The UFL officially rolled out the full 2026 slate, and Louisville’s first-ever season starts with a statement game: Birmingham at Louisville on Friday, March 27 at 8:00 p.m. ET as part of FOX UFL Friday. (theufl.com)
For a new franchise, the Kings’ schedule does them a couple favors (no brutal travel stretch, plenty of marquee windows) while still giving them enough measuring-stick games to tell us who they really are by May.
Schedule at a glance (full schedule below)
Here’s what jumps out immediately:
- 10-week regular season (the league is running a 43-game total schedule including playoffs and the title game). (theufl.com)
- Two primetime Thursday games at 8:00 p.m. ET:
- at Houston on April 16 (ESPN App)
- vs St. Louis on April 30 (FS1) (theufl.com)
- The Kings’ Derby-week home game is being positioned as a new annual tradition, with Louisville hosting St. Louis on Thursday, April 30 at Lynn Family Stadium. (theufl.com)
- Broadcast distribution matters: the league is leaning heavily into FOX/ABC windows (with additional ESPN/ESPN2/FS1/ESPN App coverage). (theufl.com)
The swing points on Louisville’s schedule
1) Welcome to the league: Birmingham in Week 1
You don’t get an easing-in period. Louisville opens against Birmingham on opening night, and the league is clearly treating it like an event game. (theufl.com)
The Kings’ staff will learn fast if they can hold up physically and stay clean operationally (penalties, protection calls, special teams) under the brightest spotlight they’ll get all season.
2) The “find yourself” stretch (mid-April into Derby week)
The schedule gives Louisville two huge story games:
- April 16 at Houston (Thursday primetime) (theufl.com)
- April 30 vs St. Louis (Derby-week Thursday night) (theufl.com)
That’s a perfect evaluation window. If the Kings come out of that stretch looking organized and physical, the playoff conversation gets real quickly.
3) The closing push
Late-season games tend to decide spring football standings, and Louisville’s finish is set up to test depth and composure. With the playoffs only taking the top four records, every May game can turn into a must-have. (theufl.com)
2026 Louisville Kings schedule (as listed, CT)
- Week 1: Birmingham Stallions @ Louisville Kings — 8:00 PM, Fri., March 27 — FOX
- Week 2: Louisville Kings @ Orlando Storm — 8:00 PM, Sat., April 4 — ESPN
- Week 3: Orlando Storm @ Louisville Kings — 8:00 PM, Fri., April 10 — FOX
- Week 4: Louisville Kings @ Houston Gamblers — 8:00 PM, Thu., April 16 — ESPN App (primetime) (theufl.com)
- Week 5: Louisville Kings @ Dallas Renegades — 3:00 PM, Sun., April 26 — ABC
- Week 6: St. Louis Battlehawks @ Louisville Kings — 8:00 PM, Thu., April 30 — FS1 (Derby week / primetime) (theufl.com)
- Week 7: Louisville Kings @ D.C. Defenders — 1:30 PM, Sat., May 9 — FOX
- Week 8: D.C. Defenders @ Louisville Kings — 12:00 PM, Sat., May 16 — ABC
- Week 9: Dallas Renegades @ Louisville Kings — 4:00 PM, Sun., May 24 — FOX
- Week 10: Louisville Kings @ Columbus Aviators — 6:00 PM, Sun., May 31 — FOX
Home opener vibe: “Green Out,” giveaways, and a new mascot
Louisville is leaning into the in-stadium product right away. The team has promoted the opener as a full launch event, including the unveiling of a new mascot and a stadium-wide “Green Out” at Lynn Family Stadium. (theufl.com)
Tickets: key date fans need to know
Single-game tickets go on sale Monday, February 2 at 11:00 a.m. ET, per the league’s schedule release. (theufl.com)
For ongoing ticket options (season tickets, suites, groups, mobile ticketing help), the team’s Kings Ticket Central page is the league’s main hub. (theufl.com)
What Louisville has to do to make the playoffs
The format is simple: after the 10-week regular season, the four best records go to the UFL Playoffs on Sunday, June 7 (ABC and FOX), and the 2026 UFL Championship Game is Saturday, June 13 on ABC. (theufl.com)
For Louisville, it likely comes down to two things:
- Protect home field (especially in the featured TV windows), and
- Steal at least one road swing game in April to avoid playing catch-up in May.
If you want, I can add a short “Game-by-game prediction” blurb after each week (written in the same tone as UFL Rumors) so the whole post reads like a true schedule outlook piece.
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