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19-695: The team began play as the California Redwoods in October 2009. (Early trademark filings had suggested the UFL would name the team the "San Francisco Rockfish," a name that was dumped before any public announcement.) In the league's 2009 season , the Redwoods played were originally slated to play all of its home games at AT&T Park in San Francisco , including the first-ever UFL game. Due to

38-569: A 20–17 score. The final score of the game was set up by a Locos takeaway deep in Tusker territory on Florida's first overtime possession. Note: Statistical numbers cover both the regular season and Championship Game UFL Premiere Season Draft The UFL "premiere" season draft was the inaugural draft of the United Football League (UFL). The results of the draft were announced via press release on June 19, 2009. Among

57-718: A conflict with the San Francisco Giants , the UFL's first game was instead played in Las Vegas. Poor attendance in San Francisco led to the league relocating one of the Redwoods' home games to Spartan Stadium in San Jose. Former NFL head coach Dennis Green was hired as the Redwoods' head coach prior to the season. He led the team to a 2–4 record in its first season, finishing in third place. League commissioner Michael Huyghue announced shortly after

76-475: A game. Florida led the league in average attendance (13,225), while California (5,836) and New York (6,637), hampered in part by shifts in game sites and competing in major markets with an NFL presence, brought up the rear in attendance average. Further, two New York home games were held the same nights as Games 2 and 6 of the 2009 World Series , featuring the New York Yankees . Other factors—including

95-614: A lease renewal. Instead, the team signed a deal with Raley Field , a predominantly baseball-oriented park built for the Sacramento River Cats of the Pacific Coast League , for the team's four 2012 home games. The UFL's financial woes, a new venue, less prominent coach, and continued on-field shortcomings hurt the Mountain Lions' attendance figures in 2012, although not nearly to the same extent as

114-429: A noticeable part of the UFL's regular season, with announced crowds ranging from as low as 4,312 for California's November 14 home game in San Jose to as high as 18,187 for the October 8 inaugural game in Las Vegas, (though media observers at the game suggested the actual in-house attendance for that first game was considerably less). The twelve regular-season contests drew a total of 116,132 fans, or an average of 9,678

133-455: A schedule that features games in teams' primary cities as well as secondary sites (a few of which are potential future UFL homes). Certain game sites were not finalized, however, and changes were made both before the schedule's release and after play had begun: During the week of August 10, the four team names and their uniform jerseys were revealed. Each of the uniforms (and the team logos and helmets that were unveiled on October 2) incorporated

152-620: The Las Vegas Locomotives defeating the California Redwoods 30–17 at Sam Boyd Stadium in Las Vegas. Locos' kicker Graham Gano's 33-yard field goal with 3:20 remaining in the 1st quarter were the first points in league history, while a 5-yard run by Redwoods' quarterback Shane Boyd was the league's first touchdown. The Locos, who trailed 14–3 at one point in the 2nd quarter, rallied for the win via 2 touchdown passes by quarterback J. P. Losman . The top team during

171-489: The UFL's signature color scheme into their designs, including silver (primary color for the Las Vegas Locomotives), blue ( Florida Tuskers ), black (New York Sentinels), and lime green and white (California Redwoods). Each of the team jerseys had the same design template, complete with a horizontal arc across the top front that resembles the arc on the UFL's logo. The UFL launched play on October 8, 2009, with

190-515: The championship game at Sam Boyd Stadium in Las Vegas. The matchup between the Florida Tuskers and Las Vegas Locomotives was dominated by defense until the 4th quarter, when a total of 24 points were scored, highlighted by 2 touchdown runs by Locos running back DeDe Dorsey . A 33-yard field goal by Graham Gano in overtime (the first overtime game in UFL history) gave Las Vegas the championship (and denied Florida an undefeated season) by

209-499: The end of the 2009 regular season that the team would "likely" move permanently to San Jose for the 2010 season. On March 3, 2010, the league declared that the team would permanently relocate instead to Hornet Stadium in Sacramento, California for 2010, as part of a deal with Sacramento State University that saw the UFL provide a new artificial turf for the facility. Despite the "California Redwoods" name still being valid (as

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228-525: The lack of a season ticket package, large-scale college football in Florida, the death of UConn football player Jasper Howard and Tim Lincecum 's Cy Young Award press conference just prior to a Redwoods home game—hampered attendance severely. Though Florida Tuskers' coach Jim Haslett was among those expressing some disappointment in the league's marketing approach for the season (a possible cause of low attendance), league commissioner Michael Huyghue

247-491: The other three UFL markets. Reports of players and staff not getting paid, as well as the 2011 season getting cut short, tested the devotion of fans, as many considered the UFL a dead product. The UFL abruptly halted the season again after four games and pledged to continue its season in 2013, a promise that never came to fruition because of lawsuits against the league. This includes postseason games. 2009 UFL season The 2009 United Football League season —referred to by

266-692: The previously unbeaten Florida Tuskers 20–17 in overtime. Preparations for the UFL Premiere Season kicked off in the summer with player signings and a draft . Training camps for the players began on September 9 in Casa Grande, Arizona for the Western teams and September 10 in Orlando, Florida for the Eastern teams. The league announced its game schedule in the first week of August,

285-599: The professional American football league as the UFL Premiere Season —was the inaugural season of the United Football League . The regular season featured 4 teams playing 6 games each (twice against each of the other teams), and both began and ended at Sam Boyd Stadium in Las Vegas . Sam Boyd Stadium was the site of the 2009 UFL Championship Game on November 27, a game that saw the Locomotives defeat

304-563: The regular season was the Florida Tuskers ; with a roster of players including quarterback Brooks Bollinger and receiver Taye Biddle , the Tuskers finished the season with a perfect 6–0 record, officially securing a berth in the UFL Championship Game with an October 30 win over Las Vegas . The Locomotives clinched 2nd place and the other title game spot with a November 14 win over California. Sparsely attended games were

323-531: The season; he replaced league-wide general manager Rick Mueller , who handled the duties in 2009 . On September 25, the team won their first game in Sacramento , 24-20, becoming the first team to defeat the Florida Tuskers in the regular season, in front of a reported crowd of over 20,000. Head coach Dennis Green left the team after the 2011 season amid dispute and legal action; he was replaced by Turk Schonert . The team also left Hornet Stadium , its home stadium of 2010 and 2011, without attempting to negotiate

342-509: The team remained the only UFL team in the state), league officials also announced that the California Redwoods branding would be abandoned. A new name was decided through a fan vote, though the name "Redwoods" remained a possible choice. On April 6, 2010, the league announced that the franchise would be known as the Sacramento Mountain Lions. Additionally, head coach Dennis Green added the title of general manager following

361-537: Was among league and team executives who countered that rather than heavily marketing the UFL, the league's premiere season was meant to be a "dress rehearsal" -- start small, promote modestly, emphasize quality of product, and take the results and lessons learned from the season in determining the league's plans for 2010 and beyond.   Win   Loss y -denotes team advanced to 2009 UFL championship game The UFL's Premiere Season concluded on November 27, 2009 (one day after Thanksgiving ) with

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