Weekly Sports League and Franchise Report

by Dan Krieger
Published on October 6, 2025 under United Football League (UFL)

BASEBALL

Atlantic League: The independent Atlantic League's dormant Spire City Ghost Hounds (Frederick, MD) team will sit out the 2026 season to again allow the league to operate with an even number of ten teams. The Ghost Hounds will return when the league expands to 12 teams. The team has been idle since playing its first and only season in 2023. The team's ownership also owns the Frederick Keys team, which will be moving from the Major League Baseball Draft League to the affiliated High-A South Atlantic League in 2026. Both teams shared the same stadium in 2023. The Atlantic League announced its 2026 season schedule will feature the same ten teams aligned in five-team North and South divisions. Each team will play 126 games in a two-part season from April 21 through September 6, 2026.

Texas League: The Double-A Texas League's Arkansas Travelers (Little Rock) won Minor League Baseball's 2025 Best Alternate Identity Award for their rebranding as the Barkansas Dizzys for a six-game series (June 10-15) during the season. The dog-themed promotion was a celebration of the team owner's dog named Dizzy who was a fixture at the ballpark during Travelers' home games.

BASKETBALL

Upshot League: The proposed new women's professional basketball league known as the Upshot League, which plans to start an inaugural season in May 2026 with four teams in the southeastern United States, announced two of its first four teams will be called the Jacksonville Waves and the Savannah Steel. The other teams located in Charlotte and Greensboro (NC) will announce their names next week.

Women's American Basketball Association West: The semi-pro WABA's western expansion initiative called the WABA West is organizing for a start in April 2026. Three teams mentioned as first-season members include the New Mexico Lady Bullsnakes (Albuquerque), Denver Dynasty and Rio Rancho (NM) Lady Roadrunners. WABA West teams will be located in Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, Oklahoma, Nevada and West Texas.

FOOTBALL

American Arena League 2: The professional developmental AAL2 announced teams called the New Jersey Eagles (Camden), Carolina Aviators (Raleigh, NC) and the Peach State Cats, which was the only team left in the Professional Arena Independent Association, have joined for the 2026 season. The league's Mississippi Wolfpack (Tunica) is leaving the AAL2 to join the American Arena League that is planning for a restart in the 2026 season.

Champions Football Association: The proposed new CFA, which plans to start with a winter season in 2026 and playing nine-man indoor football without dasher boards, announced the addition of teams called the Abilene (TX) Bighorns, Wolfforth (TX) Warriors and the South Georgia Herd (Perry). The CFA also announced it will implement a centralized hub model for 2026 with teams playing games at centrally managed venues across all regions.

Greatest Indoor Arena Football League: The new Michigan-based developmental GIAFL started its inaugural 2026 winter season this weekend with eight teams each playing seven games through November 22, 2025. All games will be played at the TOCA Soccer and Sports Center in Novi (MI). The GIAFL is trying to develop a women's indoor league that would start in January 2026 with all games played in Novi.

United Football League: After conducting a review of all markets and stadium options, the eight-team UFL has decided to depart from the Memphis, Michigan (Detroit), and San Antonio markets, which were homes for the league's Memphis Showboats, Michigan Panthers and San Antonio Brahmas in 2025. The league stated it is considering expansion for 2028 and these markets could be considered if better venues become available. The UFL will soon be announcing replacement markets and venues for the 2026 season to remain at eight teams. The league has already announced Columbus (OH) as a new 2026 market, while Louisville and Orlando have been mentioned as other possible new markets.

Winter Indoor Football: The professional developmental WIF started its second season last weekend with teams called the Central New York Blue Devils (Syracuse), Michigan Grizzlies, NW Ohio Warlocks (Millbury), Ohio Blitz (Toledo), Pittsburgh Outlaws and Southern New Jersey Panthers (Mt. Laurel). The West Virginia Leviathan and Great Lakes Roughriders teams have dropped out before playing a game and a couple of other announced teams have disappeared before the season started.

Arena Football One: The AF1's financially struggling Corpus Christi Tritons team is no longer listed as a league member and the team's future is uncertain.

HOCKEY

ECHL: The ECHL's expansion team based in the Albuquerque suburb of Rio Rancho (NM) will be called the New Mexico Goatheads when it starts playing in the 2026-27 season. The name pays tribute to both the region's rugged landscape, the hardy goathead thorn plant and the strength of the ibex goats.

Professional Women's Hockey League: The PWHL announced its 2025-26 season schedule will include eight teams aligned in a single-table format with each team playing a 30-game schedule from November 21, 2025, through April 25, 2026. For the league's third season, all six teams are returning and will be joined by two yet-to-be-named expansion teams in Seattle and Vancouver. The league will take a break (January 28 to February 25) during the season for the 2026 Olympic Winter Games.

Eastern Hockey League: The independent junior-level EHL, which now considers itself as a Tier-II league, recently started its 2025-26 season that features 17 teams aligned in a 3-team East Division, a 4-team North Division and 5-team Central and South divisions. Each team will play 50 games through March 22, 2026. The EHL finished its 2024-25 season with 20 teams but the Vermont Lumberjacks, Boston Dukes and Boston Jr. Eagles did not return. The EHL's developmental EHL-Premier will play the same schedule with 12 teams aligned in 6-team Northeast and Mid-Atlantic conferences. The EHL-Premier had 16 teams last season but lost the Vermont Lumberjacks, New Jersey Renegades, Bridgewater Bandits and Valley Jr. Warriors. The Adirondack Junior Thunder (Glens Falls, NY) was sold and relocated to become the Atlantic City (NJ) Seals for the 2025-26 season.

United States Premier Hockey League - Premier Conference: The junior-level USPHL's Tier-III Premier Conference recently started is 2025-26 season with 80 teams in 11 regional divisions (Alberta, St. Lawrence, Pacific, Northwest, Florida, Southest, North, Midwest, Great Lakes, Atlantic and New England). The Premier Conference had 73 teams last season but lost 5 teams and added 12 teams for the 2025-26 season. The Junior Bruins, Brooklyn Aviators, Bellingham Blazers, Dell Ducks and Atlanta Mad Hatters did not return. The Charleston (SC) Colonials, Coral Springs (FL) Jr. Cats, New Jersey Renegades (Randolph), New York Dynamo (Albany), Ottawa Valley Centennials (Almonte, Ontario), St-Lazare (Quebec) Avalanche and a six-team Alberta (Canada) Division with the Bassano Beavers, Calgary Bandits, Southern Alberta Mustangs (Stavely), Three Hills Titans, Hanna Havoc and Diamond Valley Rockies were added. There were four relocations with the Motor City Gamblers (Fraser, MI) becoming the Bearcat Hockey Club in the Buffalo (NY) area, the Decatur (IL) Blaze becoming the Chicago T-Rex, the Bakersfield Roughnecks becoming the McCall (ID) Smokejumpers and the Isanti (MN) Outlaws becoming the Minnesota Outlaws (East Bethel). Four 2025-26 expansion teams called the Burlington (VT) Beavers, Casper (WY) Warbirds, Evansville Mariners and Universel Quebec City were announced but did not start as planned in the Premier Conference this season. Each team will play 44 games through April 6, 2026.

United States Premier Hocke League - Elite Conference: The junior-level USPHL's developmental Tier-III Elite Conference recently started its 2025-26 season with 27 teams in five regional divisions (Atlantic, New England, Florida, Midwest and Southeast). Each team will play 44 games through March 7, 2026. The league had 28 teams last season but the Boston Jr. Bulldogs, Motor City Gamblers, New Jersey Rockets, Jersey Hitmen and Bold City Battalion (Jacksonville) did not return, and the league added the Coral Springs (FL) Jr. Cats, Charleston (SC) Colonials, Red Bank (NJ) Generals and Montreal Knights. Last season's Decatur (IL) Blaze moved to become the Chicago T-Rex.

National Hockey League: A hockey bag manufacturer called Mammoth Hockey LLC is in a trademark dispute with the NHL's recently named Utah Mammoth hockey team. The company started in 2014 and is trying to prevent the NHL team from selling hockey-related merchandise with the Utah Mammoth mark.

Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League: The Junior-B GOJHL, which was recently announced as the first development league of the major-junior Ontario Hockey League, has been renamed the Greater Ontario Hockey League.

SOCCER

Major Arena Soccer League: After holding league meetings this week, the MASL announced the Chihuahua Savage, Texas Outlaws (Mesquite) and Dallas Sidekicks will not participate in the upcoming 2025-26 season. The league also announced the Harrisburg (PA) Heat is relocating to Hershey (PA) for the 2025-26 season but the Hershey team will play in the lower-level MASL2 for the 2025-26 season due to unavailable arena dates for MASL scheduling. The "Hershey" Heat is expected to return to the MASL next season. With the loss of these four teams, the MASL is currently down to eight returning teams from last season.

Major Arena Soccer League 2: The MASL2 recently added a new team called the Texas Spurs (Allen) for the 2025-26 season. The league will also add the Hershey Heat after the relocation of the Major Arena Soccer League's Harrisburg Heat to Hershey and a switch to the MASL2 for the upcoming season.

USL Championship (United Soccer League): The USL and a group called Reno Pro Soccer have entered into a partnership to bring a professional soccer team, possibly in the Division-II USL Championship, to a proposed soccer-specific stadium to be built in Reno (NV). The city had a previous USL Championship team called the Reno 1868 FC that played four seasons (2017-20) before folding due to the effects of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. That team played at the city's minor league ballpark, home of the Reno Aces in the Triple-A Pacific Coast League.

OTHER

Athletes Unlimited Pro Volleyball Championship: The women's Athletes Unlimited started its indoor professional volleyball competition known as the AU Pro Volleyball Championship this week. The season includes four three-day sets of games involving four teams each named for their captain. The games in the first two sets (October 3-13) will be played in the Omaha area and the next two sets (October 23-November 2) in Madison (WI). Players earn points from team wins and individual performances. Each week, the top four athletes in the standings become captains and draft new teams. The player with the most points at the end of the season is crowned as champion. The league includes several players from the two current women's indoor professional leagues, League One Volleyball (LOVB) and Major League Volleyball, whose seasons usually start in January.

Dan Krieger is the creator of the Weekly Sports League & Franchise Report, which has been tracking the changes in the sports world's leagues, teams, and nicknames since April 2007.

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• Weekly Sports League and Franchise Report - OSC Original by Dan Krieger

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