Members
Current
Locations of teams for the 2024 USL Championship season
| League | USL Championship |
|---|---|
| Sport | Soccer |
| Founded | January 21, 2015 |
| No. of teams | 12 |
| Most recent champions | Rhode Island FC (2024) (1st title) |
| Most titles | Louisville City FC (4 titles) |
The Eastern Conference is one of two conferences in USL Championship soccer. [1]
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Louisville City FC (S) | 30 | 22 | 1 | 7 | 56 | 19 | +37 | 73 | Playoffs |
| 2 | Charleston Battery | 30 | 19 | 6 | 5 | 62 | 32 | +30 | 62 | |
| 3 | North Carolina FC | 30 | 13 | 11 | 6 | 40 | 39 | +1 | 45 | |
| 4 | Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC (C) | 30 | 12 | 10 | 8 | 32 | 28 | +4 | 44 [a] | |
| 5 | Hartford Athletic | 30 | 13 | 12 | 5 | 48 | 36 | +12 | 44 [a] | |
| 6 | Loudoun United FC | 30 | 12 | 12 | 6 | 45 | 48 | −3 | 42 | |
| 7 | Rhode Island FC | 30 | 10 | 12 | 8 | 29 | 28 | +1 | 38 | |
| 8 | Detroit City FC | 30 | 9 | 11 | 10 | 33 | 35 | −2 | 37 | |
| 9 | Indy Eleven | 30 | 10 | 15 | 5 | 44 | 52 | −8 | 35 | |
| 10 | Tampa Bay Rowdies | 30 | 9 | 14 | 7 | 43 | 50 | −7 | 34 | |
| 11 | Miami FC | 30 | 8 | 16 | 6 | 29 | 44 | −15 | 30 | |
| 12 | Birmingham Legion FC | 30 | 5 | 13 | 12 | 36 | 50 | −14 | 27 |
Conference Member Club moved to Western Conference Former clubs Club playing in different league
‡Orlando City B & Rochester Rhinos went on hiatus after the 2017 season. [2] [3] OKC Energy FC went and has been on hiatus since the 2021 season, and looks to be on hiatus until the 2028 season. [4] [5]
Changes from 2014: USL Pro expanded and was rebranded as simply USL; the round robin table was split into two conferences: Eastern and Western.
Changes from 2015: Bethlehem Steel FC, FC Cincinnati and Orlando City B were added as expansion franchises; [6] St. Louis FC moved out to the Western Conference.
Changes from 2016: Ottawa Fury FC and the Tampa Bay Rowdies moved in from the North American Soccer League; FC Montreal was disbanded; Saint Louis FC moved back in from the Western Conference; [7] Wilmington Hammerheads FC moved out to the Premier Development League (now USL League Two).
Changes from 2017: USL was divided into three divisions: Championship, League One and League Two; Atlanta United 2 was added as an expansion franchise; the Indy Eleven and North Carolina FC moved in from the North American Soccer League; the Harrisburg City Islanders were renamed Penn FC; Orlando City B and the Rochester Rhinos went on hiatus; Saint Louis FC moved out back to the Western Conference. [8]
Changes from 2018: FC Cincinnati disbanded to make way for the MLS franchise; [9] Birmingham Legion FC, Hartford Athletic, Loudoun United FC and Memphis 901 FC were added as expansion franchises; Saint Louis FC and the Swope Park Rangers moved in from the Western Conference; Orlando City B, the Richmond Kickers and Toronto FC II moved out to USL League One; Penn FC and the Rochester Rhinos went on hiatus. They will move to USL League One in 2020.
Changes from 2019: Nashville SC moved out to Major League Soccer; Bethlehem Steel FC was renamed Philadelphia Union II; the Swope Park Rangers were renamed Sporting Kansas City II; Ottawa Fury FC was not sanctioned by U.S. Soccer and had their franchise rights sold to Miami FC; Penn FC was disbanded. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic the conference was split into four groups. Three groups of four and one group of five. [10]
Changes from 2020: The conference was divided into two divisions, Atlantic and Central; the OKC Energy FC and FC Tulsa moved in from the Western Conference; North Carolina FC moved out to USL League One; Philadelphia Union II was withdrawn by its MLS parent club; Saint Louis FC was disbanded. [11]
Changes from 2021: The Atlantic and Central divisions were dropped; OKC Energy FC went on hiatus; Charlotte Independence moved to USL League One; Detroit City FC joined from NISA; Sporting Kansas City II was withdrawn by its MLS parent club and moved to MLS Next Pro. [12]
Changes from 2022: Atlanta United 2 and New York Red Bulls II were withdrawn by its MLS parent club and moved to MLS Next Pro. [13]
Changes from 2023: North Carolina FC returned from USL League One. [14] Rhode Island FC was added as an expansion franchise. [15] Memphis 901 FC and FC Tulsa were moved to the Western Conference. [16]
Changes from 2025: Brooklyn FC and Sporting Club Jacksonville are added as expansion teams. [17] North Carolina FC pulled their team from competition in plans of making a move to the USL Division One at some point in the future. [18]
| Bold | USL Champions |
| Season | Champions | Score | Runners up |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Rochester Rhinos | 1–0 | Louisville City FC |
| 2016 | New York Red Bulls II | 1–1 (4–3 PK) | Louisville City FC |
| 2017 | Louisville City FC | 1–1 (4–3 PK) | New York Red Bulls II |
| 2018 | Louisville City FC | 5–1 | New York Red Bulls II |
| 2019 | Louisville City FC | 3–1 (AET) | Indy Eleven |
| 2020 [a] | Tampa Bay Rowdies | 2–1 | Louisville City FC |
| 2021 | Tampa Bay Rowdies | 3–2 (AET) | Louisville City FC |
| 2022 | Louisville City FC | 1–0 (AET) | Tampa Bay Rowdies |
| 2023 | Charleston Battery | 2–1 | Louisville City FC |
| 2024 | Rhode Island FC | 2–1 | Charleston Battery |
| 2025 | Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC | 1–0 | Rhode Island FC |
| Bold | Players' Shield Champions |
| Season | Team | Record | Playoffs result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Rochester Rhinos | 17–1–10 (+25) | Won USL Championship |
| 2016 | New York Red Bulls II | 21–3–6 (+40) | Won USL Championship |
| 2017 | Louisville City FC | 18–6–8 (+27) | Won USL Championship |
| 2018 | FC Cincinnati | 23–3–8 (+38) | Lost Conference semifinals |
| 2019 | Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC | 19-4-11 (+28) | Lost Conference semifinals |
| 2020 | Louisville City FC | 11-3-2 (+16) | Lost Conference Final |
| 2021 | Tampa Bay Rowdies | 23–7–2 (+32) | Lost Championship final |
| 2022 | Louisville City FC | 22–6–6 (+37) | Lost Championship final |
| 2023 | Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC | 19–5–10 (+21) | Lost Conference quarterfinals |
| 2024 | Louisville City FC | 24–6–4 (+43) | Lost Conference semifinals |
| 2025 | Louisville City FC | 22–1–7 (+37) | Lost Conference quarterfinals |
Construction on the new venue is expected to begin this spring, with the stadium scheduled to open in January 2028 ahead of the club's entry to the USL Championship.
Expansion clubs Brooklyn FC and Sporting Jacksonville SC will each join the Eastern Conference for the new season (full alignment below).
North Carolina FC's franchise agreement with the USL Championship concluded at the end of the 2025 season
The USL Championship final between the Tampa Bay Rowdies and Phoenix Rising has been canceled after multiple Tampa Bay players tested positive for COVID-19, the league announced on Saturday.