With the end of the NFL season, there is a football void that has Philly seeing Stars. Sound familiar? The Philadelphia Stars were also a franchise in the original USFL, which launched in 1983 and lasted three seasons. The league consisted of 12 teams, including the Stars, who played two seasons at Veterans Stadium before moving to Baltimore. For more info on the Philadelphia Stars of yesteryears click here.
In case you missed it in November. The Philadelphia Stars return this April. Unfortunately, all eight teams in the USFL will be playing in Birmingham for the inaugural season. Accordingly, it is to ease logistics and costs as the league develops. The league’s expectation is that teams will move to their host markets.
They will be separated into two divisions of four teams. The North Division will consist of the Michigan Panthers, New Jersey Generals, Philadelphia Stars, and Pittsburgh Maulers. The South Divisions teams include Birmingham Stallions, Houston Gamblers, New Orleans Breakers, and Tampa Bandits. Each team will play a 10-game schedule, with Fox Sports in charge of the league and acting as a broadcast partner. A four-team postseason will follow, ending with a championship game between division winners.
Stars Unveil Their New Uniforms
They feature the same colors and basic logo concept as the original Stars. This iteration of the team’s uniform sports additional sleek stripes on the pants/jerseys/helmets with holographic numbers.
USFL Draft
The USFL draft is on February 22nd and 23rd. The first champion of the USFL’s first incarnation will have the first draft pick in preparation for the league’s upcoming season. Using a lottery, the USFL determined the first-round draft order. The Michigan Panthers, coached by former Titans and Rams head coach Jeff Fisher, won the first overall pick. (Yeah, that Jeff Fisher).
The draft order will look like this:
- Michigan Panthers
- Tampa Bay Bandits
- Philadelphia Stars
- New Jersey Generals
- Houston Gamblers
- Birmingham Stallions
- Pittsburgh Maulers
- New Orleans Breakers
Coach Bart Andrus
The Philadelphia Stars hired Bart Andrus as the head coach. The 63-year-old began his coaching career in 1981 and spent time in the NCAA, NFL, NFL Europe, CFL, UFL, The Spring League, XFL, and U Sports. He’s compiled a 39-54 record as a head coach in the professional ranks. Andrus spent the 2021 season as the quarterback’s coach with the University of Ottawa Gee-Gees.
Andrus was the Toronto Argonauts bench boss for one terrible season in 2009. The Argos went 3-15 under his leadership and he was fired that December. His experience as a head coach includes time with NFL Europe’s Amsterdam Admirals (2001-2007) and the Omaha Nighthawks of the United Football League (2012). He served as an offensive assistant with the Tennessee Titans (1997-1998, 2008) and quarterbacks coach in 1999, before returning to the NFL in 2013 to be an offensive assistant with the St. Louis Rams.
Will you and Philly be seeing Stars this Spring? Does another spring football league excite you? Let us see how Philadelphia welcomes back the Stars.
Al is one of the two co-creators of Edge of Philly Sports. Al started radio and podcasting in 2012 and covering sports in 2015. A lifelong Philly sports fan since watching the Eagles, Phillies, Sixers, and Flyers with his grandfathers at age 7. Al always looks at the other side of the hot topics and gives his different outlook on those topics. Web and Graphic Design.
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