# 2024 UFL championship game

The 2024 UFL championship game was an American football game played on June 16, 2024, at The Dome at America's Center in St. Louis, Missouri. The contest determined the champion of the 2024 UFL season and was played between the USFL Conference title winners, the Birmingham Stallions, and the XFL Conference title winners, the San Antonio Brahmas. The game began at 5:00 p.m. EDT and aired on Fox.

## Background

The championship game was the first UFL championship game following the merger of the XFL and the USFL. Before the merger, the USFL had two championship games, in 2022 and 2023, where the Birmingham Stallions defeated the Philadelphia Stars and the Pittsburgh Maulers in back-to-back seasons. The XFL held one championship game in 2023 when the Arlington Renegades defeated the DC Defenders. The two leagues merged before the 2024 season.

### Host selection

On March 14, 2024, The Dome at America's Center was selected as host for the first UFL championship. When discussing the selection, UFL President and CEO Russ Brandon said, "selecting the championship game location is more than just the stadium, but the community and the fanbase that surrounds it. This is why we are proud to bring our Championship to St. Louis – a city that has loved and embraced spring football from the start." St. Louis set the XFL's five highest league attendance records in 2023.
Of those known to have submitted competing bids, Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton, Ohio, host of the 2022 and 2023 USFL championship games, was known to have made an "aggressive" bid.

### UFL playoffs

The four teams competing in the playoff clinched their spot during their regular season during different times of the overall season of the league. The top two placed teams in each division would face against each other for the division title. Whichever division title game team won, would then face the other champion from the other division in the UFL championship game.

#### Bracket

| Conference finals June 8–9, 2024 | Conference finals June 8–9, 2024 | Conference finals June 8–9, 2024 | UFL championship June 16, 2024 | UFL championship June 16, 2024 | UFL championship June 16, 2024 |
| USFL1 | Birmingham Stallions | 31 | | | |
| USFL2 | Michigan Panthers | 18 | | | |
| USFL2 | Michigan Panthers | 18 | USFL1 | Birmingham Stallions | 25 |
| | | | XFL2 | San Antonio Brahmas | 0 |
| XFL1 | St. Louis Battlehawks | 15 | XFL2 | San Antonio Brahmas | 0 |
| XFL2 | San Antonio Brahmas | 25 | | | |
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## Teams
### Birmingham Stallions

The Birmingham Stallions finished their third overall season under head coach Skip Holtz, going 9–1, their lone loss having occurred at the hands of San Antonio in week 9. The Stallions advanced to the USFL Conference championship against the Michigan Panthers, in which they rallied from an 18–3 second quarter deficit, scoring the final 28 points in a 31–18 victory to secure their third consecutive USFL title.
Birmingham made their third consecutive spring football championship game appearance, winning both of the USFL championships as part of the original rebooted league over the Philadelphia Stars in 2022 and the Pittsburgh Maulers in 2023.

### San Antonio Brahmas

The San Antonio Brahmas finished their second overall season and their first season under head coach Wade Phillips, going 7–3 and advancing to the XFL Conference championship against the St. Louis Battlehawks. The Brahmas led wire-to-wire behind a rushing attack that amassed over 200 yards, upsetting the Battlehawks on their home field, 25–15, to secure their first-ever XFL Conference championship.
San Antonio was the second consecutive Texas-based team to appear in a spring football championship game, following the Arlington Renegades winning the 2023 XFL title as part of that rebooted league. Wade Phillips was also seeking his first outright championship as a head coach, having won Super Bowl 50 with the Denver Broncos as their defensive coordinator in 2015.

## Game summary
### Scoring summary

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Birmingham Stallions | 0 | 8 | 14 | 3 | 25 |
| San Antonio Brahmas | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
at The Dome at America's Center • St. Louis, Missouri
* Date: Sunday, June 16, 2024
* Game time: 5:00 p.m. EDT
* Game weather: 93 °F (34 °C)
* Game attendance: 27,396
* Referee: Adam Savoie
* TV announcers (Fox): Curt Menefee (play-by-play), Joel Klatt (analyst) and Brock Huard (sideline reporter)
Game information :
First quarter
No scoring plays.
Second quarter
BHAM – Gary Jennings Jr. 8-yard pass from Adrian Martinez (Adrian Martinez-Amari Rodgers two-point pass), :50. Stallions 8–0. Drive: 6 plays, 87 yards, 2:59.
Third quarter
BHAM – Adrian Martinez 11-yard run (Adrian Martinez-Jordan Thomas two-point pass), 11:00. Stallions 16–0. Drive: 8 plays, 59 yards, 4:00.
BHAM – Adrian Martinez 1-yard run (two-point pass failed), 7:25. Stallions 22–0. Drive: 6 plays, 24 yards, 3:17.
Fourth quarter
BHAM – Chris Blewitt 49-yard field goal, 11:25. Stallions 25–0. Drive: 9 plays, 22 yards, 4:33.
Top passers
BHAM – Adrian Martinez – 13/23, 98 yards, TD
SA – Chase Garbers – 18/26, 116 yards
Top rushers
BHAM – Ricky Person Jr. – 13 rushes, 102 yards
SA – Anthony McFarland Jr. – 9 rushes, 32 yards
Top receivers
BHAM – Marlon Williams – 4 receptions, 36 yards
SA – Anthony McFarland Jr. – 6 receptions, 38 yards :

## Statistics

Team statistical comparison :
| Statistic | Birmingham | San Antonio |
| Total plays–net yards | 58–308 | 53–208 |
| Rushing attempts–net yards | 35–210 | 16–52 |
| Yards per rush | 6.0 | 3.2 |
| Yards passing | 98 | 156 |
| Pass completions–attempts | 13–23 | 24–35 |
| Interceptions thrown | 0 | 0 |
| Punt returns–total yards | 15 | 18 |
| Kickoff returns–total yards | 30 | 77 |
| Punts–average yardage | 4–49.0 | 6–47.3 |
| Fumbles–lost | 1–1 | 3–2 |
| Time of possession | 31:10 | 28:50 |
Birmingham statistics :
| Stallions passing ||||||
| | C–A | Yds | TD–INT |
| Adrian Martinez | 13–23 | 98 | 1–0 |
| Stallions rushing ||||||
| | Car | Yds | TD |
| Ricky Person Jr. | 13 | 102 | 0 |
| Adrian Martinez | 11 | 52 | 2 |
| C. J. Marable | 10 | 45 | 0 |
| Amari Rodgers | 1 | 11 | 0 |
| Stallions receiving ||||||
| | Rec | Yds | TD |
| Marlon Williams | 4 | 36 | 0 |
| Jace Sternberger | 4 | 19 | 0 |
| Gary Jennings Jr. | 2 | 19 | 1 |
| Jordan Thomas | 1 | 14 | 0 |
| Deon Cain | 1 | 6 | 0 |
| Ricky Person Jr. | 1 | 4 | 0 |
San Antonio statistics :
| Brahmas passing ||||||
| | C–A | Yds | TD–INT |
| Chase Garbers | 18–26 | 116 | 0–0 |
| Quinten Dormady | 6–9 | 58 | 0–0 |
| Brahmas rushing ||||||
| | Car | Yds | TD |
| Anthony McFarland Jr. | 9 | 32 | 0 |
| Morgan Ellison | 3 | 11 | 0 |
| Chase Garbers | 3 | 7 | 0 |
| John Lovett | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| Brahmas receiving ||||||
| | Rec | Yds | TD |
| Calvin Turner | 5 | 49 | 0 |
| Anthony McFarland Jr. | 6 | 38 | 0 |
| Marquez Stevenson | 3 | 34 | 0 |
| K. D. Cannon | 2 | 26 | 0 |
| Jontre Kirklin | 5 | 23 | 0 |
| Justin Smith | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| Alizé Mack | 2 | 1 | 0 |

## Broadcasting

Fox carried the championship, with its lead team of play-by-play broadcaster Curt Menefee, analyst Joel Klatt and sideline reporter Brock Huard, along with a guest appearance from Tom Brady, in a preview of his assumption of lead NFL analyst duties in September.
A Spanish language broadcast was carried on Fox Deportes, with Jamie Motta and Jorge Carlos Mercader as the broadcast team.

## Entertainment

Charles Glenn, the anthem singer for the St. Louis Blues, performed the national anthem.
Marquette King, a former St. Louis Battlehawk who currently plays for the Arlington Renegades, performed the halftime show.