Former Cincinnati Bearcats to participate in Sunday's USFL championship game

Three former University of Cincinnati football players will participate in the inaugural USFL championship game.

Kickoff of the title game between the Philadelphia Stars (7-4) and the Birmingham Stallions (10-1) is set for 7:30 p.m. Sunday at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton, Ohio. The game will air on FOX.

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Former Bearcats wide receivers Devin Gray and Kahlil Lewis are on the Philadelphia roster, while former Cincinnati offensive lineman Darius Harper will take the field for the Stallions.

Birmingham, Alabama, was the host city for the USFL's regular season over the past two-plus months. The league moved to Canton last week for the start of its playoffs.

"(I have) a lot of great ties to this part of the country," Birmingham coach Skip Holtz said Monday. "So it's been great to come back. It's great to be back in the wonderful state of Ohio. It's great to have an opportunity to try and win a championship here in the USFL in the state of Ohio."

Gray started nine games for Philadelphia this season, racking up 26 catches, 215 yards and two touchdowns.

Gray played two seasons for the Bearcats (2016-17) before going undrafted in the 2018 NFL Draft. Gray signed with the Atlanta Falcons as an undrafted free agent and spent time on the practice squads of both the Falcons and Baltimore Ravens.

Lewis led Cincinnati in receiving three straight years (2016-18) before having brief stints with the Falcons and Seattle Seahawks in 2019. Lewis was the 15th overall pick in the second round of the 2020 XFL Draft.

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A former basketball player at Miami University, Harper played three seasons for Luke Fickell at Cincinnati, helping to lead the Bearcats to a 9-1 record, an American Athletic Conference championship and an appearance in the Peach Bowl in 2020. Harper signed with the Los Angeles Chargers as an undrafted free agent in 2021.

Sunday will be the second meeting between Philadelphia and Birmingham this season. The Stallions defeated the Stars 30-17 in Week 5 (May 15).

"We're a different football team than we were the first time we played them," Philadelphia coach Bart Andrus said. "I felt pretty comfortable in that game. I felt good about the way we played to a certain extent. I don't think the score was indicative of how close the game was."

The eight-team USFL will return next spring for a second season and expects to add more teams by 2024. A third version of the XFL is set to begin next spring and compete with the USFL for the spring football spotlight.

Tickets for Sunday's inaugural USFL championship game are on sale through Ticketmaster at hofvillage.com or theUSFL.com.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: USFL Championship: Three Cincinnati Bearcats on rosters