This September, the United Football League announced that Rhode Island’s first professional football team will be joining the league for the spring 2027 season.
The new team will play its home games at Centreville Bank Stadium in Pawtucket. Former NFL quarterback AJ McCarron, who previously coached for the UFL’s Birmingham Stallions, will be leading the team as head coach.
“Rhode Island, and the passion that they have for football, especially (in) the New England area, fits me well,” said McCarron in a video provided to The Herald by UFL. “I’m just excited to be a part of this journey, to take what I learned last year and apply it this year and get these guys playing hard.”
The Centreville Bank Stadium currently hosts the Rhode Island Football Club’s soccer team. In a video sent to The Herald, UFL Owner Mike Repole said that “these soccer venues actually play better for football because of the action,” and their compact size creates a “really special” audience experience.
“We’ve worked hard to bring new investment and activity to our riverfront, and now we’re going to have another professional sports team calling Pawtucket home,” Pawtucket Mayor Donald Grebien wrote in an email to The Herald.
“We expect (the new team) to be a positive economic driver for the city,” Grebien wrote. Similar to the introduction of RIFC and soccer more generally, “bringing professional football to Pawtucket will attract visitors, create additional activity for local restaurants and businesses and bring more people to our riverfront.”
The R.I. team was announced alongside a new Colorado team, which will also be joining the league in spring 2027. These two additions to the UFL come after retiring two of the league's teams in Houston and Birmingham, Alabama.
According to Repole, the roster for the new R.I. team has not yet been finalized. The UFL is hoping to retain some players from the Birmingham and Houston teams and also introduce some new players, potentially from local colleges such as Boston College or Brown, he added.
Some Brown students have mixed thoughts on the addition to the state’s sports scene.
Julia Richards ’30 said that many students “don’t even have absolute spirit for our Brown football team.” As a student, “I’m going to go to the games of my university rather than the games of the state.”
“There’s the Bruins team in Providence, and I know they have a cult following in the city,” said Will Thomas ’28. “so perhaps something like that is to come” with the new football team.
A new football team is “long overdue,” said Gui Sequeira ’28. “I feel like people here are such big Patriots fans that it makes sense for them to also kind of rally around another team that’s maybe a little more localized.”
The R.I. team name, colors and logos will be unveiled to the public during an event at Centreville Bank Stadium on Oct. 18. The new team’s first game is scheduled for April 2.
