Eastern Conference (USL Championship) explained

Eastern Conference
Sport:	Soccer
Founded:	January 21, 2015
Teams:	12
Champion:	(2023) (1st title)
Most Champs:	(4 titles)

The Eastern Conference is one of two conferences in USL Championship soccer.^[1]

Members

Current

Club	City	Stadium
Birmingham Legion FC	Birmingham, Alabama	Protective Stadium
Charleston Battery	Charleston, South Carolina
Detroit City FC	Hamtramack, Michigan
Hartford Athletic	Hartford, Connecticut	Trinity Health Stadium
Indy Eleven	Indianapolis, Indiana	IU Michael A. Carroll Track & Soccer Stadium
Loudoun United FC	Leesburg, Virginia	Segra Field
Louisville City FC	Louisville, Kentucky	Lynn Family Stadium
Miami FC	Miami, Florida	Riccardo Silva Stadium
North Carolina FC	Cary, North Carolina	WakeMed Soccer Park
Pittsburgh Riverhounds	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania	Highmark Stadium
Rhode Island FC	Smithfield, Rhode Island	Beirne Stadium
Tampa Bay Rowdies	St. Petersburg, Florida

Conference Lineups

Clubs timeline

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‡Orlando City B & Rochester Rhinos went on hiatus after the 2017 season.^{[2] [3]}

2015 (12 teams)

• Charleston Battery
• Charlotte Independence
• Harrisburg City Islanders
• Louisville City FC
• FC Montreal
• New York Red Bulls II
• Pittsburgh Riverhounds
• Richmond Kickers
• Rochester Rhinos
• St. Louis FC
• Toronto FC II
• Wilmington Hammerheads

Changes from 2014: USL Pro expanded and was rebranded as simply USL; the round robin table was split into two conferences: Eastern and Western.

2016 (14 teams)

• Bethlehem Steel FC
• Charleston Battery
• Charlotte Independence
• FC Cincinnati
• FC Montreal
• Harrisburg City Islanders
• Louisville City FC
• New York Red Bulls II
• Orlando City B
• Pittsburgh Riverhounds
• Richmond Kickers
• Rochester Rhinos
• Toronto FC II
• Wilmington Hammerheads

Changes from 2015: Bethlehem Steel FC, FC Cincinnati and Orlando City B were added as expansion franchises;^[4] St. Louis FC moved out to the Western Conference.

2017 (15 teams)

• Bethlehem Steel FC
• Charleston Battery
• Charlotte Independence
• FC Cincinnati
• Harrisburg City Islanders
• Louisville City FC
• New York Red Bulls II
• Orlando City B
• Ottawa Fury FC
• Pittsburgh Riverhounds
• Richmond Kickers
• Rochester Rhinos
• Saint Louis FC
• Tampa Bay Rowdies
• Toronto FC II

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;^[5] Wilmington Hammerheads FC moved out to the Premier Development League (now USL League Two).

2018 (16 teams)

• Atlanta United 2
• Bethlehem Steel FC
• Charleston Battery
• Charlotte Independence
• FC Cincinnati
• Indy Eleven
• Louisville City FC
• Nashville SC
• New York Red Bulls II
• North Carolina FC
• Ottawa Fury FC
• Penn FC
• Pittsburgh Riverhounds
• Richmond Kickers
• Tampa Bay Rowdies
• Toronto FC II

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.^[6]

2019 (18 teams)

• Atlanta United 2
• Bethlehem Steel FC
• Birmingham Legion FC
• Charleston Battery
• Charlotte Independence
• Hartford Athletic
• Indy Eleven
• Loudoun United FC
• Louisville City FC
• Memphis 901 FC
• Nashville SC
• New York Red Bulls II
• North Carolina FC
• Ottawa Fury FC
• Pittsburgh Riverhounds
• Saint Louis FC
• Swope Park Rangers
• Tampa Bay Rowdies

Changes from 2018: FC Cincinnati disbanded to make way for the MLS franchise;^[7] 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.

2020 (17 teams)

Group E (4 teams)

• Indy Eleven
• Louisville City FC
• Saint Louis FC
• Sporting Kansas City II

Group F (5 teams)

• Hartford Athletic
• Loudoun United FC
• New York Red Bulls II
• Philadelphia Union II
• Pittsburgh Riverhounds

Group G (4 teams)

• Birmingham Legion FC
• Charlotte Independence
• Memphis 901 FC
• North Carolina FC

Group H (4 teams)

• Atlanta United 2
• Charleston Battery
• Miami FC
• Tampa Bay Rowdies

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.^[8]

2021 (16 teams)

Atlantic Division (8 teams)

• Charleston Battery
• Charlotte Independence
• Hartford Athletic
• Loudoun United FC
• Miami FC
• New York Red Bulls II
• Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC
• Tampa Bay Rowdies

Central Division (8 teams)

• Atlanta United 2
• Birmingham Legion FC
• Indy Eleven
• Louisville City FC
• Memphis 901 FC
• OKC Energy FC
• Sporting Kansas City II
• FC Tulsa

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.^[9]

2022 (14 teams)

• Atlanta United 2
• Birmingham Legion FC
• Charleston Battery
• Detroit City FC
• Hartford Athletic
• Indy Eleven
• Louisville City FC
• Loudoun United FC
• Memphis 901 FC
• Miami FC
• New York Red Bulls II
• Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC
• Tampa Bay Rowdies
• FC Tulsa

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.^[10]

2023 (12 teams)

• Birmingham Legion FC
• Charleston Battery
• Detroit City FC
• Hartford Athletic
• Indy Eleven
• Louisville City FC
• Loudoun United FC
• Memphis 901 FC
• Miami FC
• Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC
• Tampa Bay Rowdies
• FC Tulsa

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.^[11]

2024 (12 teams)

• Birmingham Legion FC
• Charleston Battery
• Detroit City FC
• Hartford Athletic
• Indy Eleven
• Louisville City FC
• Loudoun United FC
• Miami FC
• North Carolina FC
• Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC
• Rhode Island FC
• Tampa Bay Rowdies

Changes from 2023: North Carolina FC returned from USL League One.^[12] Rhode Island FC was added as an expansion franchise.^[13] Memphis 901 FC and FC Tulsa were moved to the Western Conference.^[14]

Eastern Conference Playoff champions by year

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	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

Eastern Conference regular season champions by year

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

See also

• Western Conference (USL Championship)

Notes and References

1. Web site: Expanded USL Unveils 2015 Format. United Soccer League (USL). January 21, 2015. January 3, 2016. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20160304062118/http://www.uslsoccer.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_LANG=C&DB_OEM_ID=32800&ATCLID=209861534. March 4, 2016.
2. News: Rochester Rhinos to take hiatus from United Soccer League. Buffalo News. November 30, 2017. December 2, 2017. Buffalo, NY. Ben. Tsujimoto.
3. Web site: Orlando City B Elects to Forgo 2018 USL Division II Season. Orlando City SC. January 12, 2018. January 12, 2018.
4. Web site: 2016 USL Alignment and Format Announced. United Soccer League (USL). January 20, 2016. January 20, 2016. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20160127191949/http://www.uslsoccer.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=32800&ATCLID=210650693. January 27, 2016.
5. Web site: USL Announces 2017 Conference Alignment. United Soccer League (USL). www.uslsoccer.com. November 4, 2017. January 9, 2017.
6. Web site: USL Announces 2018 Conference Alignment . 2018-01-12 . soccerstadiumdigest.com . Soccer Stadium Digest . 2022-11-08 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20221108153303/https://soccerstadiumdigest.com/2018/01/usl-announces-2018-conference-alignment/ . 2022-11-08. mdy-all.
7. Web site: USL Championship Unveils 2019 Conference Alignment. United Soccer League (USL). December 13, 2018. December 13, 2018.
8. Web site: USL Championship announces Eastern Conference groups . Lenard . John . 2020-06-26 . 3rddegree.net . 3rd Degree . 2022-11-07 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20221108035705/https://3rddegree.net/usl-championship-announces-eastern-conference-groups . 2022-11-08 . mdy-all.
9. Web site: USL Championship Releases 2021 League Alignment, Republic FC in Pacific Division . 2021-03-02 . www.sacrepublicfc.com . Sacramento Republic FC . 2022-11-07 . live . https://archive.today/lbIlC/ . 2022-11-07. mdy-all.
10. Web site: USL Championship releases 2022 schedule format and conference realignment . Krysinsky . John . 2021-12-21 . pittsburghsoccernow.com . PGH Soccer Now . Pittsburgh, PA . 2022-11-07 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20221107161116/https://pittsburghsoccernow.com/2021/12/21/usl-championship-releases-2022-schedule-format-and-conference-realignment/ . 2022-11-07. mdy-all.
11. Web site: USL sets Championship's 2023 conference alignment, season format . 2022-12-20 . www.loucity.com . Louisville City FC. Louisville, KY . 2022-12-20 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20221220184303/https://www.loucity.com/news/2022/12/20/usl-sets-championships-2023-conference-alignment-season-format/ . 2022-12-20 . mdy-all.
12. Web site: North Carolina FC to rejoin USL Championship in 2024 . North Carolina FC . August 7, 2023.
13. Web site: December 2, 2019 . Rhode Island Unveils 7,500-Seat Soccer-Specific Stadium Anchored by USL Championship Club . USL Championship . October 25, 2022.
14. Web site: USL Championship Unveils 2024 Regular Season Schedule . USL Championship . USL Championship Staff . December 18, 2023. December 18, 2023.