Skip to Content

Santa Barbara Sky FC joins USL Championship and will begin play in 2026

sky.00_00_01_00.Still001
Santa Barbara Sky FC joins USL Championship and will begin play in 2026

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - It promises to be worth the wait for Central Coast soccer fans.

Santa Barbara Sky FC is joining USL Championship in 2026 as they are taking the spot of Memphis who is transferring their franchise rights to Sky FC due to stadium issues.

Sky FC has already formed a multi-year partnership with UCSB to play at Harder Stadium which is nicknamed Soccer Heaven.

The stadium is already undergoing renovations and more enhancements will be done to Harder.

Santa Barbara was going to begin play in 2025 in USL League One but now they will push it back to year after being elevated to USL Championship.

The official league announcement is Wednesday from Miami with Santa Barbara Sky FC owner Peter Moore scheduled for 8am Pacific Time.

Article Topic Follows: Top Stories
KEYT
Santa Barbara
soccer

Jump to comments ↓

Author Profile Photo

Mike Klan

Mike Klan is the sports director for News Channel 3-12. To learn more about Mike, click here.

BE PART OF THE CONVERSATION

News Channel 3-12 is committed to providing a forum for civil and constructive conversation.

Please keep your comments respectful and relevant. You can review our Community Guidelines by clicking here

If you would like to share a story idea, please submit it here.

Skip to content