USL PREMIER DEVELOPMENT LEAGUE
The top U23 men’s amateur league in North America lives in the USL Premier Development League (PDL), the development ground for elite players. The 2008 campaign features a 67-team format within four conferences, consisting of 16 regular season matches, 8 home and 8 away.
The schedule is augmented by participation in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, and various exhibitions. Players have the ability to compete in the PDL throughout the summer months in a professionalized setting while maintaining their collegiate eligibility. The league is the proving ground for players that aspire to reach the highest-levels of the game, while providing affordable family entertainment within their city.
PDL 2008 season details announced
Alignment and competition structure set for 2008 season
USL News Release
Thursday, December 6, 2007
TAMPA, FL -- United Soccer Leagues announced Thursday details for the 2008 USL Premier Development League season, which will see an increase in divisions and playoff teams in the upcoming campaign. Among the details finalized recently at the 2007 Annual General Meeting at the Hyatt Regency in Tampa, FL were the alignment, schedule and playoff details for the 2008 competition.
The PDL will consist of 67 teams in 2008, playing in 10 divisions that comprise the four conferences. New to the Central Conference will be the Midwest Division, while the New England Division will join the fray in Eastern Conference.
Expansion teams that have been formally announced to date are the Kalamazoo Outrage, Houston Leones, Panama City Pirates, New Jersey Rangers, Austin Stampede and Vancouver Whitecaps Residency. Moving to the PDL from the USL Second Division are the New Hampshire Phantoms and Cincinnati Kings. Another club change among the mix is that Abbotsford has adopted its youth club nickname Mariners. An additional expansion team is yet to be officially announced.
The league will also play a 16-game season for the fifth straight campaign with games based primarily upon their divisional alignment. The season will open April 26 and conclude July 20.
The playoffs will begin almost immediately with the expanded Central Conference format in which seven teams will move onto the postseason, marking the first conference equivalent playoff system featuring more than four participants for the first time since the divisional playoffs in 1998. The four Conference Championship Tournaments will be held July 25-27 with the PDL Semifinals August 1-2 and the PDL Championship Saturday, August 9. All playoff hosts are determined via a bid process.
PDL Alignments and Playoff Structure: Western Conference
Western Conference
Northwest Division: Abbotsford Mariners, BYU Cougars, Cascade Surge, Ogden Outlaws, Spokane Spiders, Tacoma Tide, Vancouver Whitecaps Residency, Yakima Reds
Southwest Division: Bakersfield Brigade, Fresno Fuego, Lancaster Rattlers, Los Angeles Legends, Orange County Blue Star, San Fernando Valley Quakes, San Francisco Seals, San Jose Frogs, Southern California Seahorses, Ventura County Fusion
Western Conference Playoffs: The top two teams in each division advance to the conference championship tournament. The division champions face the second place team from the opposite division in the conference semifinals. The winner of the conference championship advances to the PDL Semifinals.
