UFL delays start of 2011 season

Updated 3:11 p.m. ET, Tuesday, July 19, 2011

The United Football League has postponed the start of its season. The league's five teams were scheduled to start their 2011 season on Aug. 13, but instead will kick off in mid-September, which is when the past two seasons have begun.

UFL commissioner Michael Huyghue stated that a lack of money from sponsorships and television partners contributed to the delay. He said during a conference call with reporters on Tuesday that the league initially thought an August start would be beneficial to take advantage of the NFL lockout, but without advertisers and investors, they were forced to move back. With the NFL not likely to miss any games due to their labor issue, the window to be the only professional football on the market closed for the UFL.

"We were pretty confident that their labor situation was at least going to invade (the NFL's) traditional preseason and that might be an inducement to the networks to try and fill that void with a high-quality football product," Huyghue said. "What we thought was going to be a benefit ended up delaying opportunities. Even our own networks, HD Net and Versus, don't want to broadcast games on Sundays. So it ended up having a huge impact on our overall decision."

It had been reported on Monday by the National Football Post that the league had sent players home because of a lack of funds. According to the report, the Hartford Colonials informed their players that training camp would be postponed because of the lack of money. The players were not told if there would be a season or not. A source told the Post that the camps have been suspended for 30 days, but that the UFL is still planning on playing a full season.

This is not the first time the league has faced financial difficulties, with players and other league employees not being paid on time. Huyghue said during his conference call that the league's owners already had invested $100 million over the past two years, and were committed to potentially losing $50 million more this year in an effort to build the league. Finding new investors and sponsors is a major aspect of that, the commissioner believes.

"I don't think it's a surprise to people that we live in a tough economic time," Huyghue said.

Making the UFL a developmental league for the NFL would be a great boost, the commissioner believes, and he plans on speaking with representatives from the NFL as soon as the lockout is over. Huyghue called the idea a "natural fit" and believes it would be beneficial to both sides to get a deal like that done.

"What we saw this offseason is that investors, sponsors, television networks, they're all kind of hesitant because they all want to know what is the true relationship between the UFL and NFL," Huyghue said. "What we've recognized in over two years is that it may be easier to join with them than, to some degree, not necessarily be against them, but be outcasts from them in a way that is limiting our ability to really, fully benefit our business model."

The way we see it

Despite the presence of some big-name coaches, such as Marty Schottenheimer, the UFL has struggled to make itself well-known to football fans around the country. The league potentially had a chance to gain some new viewers if the NFL lockout had lasted longer, forcing games to be missed. But with that appearing highly unlikely at this time, advertisers and TV networks seem to be turning their back on the UFL.

Source: http://www.profootballweekly.com/2011/07/19/ufl-delays-start-of-2011-season

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