Getty The Stallions will not be leaving Birmingham to go to Dallas as the USFL continues to operate in Alabama for the foreseeable future
The Birmingham Stallions won’t be leaving the state of Alabama for Dallas, despite the USFL filing a trademark for the “Dallas Stallions” on April 25, per a US Patent and Trademark Office report. In fact, according to a source within the Stallions organization, the USFL will be in Birmingham as long as the league is up and running.
“The Stallions will be in Birmingham as long as the USFL is around,” the source said, adding that the “Dallas Stallions” was trademarked in order to incorporate retro-themed game nights in the future. This is consistent with what USFL Newsroom’s Logan Graffia reported on May 1.
UPDATE: just got off the phone with a USFL league official. The trademarks are as many have guessed just USFL 2.0 acquiring the OG USFL’s names and old IP and what not. There is no plans to move any teams from what I was just told.
“The trademarks are, as many have guessed, just (the) USFL 2.0 acquiring the OG USFL’s names and old IP and whatnot,” Graffia tweeted. “There is no plans to move any teams from what I was just told.”
While there was never a team named the Dallas Stallions, the name was in existence as a concept with the other team names that were part of the trademark application, a USFL official told AL.com’s Mark Inabinnet.
In addition to the “Dallas Stallions” trademark, the USFL acquired the following terms: Austin Wranglers, Baltimore Stars, Boston Breakers, Dallas Stallions, Denver Gold, Gold, Gunslingers, Los Angeles Express, Oklahoma Outlaws, Portland Breakers, San Antonio Gunslingers and Wranglers.
Birmingham Stallions Will Play for USFL South Division Title
The USFL’s South Division’s representative in the league’s championship Saturday, July 1 in Canton, Ohio will be decided on June 25 as the 8-2 Birmingham Stallions, led by two-time Coach of the Year award winner Skip Holtz, host the 7-3 New Orleans Breakers at Protective Stadium. It will technically be a “home game” for the Stallions, though the Breakers’ home hub is also in Birmingham.
Still, FOX’s RJ Young believes there is a true home-field advantage for Birmingham, saying in his 2023 season preview that the Stallions were the only USFL team to enjoy one during the relaunched league’s inaugural 2022 season.
“The Stallions were the only team to enjoy a true home-field advantage and their games were frequently the best-attended in the league,” Young wrote on March 17.
Young shut down the idea that the Stallions had an easy road to their championship during the spring league’s one-city trial season in 2022, pointing out that Birmingham had to win both playoff games on the road up north in Canton.
“Their detractors would say that home-field and crowd advantage gave the Stallions an unfair one, and Stallions fans would tell you they needed to win two games in Canton, Ohio, to be crowned champions of the league,” Young wrote.
Birmingham Stallions Quarterback: ‘We Play for Each Other’
Ahead of the USFL South Division Championship game, Stallions quarterback Alex McGough, who replaced championship-winning signal-caller J’Mar Smith during Birmingham’s season opener against the New Jersey Generals on April 15, spoke to the confidence his team has been playing with despite having nine skill-position players on the injured reserve.
“There’s never a doubt, never a panic [with this team], McGough told Young on “The Number One College Football Show with RJ Young” on June 23. “We play for each other because we know that’s what it takes to win.”