Wisconsin Wolfpack

Wisconsin Wolfpack
Founded 2008
Colors Midnight Blue, Vegas Gold, Cardinal red, white
                   
Head coach Jordan Kopac
Dancers Pepsi Max Wild Things
Mascot Alpha

The Wisconsin Wolfpack was an American football franchise based in Wisconsin. The Wolfpack name and brand was used for two teams: an indoor football team in the Continental Indoor Football League and a traditional (outdoor) football team in the Mid Continental Football League.

The indoor team played its home games at the Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Madison, Wisconsin in its inaugural season of 2009, but moved to the Hartmeyer Arena for the 2010 season.[1] The outdoor team was somewhat nomadic throughout its history with regards to where it played its home games, however, outdoor games were generally played in the Milwaukee metropolitan area.

Indoor Wolfpack

CIFL Wisconsin Wolfpack
Year Founded
2009
Year Folded
2010
City
Madison, Wisconsin
League/Conference affiliations
League titles
None
Home arenas
Veterans Memorial Coliseum (2009)
Hartmeyer Arena (2010)

Indoor history

Prior to the Wolfpack franchise's 2008 outdoor campaign, the Milwaukee Bonecrushers of the Continental Indoor Football League approached the Wolfpack coaches and staff and asked them to assist with the completion of their 2008 season following Gilbert Brown's decision to resign as head coach and the resulting resignation of most of the Bonecrushers' staff. Kopac assumed the role of general manager for the Bonecrushers, and brought with him the core coaches of the Wolfpack outdoor team that would later become the core of the Wolfpack indoor team.[2] Kopac led the team to its only win, a 51-46 victory of the Muskegon Thunder.

With infrastructure already in place from the outdoor team, and following the previous year's experience with the Bonecrushers, Wolfpack management announced in early 2009 it would field both indoor and outdoor teams that year. To start the indoor team, Kopac coordinated with Lowe Entertainment, owners of the Rock River Raptors, also in the CIFL, to have Lowe run the indoor franchise while retaining Kopac as head coach. The Wolfpack were Madison's second indoor football franchise and the first to call Madison home since the Madison Mad Dogs folded in 2001.

The Wolfpack played its inaugural season's home games at the Veterans Memorial Coliseum on the campus of the Alliant Energy Center and used AstroTurf previously belonging to the Pensacola Barracudas of AF2. In its inaugural season, the team finished 7-5 and qualified for the CIFL Playoffs, The team started 5-1 but struggled late in the season after former All-American UW-Platteville quarterback Tom Stetzer was lost to injury. The Wolfpack would fall to the eventual undefeated CIFL champion Chicago Slaughter in the 2009 CIFL Western Conference Championship Game, 63-19.[3]

For 2010, the Wolfpack chose to move its home games to the Hartmeyer Arena on the northeast side of Madison. 2010 also saw the team stock its roster with more players from the nearby Wisconsin Badgers football program. Joining defensive lineman Kurt Ware and linebacker James Kamoku from the 2009 Wolfpack would be tight end Andy Crooks, safety Josh Nettles, defensive lineman Ricky Garner, offensive lineman Kenny Jones and, following a season-ending injury to quarterback Brian Ryczkowski, Matt Schabert.[4] Under Schabert's guidance, the Wolfpack had its most successful season to date, indoor or outdoor, finishing the regular season 8-2 and becoming the only team to defeat the then-undefeated Cincinnati Commandos.[5] The Wolfpack would win its first-ever home playoff game, beating the Fort Wayne FireHawks, 25-24,[6] before falling to the Commandos in the 2010 CIFL Championship Game, 54-40, in Cincinnati.[7]

Season-by-season

Season W L T Finish Playoff results
2009 7 5 0 2nd, Western Lost Western Division Championship (Chicago)
2010 8 2 0 2nd Won Semifinals (Fort Wayne)
Lost CIFL Championship Game (Cincinnati)
Totals 16 9 0 (including playoffs)

Outdoor Wolfpack

Outdoor Wisconsin Wolfpack
Year founded
2008
Year folded
2011
League/Conference affiliations
  • North American Football League (2008)
    • Northern Conference, Great Lakes Region, Dells Division (2008)
  • Mid Continental Football League (2009–2010)
    • North Division (2009)
Titles
Mid-States Tournament Champions: 2010
Home fields

Season-by-season

Season W L T Finish Playoff results
2008 8 2 1 NAFL: 2nd, Dells Won Round 1 (Kane County)
Lost Round 2 (Indianapolis)
2009 3 5 0 MCFL: 3rd, North
2010 1 6 0 MCFL: T-7th Mid-States Tournament
Won Round 1 (Chicago Falcons)
Won Round 2 (Michigan Gators)
NFE Florida Bowl
Lost (Orlando Rage)
Totals 15 15 1 (including playoffs)

Racine Raiders merger

After much speculation, the Racine Journal Times reported on December 9, 2010 that Jordan Kopac would return to coaching the Racine Raiders in 2011.[8] This effectively marked the end of the Wolfpack as a franchise.

References

  1. ↑ Wolfpack back, but with a new lair, Madison.com, retrieved December 29, 2010.
  2. ↑ The Bonecrushers bite back, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, retrieved December 29, 2010.
  3. ↑ Chicago Slaughter to play for CIFL championship, Chicago Sun-Times, retrieved December 29, 2010.
  4. ↑ Indoor football: Wolfpack signs former UW quarterback Schabert, Madison.com, retrieved December 29, 2010.
  5. ↑ Cincinnati Commandos vs Wisconsin Wolfpack (May 29, 2010), CIFL, retrieved December 29, 2010.
  6. ↑ Fort Wayne Firehawks vs Wisconsin Wolfpack (Jun 19, 2010), CIFL, retrieved December 29, 2010.
  7. ↑ Commandos Get Historic Win at Cincinnati Gardens, Cincinnati Gardens, retrieved December 29, 2010.
  8. ↑ Kopac back as Raiders coach, Racine Journal Times, retrieved December 29, 2010.
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