The United States Soccer Federation released the format and a majority of the participants in this season’s Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup tournament. The competition will feature a record 91 entrants which, according to the U.S. Soccer Press Release, includes the largest number of professional clubs at 47 including Major League Soccer, NASL, and USL Pro.
As always the winner will earn a berth into the CONCACAF Champions League as well as a $250,000 prize. The runner-up will earn $60,000 and the club that advances the furthest in the tournament from each of the lower leagues with receive $15,000.
The tournament will keep the same method for pairing up clubs in the first four rounds of the competition. In the past, they try to pair up clubs that are geographically close in an effort to reduce travel costs. This will still remain in 2015, the biggest change comes in the fifth round.
Ahead of the fifth round, the winners of the 16 fourth-round matchups will be divided into groups of four regardless of their league. Each group will be made with geography in mind in an effort to keep the travel costs down. Once each group is established, a random draw will determine the match-ups within the group with the winners moving on to play each other in the quarterfinals.
The groups themselves will be paired with one other on a geographic basis as well to determine potential semi-final pairings as well. Basically for the first time since this writer can remember, the tournament will feature a fixed bracket from the Round of 16 on.
As in tournaments prior, clubs that have a “shared-ownership” affiliation will be kept apart until the Final.
The qualifying deadline for the 2015 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup is on March 29th with the pairings for the play-in round, first round, and second round scenarios announced on April 8th. The Tournament itself begins in late April.
Here is a breakdown of the known participants so far. Records shown are from 2014 Regular Season.
Major League Soccer (17; Enter in Fourth Round)
Chicago Fire (Bridgeview, IL; 6-18-10, 9th in MLS East)
Colorado Rapids (Commerce City, CO: 8-8-18, 8th in MLS West)
Columbus Crew SC (Columbus, OH; 14-10-10, 3rd in MLS East)
DC United (Washington, DC; 17-8-9, 1st in MLS East)
FC Dallas (Frisco, TX; 16-6-12, 4th in MLS West)
Houston Dynamo (Houston, TX; 11-6-17, 8th in MLS East)
LA Galaxy (Carson, CA: 17-10-7, 2nd in MLS West)
New England Revolution (Foxborough, MA; 17-4-13, 2nd in MLS East)
New York City FC (New York City, NY; Expansion Team)
New York Red Bulls (Harrison, NJ; 13-11-10, 4th in MLS East)
Orlando City SC (Orlando, FL; Expansion Team)
Philadelphia Union (Chester, PA; 10-12-12, 6th in MLS East)
Portland Timbers (Portland, OR; 12-13-9, 6th in MLS West)
Real Salt Lake (Sandy, UT; 15-11-8, 3rd in MLS West)
San Jose Earthquakes (San Jose, CA; 6-12-16, 9th in MLS West)
Seattle Sounders FC (Seattle, WA; 20-4-10, 1st in MLS West)
Sporting Kansas City (Kansas City, KS; 14-7-13, 5th in MLS East)
North American Soccer League (9; Enter in Third Round)
Atlanta Silverbacks (Atlanta, GA; 6-5-16, 10th in NASL)
Carolina RailHawks (Cary, NC; 11-5-11, 5th in NASL)
Fort Lauderdale Strikers (Fort Lauderdale, FL; 11-7-9, 4th in NASL)
Indy Eleven (Indianapolis, IN; 6-9-12, 9th in NASL)
Jacksonville Armada (Jacksonville, FL; Expansion Team)
Minnesota United FC (Blaine, MN; 16-7-4, 1st in NASL)
New York Cosmos (Hempstead, NY; 11-9-7, 3rd in NASL)
San Antonio Scorpions (San Antonio, TX; 16-4-7, 2nd in NASL)
Tampa Bay Rowdies (St. Petersburg, FL; 7-9-11, 7th in NASL)
USL Pro (21; Enter in Second Round)
Arizona United (Scottsdale, AZ; 10-5-13; 9th in USL Pro)
Austin Aztex (Austin, TX; Expansion Team)
Charleston Battery (Charleston, SC; 11-8-9, 5th in USL Pro)
Charlotte Independence (Charlotte, NC; Expansion Team)
Colorado Springs Switchbacks (Colorado Springs, CO; Expansion Team)
Harrisburg City Islanders (Harrisburg, PA; 10-7-11, 8th in USL Pro)
LA Galaxy II (Carson, CA; 15-6-7, 3rd in USL Pro)
Louisville City FC (Louisville, KY; Expansion Team)
New York Red Bulls USL Pro (Harrison, NJ; Expansion Team)
Oklahoma City Energy (Oklahoma City, OK; 9-5-14, 10th in USL Pro)
Orange County Blues (Irvine, CA; 9-1-18, 13th in USL Pro)
Pittsburgh Riverhounds (Pittsburgh, PA; 9-5-14, 11th in USL Pro)
Portland Timbers 2 (Portland, OR; Expansion Team)
Real Monarchs SLC (Sandy, UT; Expansion Team)
Richmond Kickers (Richmond, VA; 13-12-3, 4th is USL Pro)
Rochester Rhinos (Rochester, NY; 10-8-10, 6th in USL Pro)
Sacramento Republic (Sacramento, CA; 17-4-7, 2nd in USL Pro)
Saint Louis FC (Fenton, MO; Expansion Team)
Seattle Sounders FC 2 (Tukwila, WA; Expansion Team)
Tulsa Roughnecks (Tulsa, OK; Expansion Team)
Wilmington Hammerheads (Wilmington, NC; 9-11-8, 7th in USL Pro)
Premier Development League (19; Enter in First Round)
AC Connecticut (Danbury, CT; 9-3-2, 2nd in Northeast Division)
Burlingame Dragons (Burlingame, CA; Expansion Team)
BYU Cougars (Provo, UT; 7-3-4, 2nd in Mountain Division)
Des Moines Menace (West Des Moines, IA; 12-1-1, 1st in Heartland Division)
FC Tucson (Tucson, AZ; 11-1-2, 1st in Mountain Division)
Golden State Misioneros (San Bernardino, CA; 7-5-2, 2nd in Southwest Division)
Jersey Express (Newark, NJ; 10-3-1, 1st in Mid-Atlantic Division)
Kitsap Pumas (Bremerton, WA; 9-4-1, 1st in Northwest Division)
Laredo Heat (Laredo, TX; 7-3-4; 2nd in Mid-South Division)
Long Island Rough Riders (South Huntington, NY; 8-4-2, 3rd in Mid-Atlantic Division)
Michigan Bucks (Pontiac, MI; 9-3-2, 1st in Great Lakes Division)
Midland/Odessa Sockers (Midland, TX; 7-3-4, 3rd in Mid-South Division)
Ocala Stampede (Ocala, FL; 9-4-1, 1st in Southeast Division)
Reading United (Reading, PA; 9-4-1, 2nd in Mid-Atlantic Division)
Seacoast United Phantoms (Portsmouth, NH; 11-2-1; 1st in Northeast Division)
SW Florida Adrenaline (Naples, FL; 7-5-2, 2nd in Southeast Division)
Ventura County Fusion (Ventura, CA; 8-3-3, 1st in Southwest Division)
West Virginia Chaos (Charleston, WV; 7-4-3, 1st in South Atlantic Division)
Western Mass Pioneers (Ludlow, MA; 8-2-4, 3rd in Northeast Division)
National Premier Soccer League (12; Enter in First Round)
Brooklyn Italians (Brooklyn, NY; 10-0-2, 2nd in North Atlantic Conference)
Chattanooga FC (Chattanooga, TN; 7-2-1, 1st is Southeast Conference)
Greater Binghamton Thunder (Binghamton, NY; 9-2-1, 1st in Keystone Conference)
Lansing United (Lansing, MI; 8-4-2, 1st in Great Lakes West Conference)
Miami United (Miami, FL; 7-3-0, 1st in Sunshine Conference)
Tulsa Athletics (Tulsa, OK; 9-0-1; 1st in South Central Conference North Division)
Upward Stars (Spartanburg, SC; 7-0-3, 1st in South Atlantic Conference)
Five others TBD (Will be determined in March)
U.S. Adult Soccer Association (11; 2 Enter in Play-In Round, Other 9 Enter in First Round)
Cal FC (Thousand Oaks, CA)
Chula Vista FC (Chula Vista, CA)
KC Athletics (Kansas City, MO)
Madison Fire (Madison, WI)
Maryland Bays (Baltimore, MD)
Mass Premier Soccer (Waltham, MA)
New York Greek American Atlas (New York City, NY)
NTX Rayados (Dallas, TX)
PSA Elite (Irvine, CA)
RWB Adria (Chicago, IL)
Triangle Brigade (Chapel Hill, NC)
US Club Soccer (1; Enter in Play-In Round)
San Francisco City FC (San Francisco, CA)
U.S. Specialty Sports Association (1; Enter in Play-In Round)
TBD