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USL teams by tier (1990-2010)
The growth of the amateur PDL coincides with the implosion of the pro game
Posted on Sept. 12, 2025, 9:23 a.m. | Categories: USL Women's soccerI’ve been doing research for a while taking a survey of the leagues in the USL. I’ve gotten to the end of the 90s and am starting to see the end of the organization’s expansion. Following the 1994 World Cup professional soccer grew in the US both with the formation of MLS and the expansion of the USL (called the USISL through 1998).
The USISL began (under a different name) in 1986 as an indoor league then launched an outdoor league in the summer of 1990. From that year until 1993 the USISL was considered an amateur league by the USSF. The outdoor league rapidly expanded in 1992 and continued that growth through the 1990s.
In 1994, the USISL was given Division III professional sanctioning by the USSF. While the USISL as a league was sanctioned Division III, in 1994 the teams were split fairly evenly into professional and amateur teams. It was a transition year, where the pro teams were formally sanctioned by USSF and the amateur teams were formally sanctioned by USASA in order for those players not to lose NCAA eligibility.
In 1995, the USISL split its men’s league into the Division III Pro League and the amateur Premier League. The organization also formally launched the amateur W-League - the first national women’s soccer league in the US.
In 1997, the USISL absorbed the professional Division II A-League. The next year the USISL grew to 132 teams across its four national league. The number of pro teams in the USISL reached 68 in 1998 - five more than the prior season. The USISL became simply the USL in 1999 and plateaued at that 132 number. But, the number of professional teams dropped from 68 down to 56.
The expansion in the pro soccer game started to dip as the 2000s began. After adding two teams in 1998, MLS stagnated and lost two after 2001. The USL also struggled with maintaining the number of teams in its pro leagues. The organization had shed so many teams each year that the two pro leagues only had 32 in 2003, less than half at the peak in 1998.
The men’s amateur PDL (renamed in 1999), didn’t suffer as badly as the pro leagues’ contraction. But even the PDL basically was treading water in the first few years of the 2000s.
The latter half of the 2000s saw the PDL on a growth curve again while the USL’s pro leagues continued to get smaller. With only 21 teams between them, the A-League and Pro League were renamed the First Division and Second Division in 2005. That year the PDL had 59 teams while the W-League remained steady at 37 teams.
In 2008, the USL had nearly as many teams, 128, as the 132 it had 10 years earlier. But over half of those were PDL team which numbered 67. The W-League had 40. While the two pro leagues were stuck at 21.
The rise of the second NASL as a Division II rival to the First Division in 2009 saw the USSF form a temporary Division II of its own in 2010. The USSF D-2 had 12 teams - half were NASL teams and half were USL teams. The Second Division had dropped down to six as well which meant that the USL only had 12 professional teams playing in the 2010 season. The PDL still had 67 but the W-League had dropped down to 29.
The promise of the 1994 World Cup and MLS was that professional soccer was finally going to make it in the US. And, the USL was a prime mover in that. But, the financial returns (usually negative) of running a professional soccer team couldn’t keep pace with that hopefulness and the national soccer landscape moved back to the amateur game during the 2000s. It would be another tumultuous decade which saw the pro game claw its way back to a more sustainable footing.
Last modified on Sept. 12, 2025, 9:35 a.m.