Is NFL draft talk not satisfying your football fix?
Do you need some real action?
Perfect, for you hardcore football fans, because this weekend kicks off another season of the United Football League and the hometown Arlington Renegades.
Scratch that. The Dallas Renegades.
Cowboys
A lot changed over the offseason for the Renegades after a 5-5 season that saw them miss the playoffs for a second straight season. Can they get back to the success of their 2023 season? That remains to be seen, but for now let’s just focus on the changes this young franchise went through over the dynamic 2025 offseason.
Here are five things to know about the 2026 Dallas Renegades before they begin their season Saturday against Houston.
1. New name
They’re no longer the Arlington Renegades. That’s right, they’re now the Dallas Renegades after the UFL shifted its goals and visions during the offseason and shuffled around a few of its teams’ names and stadiums.
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The Arlington Renegades became the Dallas Renegades, the Houston Roughnecks became the Houston Gamblers, and the league replaced three former franchises with the Columbus Aviators, Louisville Kings and Orlando Storm.
That wasn’t all that changed for the Renegades, though…
2. New stadium
Along with their name change came a change in venues. The Renegades will now play at Toyota Stadium in Frisco, home of FC Dallas, rather than Choctaw Stadium, former home of the Texas Rangers.
UFL ownership explained the change in saying that some past UFL stadiums were “the wrong energy,” played in too-big stadiums that looked empty.
There’s hope that a swap to Toyota Stadium will bring a lively crowd seated right on top of the action in a full stadium, with a capacity of 15-20,000 rather than Choctaw’s 40,000-plus.
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3. New coach
The 2025 season was the end of an era — not just for the Renegades, but for the sport of football.
Legendary head coach Bob Stoops, who helmed the Renegades through the first four seasons of their existence, finally retired and ended his legendary career after last season. The former Sooners legend won a national title with Oklahoma in 2000.
Replacing Stoops is another well-known ball coach in Rick Neuheisel. Neuheisel’s got a head coaching resume that goes back to the 1990s and also worked for the Baltimore Ravens as an assistant from 2005-07.
“I have been a big believer in spring football since its inception with the USFL back in the 80’s when I played quarterback for the San Antonio Gunslingers,” Neuheisel said in a statement in December. “It was a thrill then and it is a thrill now.”
4. Uniform tweak
The Renegades’ black-and-electric-blue uniforms didn’t receive a full overhaul during the offseason, but they did get a slight tweak.
The helmets are now primarily black with the blue Renegades logo, plus a triple-stripe (blue-red-blue) down the middle. The jerseys feature a slightly modified shoulder stripe.
A look at the Dallas Renegades’ home uniform for the 2026 UFL season.
Courtesy of the UFL
5. Quarterback returns
The Renegades are returning what you would have to call their franchise quarterback in Luis Perez, who won the MVP of the league during the Renegades’ XFL Championship season in 2023.
Since then he had a stint with the Chargers before returning to the Renegades for last season. In 2025 Perez threw for a league-leading 2,294 yards in 10 games to go along with nine touchdowns and five interceptions.
The Renegades also have a pair of former Dallas Cowboys picked up in January’s UFL draft.
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