Eastern Conference (USL Championship)

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

FoundedJanuary 21, 2015

No. of teams12

Quick facts League, Sport ...

Eastern Conference
League	USL Championship
Sport	Soccer
Founded	January 21, 2015
No. of teams	12
Most recent champions	Pittsburgh Riverhounds (2025) (2nd title)
Most titles	Louisville City FC (4 titles)

Close

Current standings

More information Pos, Pld ...

Pos	Team v t e	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

Close

Source: USL Championship Standings
Rules for classification: 1) head-to-head points; 2) head-to-head goal differential; 3) points-per-game within conference; 4) total wins; 5) total goal differential; 6) total goals scored; 7) points earned against top four Conference finishers; 8) disciplinary points; 9) coin toss or drawing of lots
(C) Champions; (S) Players' Shield winner
Notes:

[a]
Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC are ahead of Hartford Athletic on head-to-head points. PGH 6, HFD 0.

Members

Current

More information Club, City ...

Club	City	Stadium
Birmingham Legion FC	Birmingham, Alabama	Protective Stadium
Brooklyn FC	Brooklyn, New York	Maimonides Park
Charleston Battery	Charleston, South Carolina	Patriots Point Soccer Complex
Detroit City FC	Hamtramack, Michigan	Keyworth Stadium
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
Pittsburgh Riverhounds	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania	Highmark Stadium
Rhode Island FC	Smithfield, Rhode Island	Beirne Stadium
Sporting Club Jacksonville	Jacksonville, Florida	Hodges Stadium
Tampa Bay Rowdies	St. Petersburg, Florida	Al Lang Stadium

Close

Locations of teams for the 2026 USL Championship season

Conference Lineups

Clubs timeline

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]

2015 (12 teams)

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)

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.

2017 (15 teams)

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).

2018 (16 teams)

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]

2019 (18 teams)

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.

2020 (17 teams)

Group E (4 teams)

Group F (5 teams)

Group G (4 teams)

Group H (4 teams)

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]

2021 (16 teams)

Atlantic Division (8 teams)

Central Division (8 teams)

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]

2022 (14 teams)

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]

2023 (12 teams)

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]

2024–25 (12 teams)

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]

2026 (13 teams)

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 Premier at some point in the future.^[18]

Eastern Conference Playoff champions by year

Bold	USL Champions

More information Season, 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

Close

[a]
USL Championship game canceled due to COVID-19 outbreak in the Rowdies camp.^[19]

Eastern Conference regular season champions by year

Bold	Players' Shield Champions

More information Season, Team ...

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

Close

Eastern Conference (USL Championship)

Current standings

Members

Current

Conference Lineups

Clubs timeline

2015 (12 teams)

2016 (14 teams)

2017 (15 teams)

2018 (16 teams)

2019 (18 teams)

2020 (17 teams)

Group E (4 teams)

Group F (5 teams)

Group G (4 teams)

Group H (4 teams)

2021 (16 teams)

Atlantic Division (8 teams)

Central Division (8 teams)

2022 (14 teams)

2023 (12 teams)

2024–25 (12 teams)

2026 (13 teams)

Eastern Conference Playoff champions by year

Eastern Conference regular season champions by year

See also

References

Related Articles