ARLINGTON, TX – July 6, 2026 – 2026 marked the birth of the Louisville Kings. The UFL brought professional football to the state of Kentucky, and it took just one season for glory to find its way to Louisville.
For a city that had long waited for professional football, the Kings gave Louisville something to rally around, and by the end of the season, something to celebrate.
It wasn't rainbows and sunshine for the Kings in their inaugural season. Louisville opened the year 0-3 before hometown legend and first-year head coach Chris Redman steadied the ship, engineering one of the greatest turnarounds in spring football history.
On October 7, 2025, the UFL announced the Louisville Kings as one of the league's three expansion teams. By the end of the year, the Kings named hometown hero Chris Redman as the franchise's first head coach.
Redman is considered one of the greatest quarterbacks in Louisville Cardinals history after starring at Louisville Male High School and the University of Louisville. He later spent nine seasons in the NFL and earned a Super Bowl XXXV ring with the Baltimore Ravens before returning home to lead professional football's newest franchise.
Before the Kings had played a game, Redman embraced the opportunity to bring professional football to his hometown. More than wins and losses, he wanted to build something Louisville could rally behind.
"I want it to be a really good experience," Redman said before the inaugural season. "When people show up, it's something that everybody wants to be at."
Redman arrived with a vision. He wanted to build a culture rooted in accountability and bring the lessons he learned throughout his football career to his hometown team.
Things didn't begin as Redman envisioned. The Kings quickly fell into an 0-3 hole, a deficit many teams wouldn't recover from in a ten-game season. Still, Redman never sensed panic inside his locker room.
"We started 0-3, but it didn't feel like we were an 0-3 team," Redman said. "The belief was still there. We were just trying to figure it out."
Even after Louisville earned its first win in Week Four with Jason Bean at quarterback, Redman made one of the boldest decisions of the season. He traded Bean to DC in exchange for Mike DiLiello while making several additional coaching and personnel changes in an effort to reshape the team's identity.
Few first-year head coaches would make a move that significant so early in a season. The decision sent a clear message that culture and accountability would always come first.
"We had to make some big decisions during the season," Redman said. "Those kind of decisions are how you build a foundation the right way. The guys saw that we're going to do it right. You're either on the train or you're not."
Redman handed the offense to backup quarterback Chandler Rogers, and the season changed almost immediately.
In Rogers' first start, Louisville rolled into Dallas and stunned one of the UFL's top teams, 47-25. Ian Wheeler scored four touchdowns, the defense forced four interceptions, and suddenly a team searching for answers looked like a contender.
More importantly, the Kings found their identity. Louisville developed into one of the league's most physical rushing attacks, while its defense became the UFL's premier takeaway unit. Rogers wasn't asked to carry the offense. He was asked to lead it.
"He just has a good aura about him," Redman said. "He's kind of like a coach on the field. Most importantly, he's just a quality person."
That leadership was on full display later in the season against DC. After absorbing a crushing hit from MVP finalist Derick Roberson that quickly went viral, Rogers bounced back and helped lead Louisville to 27 unanswered points. Moments like that only strengthened the locker room's belief in its quarterback.
The Kings won six of their final seven games, averaged more than 175 rushing yards per game during that stretch, and finished the regular season 6-4 to earn the No. 3 seed in the UFL Playoffs.
Redman believed a championship run was possible long before anyone else did.
"Why not us?" Redman said. "There's no reason why we can't finish this thing off and have a storybook season."
Still, Louisville entered the postseason as an underdog. The Kings traveled to The Dome at America's Center to face a St. Louis team that had defeated them 16-3 earlier in the season.
Once again, Louisville answered.
The rushing attack that became the foundation of the turnaround delivered on the biggest stage, while Tanner Brown added another chapter to his historic season. Brown became the first kicker in professional football history to convert multiple 60-plus-yard field goals in the same game, including a 63-yarder that helped seal a 29-20 victory.
The comeback season was no longer just a story. The Kings had punched their ticket to the 2026 United Bowl to face the defending UFL champion DC Defenders on their home field.
Audi Field was sold out for the highly anticipated third meeting between the two teams, with bad blood still lingering after back-to-back regular season matchups.
Louisville trailed 16-7 at halftime and lacked energy on both sides of the football. But just as they had throughout the season, the Kings responded when the stakes were highest.
"Our guys are finishing games now," Redman said. "They have a unique ability to make the plays at the right time."
Louisville outscored DC 20-4 in the second half to capture the 2026 United Bowl championship. Ian Wheeler earned United Bowl MVP honors after his go-ahead 44-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter.
The unlikely, improbable, nearly unbelievable story was complete. After an 0-3 start, Louisville won eight of its final nine games, including six straight to capture the United Bowl.
Less than a year after the franchise was born, the Louisville Kings stood atop the UFL as United Bowl champions. Expansion teams rarely contend immediately, and even fewer win championships in their inaugural season. Louisville did both.
For Redman, bringing a championship home meant far more than winning a trophy.
"That's the reason I got into this, to have an opportunity to bring a championship back to my hometown," Redman said. "I just wanted to make them proud."