL title, while New Mexico's successful debut earned the season's highest average attendance. Having won their bid to join, Nashville became the seventh USL club to move to MLS. Fresno went on hiatus after stadium plans fell through, and the Fury folded after Concacaf and U.S. Soccer denied them permission to continue play in an American league. Their franchise rights were sold to Miami FC, a National Independent Soccer Association club that first played in the NASL.