Indoor Football League (2009)
29-617: Ultimate Indoor Football League (2011) Continental Indoor Football League (2012–2014) The Saginaw Sting was a professional Indoor Football team based in Saginaw, Michigan . The team was most recently a member of American Indoor Football (AIF). They began play in 2008 as an expansion team in the Continental Indoor Football League and then moved to the Indoor Football League for
58-504: A consultant and a member of the board of directors for Assured Equities. For 2012, there will be at least eleven new expansion teams, based in Rome, Georgia ; Estero, Florida ; Tupelo, Mississippi ; Marion, Ohio ; Cincinnati, Ohio ; Erie, Pennsylvania , and Lakeland, Florida . Of these markets, five (Rome, Tupelo, and Lakeland) previously had teams in the AIFL, while Estero previously had
87-648: A few teams to ever win a championship in multiple leagues (CIFL in 2008, the UIFL in 2011 and the CIFL again in 2012). The team began play in 2008 as an expansion team in the CIFL. The original team owners were Mike Johnson, Mike Trumbull, and Esteban Rivera, who also owned the Kalamazoo Xplosion . The team was led by former Michigan State quarterback Damon Dowdell, who led the league in passing yards (2,190), touchdowns (54) and completion percentage (62%). Nick Body
116-695: A team in arenafootball2 ; The Cincinnati Commandos and Marion Blue Racers have come previously from the Continental Indoor Football League ; and the Erie Explosion moves from the Southern Indoor Football League . (Incidentally, the acquisition of the Explosion brings the league full-circle; the Explosion was the last surviving remnant of the AIFL, tracing its history to the Erie Freeze in 2005.) On July 22, 2011,
145-477: A title defense in 2013 was re-signing head coach Fred Townsend to a 3-year contract extension. Ultimately, the Sting progressed to the 2013 CIFL Championship Game. With less than a minute to play, the team found itself on its opponent's nine-yard line down by one point. But due to the team's placekicker being suspended the previous week had nobody capable of kicking even a 24-yard chip shot, they were forced to attempt
174-496: A touchdown. They failed, giving the Erie Explosion the championship and a perfect season . In June 2013, the Sting agreed to terms with the CIFL to return for the 2014 season. The Sting won their first eighth game of the season to advance to 8–0, but during that game the Sting lost quarterback A. J. McKenna to injury. The following week the team lost 2013 league MVP, C. J. Tarver to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of
203-425: Is a list of all Sting players who have won league awards The following Sting players have been named to All-League Teams: Head coach Offensive coaches Defensive coaches Note: The Finish, Wins, Losses, and Ties columns list regular season results and exclude any postseason play. * Season currently in progress Ultimate Indoor Football League The Ultimate Indoor Football League ( UIFL )
232-522: The Canadian Football League (CFL). The loss of those two key players became noticeable when the Sting lost their final regular season game to finish 9–1. Just one day before the Sting's first playoff game, head coach Fred Townsend announced his resignation. Line Coach James Perry II was named the teams interim head coach. In October 2014, the Sting announced they would be joining American Indoor Football (AIF). The Sting also announced
261-658: The Miami Inferno and Missouri Voodoo joined the league. Another team called the Austin Nitro had been listed on the UIFL's website, however, no further information was ever announced about that team. In addition, a new team based out of Columbia, South Carolina known as the Capital City Revolt was set to join in time for the 2015 season. However, the Voodoo and Inferno both folded mid-season, leaving
290-860: The Saginaw Sting and the Eastern Kentucky Drillers . The inaugural game was held at the Dow Event Center in Saginaw, Michigan . The league co-founders are Michael Taylor and Andrew Haines; Haines was also the owner and founder of the Atlantic/American Indoor Football League and the Mid-Atlantic Hockey League . The UIFL has a logo nearly identical to the one used by the AIFL in the 2006 season (though it favors blue instead of red), and will apparently also use
319-593: The 2009 season. They suspended operations for the 2010 season before becoming an inaugural member of the Ultimate Indoor Football League . The following season they were suspended by the UIFL and re-joined the CIFL under new ownership. The team has since moved to the AIF. The owners of the Sting were Stuart Schweigert , Rob Licht and Jim O'Brien. The Sting played their home games at The Dow Event Center in Saginaw, Michigan . They are one of only
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#1732779918275348-448: The AIF schedules in early 2016 and appears to have disbanded without any official announcement. Owner Jim O'Brien has stated that they suspended operations due to league instability but plans to return for 2017. Running backs Wide receivers Defensive Linemen Defensive Backs Kickers Exempt List Rookies in italics Roster updated September 17, 2015 0 Active, 0 Inactive → More rosters The following
377-716: The AIFL red, white, and blue football also in use in the American Indoor Football Association . The league is based in Canton, Ohio . The league's first five teams were located in the Appalachia region, with teams based in Canton, Ohio ; Johnstown, Pennsylvania ; Pikeville, Kentucky ; Highland Heights, Kentucky ; and Huntington, West Virginia . Of those five markets, three (Canton, Johnstown, and Huntington) had teams in Haines' previous league,
406-607: The AIFL. The two markets in Kentucky have never had a professional indoor football team in any league (though Highland Heights is usually considered part of the Cincinnati, Ohio metropolitan area, and the city of Cincinnati has had several indoor teams). The sixth team, the Saginaw Sting , came from the Indoor Football League . The complete 2011 season concluded without any teams folding, nor any games being missed or rescheduled. The Northern Kentucky River Monsters finished with
435-553: The Sting returned to the CIFL playoffs for the first time since 2008, when they won the 2008 CIFL Championship Game and finished the season as the Atlantic Conferences's #2 seed. In the 2012 CIFL Championship Game , the Sting defeated the Dayton Silverbacks 35–7, to win the CIFL championship. The title for the Sting was their 3rd in the last 4 seasons of playing. The Sting's first move in its quest for
464-513: The Sting to move to the new Indoor Football League . The Sting looked to have put together a promising team with the re-signing of QB Damon Dowdell, and signing 2007 CIFL MVP , WR/RB Robert Height, but the team fared poorly on the field in the IFL. Prior to the 2011 season, the team was purchased by San Diego–based business man, Mike Esposito. Esposito announced that the team would play in the newly formed Ultimate Indoor Football League , which Esposito
493-669: The Tarpons and Fury as the only two teams remaining in the UIFL for the season. After the Fury beat the Tarpons in Ultimate Bowl IV by a score of 60–23, both teams announced they were joining X-League Indoor Football for the 2015 season. With the Revolt's subsequent announcement of delay of operations until the 2016 season, the UIFL announced they were now defunct. Erie Explosion Too Many Requests If you report this error to
522-553: The UIFL came to terms allowing the River Monsters to leave the UIFL. Draft On June 15, 2011, Michael Taylor and Andrew Haines sold their controlling slate in the UIFL to Assured Equities IV, a Florida corporation, for the sum of 1.45 million dollars. As part of the acquisition, UIFL Co-founder Andrew Haines will remain as League President and a member of the Board of Directors, and UIFL Co-founder Michael Taylor will continue as
551-467: The UIFL named Jared Lorenzen the league's Commissioner . On January 19, 2012, the league was sold by Cecil Van Dyke and Assured Equities IV, back to Andrew Haines and Michael Taylor. The league took on the name United Indoor Football League for the 2012 season (at the time, the United (outdoor) Football League had suspended operations; the league reverted to the Ultimate Indoor Football League when
580-463: The best regular season record, 11–3. However, due to league sanctions they were not able to host any playoff games and were dropped to a four seed. Saginaw finished 9–5, followed by Eastern Kentucky at 8–6, Huntington at 7-7, Johnstown at 6–8, and Canton at 1–13. Saginaw defeated Northern Kentucky, 48–47, in the first semifinals of the Ultimate Bowl I Playoffs, sponsored by Trophy Awards. In
609-558: The end of the 2008 season that wages were in arrears from the owners. This led to an investigation of Johnson in his role as Sting General Manager. Trumbull, owner of Triple Threat Sports in Battle Creek, and Rivera, a Battle Creek police officer, have offered a deal to split ownership of the two teams, with Trumbell and Rivera owning the Sting, and Johnson receiving the Xplosion. Trumbull and Rivera have indicated that they plan for
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#1732779918275638-556: The four teams that had been eliminated had announced their intentions to jump leagues and join the Xtreme Indoor Football League. The UIFL has stated it is exploring all options regarding the future of the league. The Florida Tarpons won Ultimate Bowl III, with a victory over the Corpus Christi Fury . The UIFL fielded four teams for the 2014 season; in addition to the returning Tarpons and Fury,
667-512: The hiring of Greg Wasmer as the franchise's new head coach. After a 0–2 start for the Sting, Wasmer was fired and owner Stuart Schweigert was named the head coach of the Sting. On August 23, 2015, the Sting announced that they would rejoin the revived CIFL, which became a member of the Indoor Football Alliance . After months of no new teams joining the CIFL, the Sting re-joined the AIF for the 2016 season but were removed from
696-608: The other semifinal game, Eastern Kentucky advanced to the championship game with a 20–4 victory over Huntington. Ultimate Bowl I, also sponsored by Trophy Awards, was played Friday, June 9, 2011, at the Dow Center in Saginaw, MI, with the Sting claiming an 86–69 victory over the visiting Drillers. Following the Northern Kentucky River Monsters' elimination from the playoffs, owner Jill Chitwood and
725-526: The outdoor UFL ended its suspension). Six teams folded in the process, including charter members Canton and Huntington, plus four teams ( Carolina Aviators , Danville Dragons , Tennessee Rail Runners , and Kentucky Monsters ) that never took the field, reducing the number of teams in the league from 16 to 10. Haines resigned his post as league president in June 2012. The 2013 season saw a reduction to six teams. Furthermore, prior to championship weekend, three of
754-417: The team back to the CIFL. On December 29, 2011, the Sting announced that 2011 interim head coach Vince Leveille would return as the full-time head coach for the 2012 season, but just 11 days before the team's first game, Leveille stepped down as the head coach, citing that his full-time job made him unavailable to do both. Defensive Coordinator Fred Townsend took over as the team's head coach. With an 8–0 record,
783-598: Was Dowdell's favorite target, leading the league in receptions (78), yards (1,005) and touchdowns (31). Despite their offensive numbers, neither player won Offensive Player of the Year or the CIFL MVP. The duo led the Sting to a 10–2 regular season and a playoff berth. On June 29, 2008, the Sting defeated the Xplosion 41–37 to win the CIFL Championship Game . A number of Sting and Xplosion players indicated at
812-492: Was a regional professional indoor football league that began its inaugural season on February 18, 2011 as the Ultimate Indoor Football League before playing as the United Indoor Football League in 2012, then switched back to "Ultimate" for the 2013 season. After the 2014 season, the league merged with X-League Indoor Football . On February 18, 2011, the first-ever UIFL game was played between
841-492: Was also the league's commissioner . He hired Stuart Schweigert as the Sting's Director of Player Development. The Sting went on to win the Ultimate Bowl , with quarterback Tommy Jones setting several UIFL passing records and claiming the Ultimate Bowl's MVP honors. On November 11, 2011, the Sting were acquired by Schweigert, Rob Licht and Jim O'Brien. The new ownership announced the same day that they would be moving
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