(pictured in 2016) are the oldest continuously professional club in US Soccer and the USL system, being a founding member of the
USISL A-League in 1997. The United Soccer League (USL) traces its roots to 1985 when Francisco Marcos founded the
Southwest Indoor Soccer League. Initially intended as a minor indoor league associated with the
Major Indoor Soccer League, it began with five teams owned by operators of indoor soccer arenas in the Southwest United States. By 1986, Marcos' own team, the
Austin Sockadillos, joined the league, expanding it to six teams. In 1989, the league shifted its focus beyond semi-professional indoor soccer. A press release from that year revealed ambitions to align with the
United States Soccer Federation (USSF)'s plan to professionalize soccer in the lead-up to the
1994 FIFA World Cup. The league aimed to become part of a structured, three-tiered system envisioned by the USSF. By 1990, the league began with their first outdoor soccer competitions, and rebranded as the
Sunbelt Independent Soccer League, reflecting broader ambitions. Throughout the 1990s, the league underwent significant changes. This included splitting out an amateur Premier League in 1995 (renamed to the Premier Development League (PDL) in 1997), and the launch of their first attempt at a women's league. A merger with the
American Professional Soccer League was completed in 1997 to form the USISL A-League (later named the
USL First Division), solidifying its position in the U.S. soccer pyramid. and
Montreal Impact, left for different leagues. In 2009, several USL First Division clubs expressed dissatisfaction with the league's leadership and structure, leading to a significant split. These clubs formed a breakaway competition called the
North American Soccer League (NASL), which aimed to operate as a separate second division under the USSF. This division sparked disputes over sanctioning rights between the USL and the NASL. In response, the USSF organized a temporary combined league in 2010 before officially sanctioning the NASL as a separate entity. In 2010, the USL unified its
First Division and
Second Division under the name
USL Pro to consolidate its professional competitions, and moved down to the third division. In 2013, USL Pro and
Major League Soccer (MLS) entered a partnership to integrate their competitions, enhancing player development and strengthening the league's professional status. The W-League folded in 2015. Second division sanctioning was once again granted by USSF in 2017. In 2019, the professional league rebranded to
USL Championship, the PDL rebranded as
USL League Two, and a new division three league named
USL League One was launched. pictured)'' In recent years, the USL has expanded its reach significantly in the women's game. It reintroduced the
W League in 2022 to support women's development and launched the
USL Super League in 2024 as a Division I professional women's league alongside the
National Women's Soccer League. On February 13, 2025, the USL announced plans to
launch a Division I league in 2027 that would exist apart from MLS, pending USSF approval. It also restated its desire to eventually introduce a
promotion and relegation system like most other global soccer leagues. On March 19, 2025, USL announced that that club's owners had overwhelmingly passed a proposal to adopt promotion and relegation throughout all of the organization's professional leagues, including the upcoming Division I league. No timeline for the start of the process had been determined.{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6213452/2025/03/18/usl-promotion-relegation-us-soccer-vote/ |title=Sources: After historic USL vote, promotion, relegation in USA to become reality ==Competitions==