A (mostly) Unneeded and Unasked for USL2 Revamp, Part I - The Issues

The What and Their Why

Part I.A - The Current Format

To set the scene for a revamp, we need to make sure everyone is on the same page in regards to where things stand currently.

For the 2025 season, USL2 was set up as follows. 143 teams were split into 19 divisions that are grouped into 4 conferences. Teams play 12 or 14 games in the regular season solely within their division. After the regular season, the top teams in each division qualify for the single-elimination national playoffs. These national playoffs were separated into conferences for travel purposes.

The Southern, Central, and Western Conferences each had 8 playoff berths. The Eastern Conference had 11 playoff berths. The Eastern Conference played 3 qualifying round games to get the 11 qualified teams down to an even 8. All teams participating in the qualifying round were wildcards as the 5 division winners skipped the qualifying round. Each year, each division is preallocated playoff spots via USL HQ. Usually this is a minimum of 2 teams per division, the division winner and a wildcard. However, due to the rapid expansion of the league there are now 3-4 divisions that only end up with 1 team in the playoffs due to shared wildcards.

Once the playoff teams are set, USL HQ will consider host bids that qualified playoff teams submitted and choose 8 host sites for Conference Quarterfinals and Conference Semifinals. Note, this is not always the top seeded team, or even a division winner. As seen in the 2025 season when South Central Division runners-up Dothan United hosted one of the Southern Conference pods. After the Conference Quarterfinals and Conference Semifinals are over, USL HQ will then consider host bids, once again, from the remaining 8 teams and choose 2 host sites for the Conference Finals and National Semifinals. After the National Semifinals, USL HQ will then consider host bids from the remaining 2 teams and select a host for the National Finals.

Now that we have gone over what is, let’s go over some of the issues. The next step in understanding why, I believe, a revamp is needed. Most of the issues come in tandem with an understanding the happenings of leagues similar to USL2. As such, we will also need to go over and understand what the other leagues similar to USL2 are doing, and how they differ from USL2.

Part I.B - The Nomenclature Compared

NPSL, TLFC, UPSL, and WPSL all have the same, general, nomenclature and formats for the structure of the leagues. These nomenclatures and formats, however, differ from USL2.

In NPSL, TLFC, UPSL, and WPSL, clubs play in a conference (“small apportionment” in the charts below). These conferences are then grouped into four regions (“large apportionment” in the charts below). The four regions make up the league as a whole. In the season itself, each club plays within its conference. In TLFC and WPSL, some conferences are too large, numerically or geographically, and have divisions (“sub-apportionment” in the charts below). In TLFC, clubs play interdivisional games whereas in WPSL if a conference has divisions teams will only play intradivisional games.

So, the structural nomenclature for NPSL, TLFC, UPSL, and WPSL goes: Division (if necessary) -> Conference -> Region -> National/League. The On the other hand, the USL2 structural nomenclature goes: Division -> Conference -> National/League.

Part I.C - The Playoffs Compared

NPSL, TLFC, UPSL, and WPSL (when necessary) do conference championship playoffs. The best teams in each conference go to the conference playoffs (“small apportionment”). Each conference playoff champion plays in a regional playoff (“large apportionment”). The regional playoff champions go on to the final four/national playoffs. USL2 does not have divisional playoffs, instead having every division in a conference combined at the start of the playoffs and having each conference playoff lead to the final four/national playoffs.

NPSL, TLFC, and UPSL have the higher seeded clubs host games in the conference and regional playoffs. WPSL does a preselected, alternating division (“sub-apportionment”) hosting the conference championship game (when necessary) and host site pods for regional playoffs. USL2 has selected host site pods for their playoffs.

TLFC, UPSL, and WPSL have a neutral site hosting the National Finals playoffs. NPSL has the higher seeded clubs host their National Finals playoffs. USL2 selects host sites for their National Finals, this includes half of the conference finals being hosted outside of their conference’s area. In 2025, the Southern Conference Final was between Dothan United and Fort Lauderdale, played in Burlington, Vermont, and the Central Conference Final was between Flint City and Minneapolis City, but played in Seattle, WA.

Part I.D - The Qualification Compared

Playoff qualification is either simple or explicitly and meticulously explained in most leagues other than USL2.

In NPSL, each conference used to individually decide their playoff formats. Meaning that each conference could change the format to fit the clubs wants, needs, and sizes. Starting this year, however, it was standardized. No matter the size of the conference the playoffs were: 4 teams per conference, 1v4 and 2v3 semifinals, higher seeded winner hosts conference championship game.

In TLFC, each conference had their own playoff format similar to how NPSL used to be. Most still just had the top 4 teams make playoffs regardless of division or conference size. There were two exceptions. The NorCal Conference had 13 teams, so they had an 8 team playoff, and the 4 team Mid-American Conference was set to have a 2 team, 1 game conference championship hosted at the regular season champions but it got rained out.

In UPSL, conference playoff sizes are entirely dependent on the numerical size of the conference. A conference with 4 or 5 will only have a 2 team, 1 game playoff. Meanwhile, a UPSL conference with 13 clubs, or two conferences that join for playoffs with a combined ~14+ clubs total, will have an 8 team playoff.

WPSL national playoffs have ONLY the 16 conference champions, and some replacements. As well as ONLY conferences that are split into divisions will have the single conference championship game, at the champion of a predetermined division. Side note, due to a lot of WPSL clubs not having the money, they forgo playoffs and alert WPSL before the season that if they qualify for playoffs, the club will not participate in said playoffs. This is why a lot of divisions/conferences don’t have representatives in the playoffs or have don’t have a conference championship game, despite having divisions.

In USL2, every division winner qualifies and predetermined, not always explicitly mentioned, wildcards are divided up to fill out the bracket.

Next time, I will go over my fixes to these differences and the issues that arise from them.