Reading the tea leaves on Andy Loughnane's schedule change and Apple TV update press conference
With a new July to May schedule on the horizon, Austin FC will get a few less matches in triple-digit temperatures. What other changes are coming, though?
You're likely heard the news by now: Major League Soccer is switching to a July to May calendar in mid-2027 to align with the top European leagues (and, indeed, much of the global soccer calendar), and Apple TV is dispensing with MLS Season Pass in favor of making MLS part of its regular offerings to subscribers.
Austin FC president Andy Loughnane spoke on the changes on Monday afternoon, at the very time I was "celebrating" my birthday by getting a leaky garbage disposal replaced in my kitchen. While he was not terribly forthcoming on some of the more interesting questions my colleagues put forth — including how the 14-match mini-season in the first half of 2027 might impact jersey release schedules — we did get some hints as to what the shift might bring forth.
Maybe don't expect many home Opening Days with the new calendar
In 2021, Austin FC started its inaugural season (and a number of others) on the road ahead of its new stadium opening in June. Since then, Verde has enjoyed home openers on the league's first weekend of player in the following four seasons.
Perhaps "enjoyed" is relative, given the 2022 home opener was played in wintry weather (37 degrees and freezing rain, albeit a 5-0 rout of FC Cincinnati right before that team got good), the 2023 home opener is forever known in Verde lore as the Kipp Keller Game (for his regrettable pass leading to a Jared Stroud equalizer en route to a 3-2 loss), and the 2024 home opener featured very possibly the most lackluster half of soccer Verde's ever played. (The 2025 home opener was just fine.)
Given that home openers will happen in July, given that northern teams like Seattle and Minnesota are missing out on some of their best weather dates with the new schedule, and given that Loughnane talked a lot about the largely favorable weather Austin experiences on either side of the new schedule's winter break, I'd expect MLS to throw northern teams the bone of home openers and home closers to mitigate against what they're losing.
Keep in mind that February in Austin is unpredictable; the ice storm that paralyzed the city in 2021 — and led to Verde players' initial public philanthropic efforts – happened Feb. 14, and the not-as-bad-but-still-pretty-bad 2023 storm hit in late January but its effects lingered into early February.
The schedule's not changing as much as you think
Loughnane characterized the new schedule as "91% continuity in terms of regular season and playoff dates," and again emphasized, "That that remaining 9% for us here in Austin ... likely means we're going to be playing fewer games in 100 degree nights, and slightly more games in 70 degree days."
The real wild card might be with what's projected to be a seven-week midseason break between December and February, with Loughnane hinting that the league is talking about what might fill the void. When the schedule change was announced, one of the first things I thought about was the fate of the Coachella Valley Invitational, a preseason tournament at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, Calif., near Palm Springs, which will involve Austin FC for the third straight year in 2026.
A June preseason tournament in a literal desert is less appealing than the current February one, but perhaps there's a way to make Coachella a midseason destination of some sort? It's not worth holding up the schedule over, of course, but I do think it's significant that Loughnane said there will be a discussion over how to deal with the two gaps in the MLS annual calendar going forward, as they'll likely be close to or even equivalent in time (given that he emphasized MLS Cup will be in late May).
Also, there was this from Loughnane: "Leagues Cup's here to stay, and I think Leagues Cup may have a home in that late July to August period as well, but subject to change, and that's up to the league."
Expect MLS to go all in on the mini-season
Loughnane, in response to a question about the first part of 2027, with a 14-match season wedged between February and May, took the opportunity to meet a question characterizing it as a "tournament" to emphasize that the league is very much considering it a legitimate season.
Calling the matches "high impact with highly consequential outcomes," he didn't give a greater sense of how the season will be structured — likely because no one at this point really knows — but did say that Concacaf Champions League places would be on the line.
That, of course, introduced questions about how that tournament will weave into the crowded space, and Open Cup wasn't even broached. We didn't even get a sense of how the schedule shift will impact jersey release schedules.
We did, however, get a sense Loughnane knew what was up there.
"I think your question is around merchandise," he said to one reporter nudging in that direction, "and this is where I don't get ahead of Adidas and MLS in their announcements."
Verde All Day is a reader-supported online publication covering Austin FC. Additional support is provided by Austin Telco Federal Credit Union. For more coverage, check out Emergency Podcast! (an Austin FC Podcast) wherever you get your podcasts.
We're down to eight teams, who will kick off their playoff series a full month after the playoffs commenced. (We should probably do something about this format.)
You're likely heard the news by now: Major League Soccer is switching to a July to May calendar in mid-2027 to align with the top European leagues (and, indeed, much of the global soccer calendar), and Apple TV is dispensing with MLS Season Pass in favor of making MLS part of its regular offerings to subscribers.
Austin FC president Andy Loughnane spoke on the changes on Monday afternoon, at the very time I was "celebrating" my birthday by getting a leaky garbage disposal replaced in my kitchen. While he was not terribly forthcoming on some of the more interesting questions my colleagues put forth — including how the 14-match mini-season in the first half of 2027 might impact jersey release schedules — we did get some hints as to what the shift might bring forth.
Maybe don't expect many home Opening Days with the new calendar
In 2021, Austin FC started its inaugural season (and a number of others) on the road ahead of its new stadium opening in June. Since then, Verde has enjoyed home openers on the league's first weekend of player in the following four seasons.
Perhaps "enjoyed" is relative, given the 2022 home opener was played in wintry weather (37 degrees and freezing rain, albeit a 5-0 rout of FC Cincinnati right before that team got good), the 2023 home opener is forever known in Verde lore as the Kipp Keller Game (for his regrettable pass leading to a Jared Stroud equalizer en route to a 3-2 loss), and the 2024 home opener featured very possibly the most lackluster half of soccer Verde's ever played. (The 2025 home opener was just fine.)
Given that home openers will happen in July, given that northern teams like Seattle and Minnesota are missing out on some of their best weather dates with the new schedule, and given that Loughnane talked a lot about the largely favorable weather Austin experiences on either side of the new schedule's winter break, I'd expect MLS to throw northern teams the bone of home openers and home closers to mitigate against what they're losing.
Keep in mind that February in Austin is unpredictable; the ice storm that paralyzed the city in 2021 — and led to Verde players' initial public philanthropic efforts – happened Feb. 14, and the not-as-bad-but-still-pretty-bad 2023 storm hit in late January but its effects lingered into early February.
The schedule's not changing as much as you think
Loughnane characterized the new schedule as "91% continuity in terms of regular season and playoff dates," and again emphasized, "That that remaining 9% for us here in Austin ... likely means we're going to be playing fewer games in 100 degree nights, and slightly more games in 70 degree days."
The real wild card might be with what's projected to be a seven-week midseason break between December and February, with Loughnane hinting that the league is talking about what might fill the void. When the schedule change was announced, one of the first things I thought about was the fate of the Coachella Valley Invitational, a preseason tournament at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, Calif., near Palm Springs, which will involve Austin FC for the third straight year in 2026.
A June preseason tournament in a literal desert is less appealing than the current February one, but perhaps there's a way to make Coachella a midseason destination of some sort? It's not worth holding up the schedule over, of course, but I do think it's significant that Loughnane said there will be a discussion over how to deal with the two gaps in the MLS annual calendar going forward, as they'll likely be close to or even equivalent in time (given that he emphasized MLS Cup will be in late May).
Also, there was this from Loughnane: "Leagues Cup's here to stay, and I think Leagues Cup may have a home in that late July to August period as well, but subject to change, and that's up to the league."
Expect MLS to go all in on the mini-season
Loughnane, in response to a question about the first part of 2027, with a 14-match season wedged between February and May, took the opportunity to meet a question characterizing it as a "tournament" to emphasize that the league is very much considering it a legitimate season.
Calling the matches "high impact with highly consequential outcomes," he didn't give a greater sense of how the season will be structured — likely because no one at this point really knows — but did say that Concacaf Champions League places would be on the line.
That, of course, introduced questions about how that tournament will weave into the crowded space, and Open Cup wasn't even broached. We didn't even get a sense of how the schedule shift will impact jersey release schedules.
We did, however, get a sense Loughnane knew what was up there.
"I think your question is around merchandise," he said to one reporter nudging in that direction, "and this is where I don't get ahead of Adidas and MLS in their announcements."
Verde All Day is a reader-supported online publication covering Austin FC. Additional support is provided by Austin Telco Federal Credit Union. For more coverage, check out Emergency Podcast! (an Austin FC Podcast) wherever you get your podcasts.
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