Maulers’ 10-game season announced, 1st 'home' game in Canton

The 2023 Pittsburgh Maulers’ season will begin with a night game Sunday, April 16.

The game will technically be a road game against a team named “New Orleans” played in Birmingham, Ala. The following week, Pittsburgh’s USFL team will play its “home” opener in Canton, Ohio, against a team dubbed “New Jersey” that also plays its home games in Canton.

It’s all part of the 2023 USFL season as the rebooted spring football league progresses toward its goal of playing all games in home markets soon. But for this season, the Maulers will join the New Jersey Generals as teams that base operations in Canton and play home games at Tom Benson Stadium, adjacent to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Nailed it ????

Get your Maulers 2023 regular season schedule wallpaper ???? pic.twitter.com/rLIl7axHrK

— Pittsburgh Maulers (@USFLMaulers) February 7, 2023

The league is operating out of “pod” system in 2023, with Birmingham, Detroit and Memphis joining Canton as game hosts. Canton is the only site that does not have a team of its own; the Maulers and New Jersey Generals will play there.

Counting the June 17 regular-season finale against the Generals, the Maulers will play six games at Tom Benson Stadium, including their final four. The April 23 game against New Jersey (scheduled for a noon kickoff) joins May 7 (against the Birmingham Stallions at 6:30 p.m.) as the only two games in Canton among the Maulers’ first six scheduled games.

The only game the Maulers will play that will be staged in the home city of one of the competing teams is May 20 in Memphis against the Showboats.

The Maulers will play each of the other three teams in the North Division twice, while playing South Division opponents once each.

Related

• Pittsburgh Maulers switch team colors to black and gold

Like the current USFL’s other seven franchises, the Maulers played last season in Birmingham. It was the USFL’s reboot almost four decades after the original spring league took on the NFL. The Maulers fielded a team that played in Three Rivers Stadium in 1984, but the USFL folded after three seasons.

The new USFL, which doesn’t have any sights set on competing with the NFL, played its championship game in Canton last year. The Maulers went 1-9. Former Steelers assistant Ray Horton has taken over for another former Steelers assistant, Kirby Wilson, as Maulers head coach in 2023.

Complete Maulers schedule

Sun April 16: 6:30 p.m. at New Orleans Breakers (in Birmingham, Ala.)
Sun April 23: noon, vs. New Jersey General (in Canton, Ohio)
Sun April 30: noon, at Philadelphia Stars (in Detroit)
Sun May 7, 12:30 p.m.: vs. Birmingham Stallions (Canton)
Sat May 13, 12:30 p.m.: at Michigan Panthers (Detroit)
Sat May 20, 12:30 p.m.: at Memphis Showboats
Sat May 27, 9 p.m.: vs. Philadelphia (Canton)
Sat June 3, noon: vs. Houston Gamblers (Canton)
Sat June 10, noon: vs. Michigan (Canton)
Sat June 17, 1 p.m.: at New Jersey (Canton)