Wikipedia

Texas Revolution (indoor football)

(Redirected from Arkansas Twisters)
"Arkansas Twisters" redirects here. For the wooden roller coaster, see Arkansas Twister.

The Texas Revolution were an American professional indoor football team and a founding member of Champions Indoor Football (CIF). The Revolution were based in Allen and Frisco, Texas, within the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex.

Texas Revolution
Established 2000
Folded 2019
Played in Frisco, Texas
www.texasrevs.com (scrapped)
League/conference affiliations
AF2 (2000–2009)
  • National Conference (2000–2003, 2006–2009)
    • South Central Division (2001)
    • Central Division (2002–2003, 2007–2009)
    • Midwest Division (2006)
    • Southwest Division (2009)
  • American Conference (2004–2005)
    • Mid-South Division (2004)
    • Southern Division (2005)
  • National Conference (2006–2009)
    • Midwest Division (2006)
    • Central Division (2007–2009)
    • Southwest Division (2009)

Indoor Football League (2010–2014)

  • Intense Conference (2010–2012)
    • Lonestar East Division (2010)
    • Lonestar Division (2011)
  • United Conference (2013–2014)

Champions Indoor Football (2015–2019)

  • Southern Division (2016)
  • South Conference (2017–2019)
Current uniform
Team colorsBlue, red, white
     
NicknamesRevs, Cannons
MascotAlamo
CheerleadersTexas Revolution Dancers
Personnel
Owner(s)Championship Sports Group
Owner's Box Inc.
CEOTommy Benizio
Head coachVictor Mann
Team history
  • Arkansas Twisters (2000–2009)
  • Arkansas Diamonds (2010)
  • Allen Wranglers (2011–2012)
  • Texas Revolution (2013–2019)
Championships
League championships (1)
Conference championships (1)
Division championships (3)
Playoff appearances (13)
Home arena(s)

Founded in 2000 as the Arkansas Twisters, the Little Rock-based team played 10 seasons in af2 before that league folded. The team jumped to the Indoor Football League as the Arkansas Diamonds for the 2010 season. Remaining in the IFL, the team moved to Texas to become the Allen Wranglers for the 2011 and 2012 seasons. In 2012, former NFL standout and future hall of famer Terrell Owens played eight games for the Wranglers before being cut in late May.

In 2012, the Wranglers franchise was transferred to a new ownership group and the team was renamed the Texas Revolution for the 2013 season. After five seasons in the IFL, the team moved to the Champions Indoor Football league for that circuit's inaugural season.[1]

History

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Arkansas Twisters

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The franchise began play as the Arkansas Twisters in 2000 as the only professional football team in the state of Arkansas. The team played 10 seasons as a charter member of af2, the "developmental" league of the original Arena Football League. The Twisters played their home games at Verizon Arena in North Little Rock, Arkansas. The team enjoyed success on the field, twice reaching the league's championship game. After the AFL took a season off and was forced into bankruptcy in 2009, the af2 was dissolved and the Twisters were announced as a planned charter member of Arena Football 1.[2]

Arkansas Diamonds

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Main article: 2010 Arkansas Diamonds season

Concerns for stability with Arena Football 1 lead to a November 2009 shift by Arkansas to the Indoor Football League.[3] However, the rights to the Twisters name and logo belonged to Arena Football 1 so the Arkansas franchise held a "name the team" contest in late January and became the Arkansas Diamonds of the IFL's Intense Conference for the 2010 season.[4][5][6] The new team colors for 2010 were Carolina blue, black, and gray.[7] Arena football veteran Danton Barto took over as head coach, leading the team to an 11–3 regular season record and first place in the 2010 Lonestar East Division.[8] The team's playoff run ended with a loss to the Billings Outlaws in the Intense Conference Finals.[9] With the team struggling financially, co-owners Jim Smith and Jeff Everetts announced in September 2009 that the franchise was relocating to Allen, Texas, a prosperous suburb of Dallas.[10][11]

Allen Wranglers

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After a name-the-team contest, the team announced on September 29, 2010, it would be called the Allen Wranglers, starting with the 2011 Indoor Football League season.[12][13] The relocated Intense Conference team would play their home games at the Allen Event Center in Allen, Texas.[14] The team shared the name with a previous indoor football team in Allen, the Texas Wranglers, who played the 2009 and 2010 seasons in the Independent Indoor Football Alliance.

Main article: 2011 Allen Wranglers season

In October 2010, the team announced that Chris MacKeown would be the Wranglers' head coach for the 2011 season.[15][16] Former Dallas Cowboys player Drew Pearson was named general manager of the franchise in early December 2010.[17] The team finished with a 10–4 regular season record and first place in the Lonestar Division. They advanced through two rounds of the IFL playoffs before losing the Intense Conference Championship to the Tri-Cities Fever of Kennewick, Washington.[18][19]

Main article: 2012 Allen Wranglers season

The Wranglers started the 2012 season strong under new head coach Pat Pimmell but after consecutive losses dropped their record to 5–3 in April, Pimmel was let go and the team's offensive and defensive coordinators shared the title "co-interim head coach" through the end of the season.[20][21] The team finished with a 9–5 regular season record and reached the IFL playoffs but lost in the Intense Conference semi-finals to the Wichita Wild.[22]

National attention was focused on the Wranglers in 2012 when NFL veteran wide receiver Terrell Owens joined the team.[23][24] Recovering from surgery and receiving no offers from NFL teams, Owens accepted a generous contract and partial ownership in the franchise to play in Allen.[25][26] He swelled attendance at Wranglers home games. His debut drew a crowd of 5,711 people, larger than the Wranglers' home attendance for the entire 2011 season,[25] but his contract allowed him to skip many away dates.[27][28] Owens was released by the Wranglers on May 29, 2012, with three games left in the season, for his "lack of effort both on and off the field", failure to show up for a scheduled appearance at a children's hospital, and refusal to play in two upcoming road games,[29][30] Along with his release, Owens also relinquished his ownership stake in the team.[31]

Texas Revolution

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Main article: 2013 Texas Revolution season

In June 2012, Wranglers owner Jon Frankel ceased operations of the team. The IFL then transferred franchise ownership to a new ownership group called Championship Sports Group[32] led by CEO Tommy Benizio, the former IFL commissioner, with co-owners in Tim Brown and Ken Paxton.[33][34] On September 19, 2012, the team unveiled its new name and colors as the Texas Revolution.[35] After three seasons in the Intense Conference, the team was realigned to the United Conference for the 2013 season.[36] In November 2012, the team named Billy Back as head coach for the 2013 season.

Main article: 2014 Texas Revolution season

After a disappointing 5–9 campaign, the Revolution released head coach Billy Back and hired Chris Williams from the New Mexico Stars.[37][38] The league released its 2014 schedule in late October 2013 with the Revolution staying in the United Conference but the Chicago franchise replaced by the Bemidji Axemen in the 9-team IFL.[39] The team re-signed several key players for 2014 and, in mid-January, announced the signing of running back Jennifer Welter as the first female professional football player for a position other than kicker.[40] The team finished with a 3–11 record, missing the post-season, and head coach Chris Williams resigned after the season.

Main article: 2015 Texas Revolution season

In late August 2014, the team hired former Dallas Cowboys cornerback Wendell Davis as head coach and director of football operations.[41] Days later, the team announced it was leaving the Indoor Football League for the new Champions Indoor Football.[1][42] The team's 2015 schedule began with a pre-season home game on February 27 and two regular season road games before the home opener on March 20.[42][43][44] On March 30, after just four regular season games, the team released Wendell Davis and promoted defensive coordinator Devin Wyman to head coach.[45] The team made its best playoff run since moving to Allen, advancing to Champions Bowl I but falling to the Sioux City Bandits, 76–61. Later that year, a team and potential regional rival called the Mesquite Marshals were launched in nearby Mesquite for the 2016 season.

In 2017, the Revolution won Champions Bowl III. The team then relocated to Frisco, Texas, and the Dr Pepper Arena for the 2018 season.[46] On April 9, 2018, Victor Mann returned as head coach.[47] The team finished the 2018 season 5–7 but advanced as far as the conference championship, where they lost to the eventual league champion Duke City Gladiators 41–28.

For the 2019 season, the Revolution again moved to a new arena in the Ford Center at The Star, the Dallas Cowboys' practice facility, on a three-year lease.[48] Sometime just prior to the start of the season, a new ownership group called Owner's Box Inc obtained the majority ownership of the team, keeping Benizio as the CEO. However, after three home games into the 2019 season, the Revolution cancelled their home game scheduled for May 4.[49] The remainder of the team's home games were then cancelled as well and the Ford Center stated that the team's games would no longer be played there.[50] On May 9, the team announced it had ceased operations after the new ownership failed to back its financial obligations.[51]

Season-by-season results

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League Champions Conference Champions Division Champions Playoff berth League leader
Season Team League Conference Division Regular season Postseason results
Finish Wins Losses Ties
Arkansas Twisters
2000 2000 af2 National 6th 7 9 0
2001 2001 af2 National South Central 5th 6 10 0
2002 2002 af2 National Central 2nd 11 5 0 Lost Division Championship, 32–34 (Tulsa)
2003 2003 af2 National Central 2nd 9 7 0 Won Wild Card Round, 36–28 (Bakersfield)
Won Conference Semifinal, 63–61 (Quad City)
Lost Conference Championship, 52–63 (Tulsa)
2004 2004 af2 American Midsouthern 4th 4 12 0
2005 2005 af2 American Southern 3rd 5 11 0
2006 2006 af2 National Midwestern 3rd 10 6 0 Won First Round, 47–43 (Oklahoma City)
Won Conference Semifinal, 53–51 (Tulsa)
Lost Conference Championship, 30–48 (Spokane)
2007 2007 af2 National Central 2nd 12 4 0 Lost First Round, 40–62 (Bossier-Shreveport)
2008 2008 af2 National Central 2nd 11 5 0 Lost First Round, 55–68 (Central Valley)
2009 2009 af2 National Southwest 2nd 11 5 0 Lost First Round, 36–77 (Boise)
Arkansas Diamonds
2010 2010 IFL Intense Lonestar East 1st 11 3 0 Won Conference Quarterfinal, 44–29 (Corpus Christi)
Won Conference Semifinal, 36–31 (Amarillo)
Lost Conference Championship, 42–53 (Billings)
Allen Wranglers
2011 2011 IFL Intense Lonestar 1st 10 4 0 Won First Round, 27–20 (Wyoming)
Won Conference Semifinal, 72–54 (Fairbanks)
Lost Conference Championship, 46–62 (Tri-Cities)
2012 2012 IFL Intense 2nd 9 5 0 Lost Conference Semifinal, 40–43 (Wichita)[52]
Texas Revolution
2013 2013 IFL United 4th 5 9 0
2014 2014 IFL United 4th 3 11 0
2015 2015 CIF 2nd 8 4 0 Won Semifinal, 39–27 (Wichita)
Lost Champions Bowl I, 61–76 (Sioux City)
2016 2016 CIF Southern 1st 10 2 0 Lost Division Championship, 53–57 (Amarillo)
2017 2017 CIF South 2nd 8 4 0 Won Conference Semifinal, 63–59 (Dodge City)
Won Conference Championship, 77–71 (Amarillo)
Won Champions Bowl III, 59–49 (Omaha)
2018 2018 CIF South 3rd 5 7 0 Won Conference Semifinal, 56–45 (Amarillo)
Lost Conference Championship, 28–41 (Duke City)
2019 2019 CIF South DNF 4 1 0 Folded midseason
Totals 154 123 0 All-time regular season record (2000–2019)
13 13 — All-time postseason record (2000–2019)
167 136 0 All-time regular season and postseason record (2000–2019)

Players

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All-IFL players

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The following Revolution players have been named to All-IFL Teams:

  • RB Darius Fudge (1)
  • WR Clinton Solomon (1)
  • DL Demario Dixon (1)
  • LB James Lancaster (1)
  • LB/DB Javicz Jones (1)
  • DB Joey Longoria (1), Frankie Solomon Jr. (3)

Notable players

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References

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  1. ^ a b Krieger, Dan (September 22, 2014). "Weekly Sports League and Franchise Report". Our Sports Central. Retrieved October 1, 2014.
  2. ^ "Twisters join new AF1 league". The Victoria Advocate. Victoria, Texas: John M. Roberts. Associated Press. September 29, 2009. Retrieved October 25, 2012.
  3. ^ "Arkansas Twisters Join IFL". Our Sports Central (Press release). Arkansas Twisters. November 19, 2009. Retrieved October 14, 2012.
  4. ^ "Twisters taking suggestions for new name". Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. Little Rock, Arkansas. Associated Press. January 29, 2010. Retrieved October 14, 2012.
  5. ^ "Twisters now the Diamonds". Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. Little Rock, Arkansas: WEHCO Media. February 4, 2010. Retrieved October 13, 2012.
  6. ^ Walker, Nick (February 5, 2010). "Twisters fans take shine to Diamonds nickname". Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. Little Rock, Arkansas: WEHCO Media. p. 25. Retrieved October 13, 2012.
  7. ^ Zimmer, Mike (July 8, 2010). "Arkansas to test Outlaws on both sides of the ball". Billings Gazette. Billings, Montana. Retrieved October 14, 2012.
  8. ^ "Arkansas Twisters Name Barto Head Coach". Our Sports Central. November 19, 2009. Retrieved October 14, 2012.
  9. ^ Zimmer, Mike (July 10, 2010). "Outlaws move on to the title game". Billings Gazette. Billings, Montana. Retrieved October 14, 2012.
  10. ^ Irvin, Lindsay (September 16, 2010). "Diamonds Update: Indoor Football Unlikely to Continue in Arkansas". Arkansas Sports 360. Archived from the original on January 2, 2011. Retrieved October 25, 2012.
  11. ^ Welch, Matt (September 16, 2010). "Indoor football team bound for Allen, team name contest begins". Allen American-Star. Allen, Texas: Star Newspapers. Retrieved October 14, 2012.
  12. ^ Welch, Matt (September 29, 2010). "City wrangles itself up new indoor football team". Allen American-Star. Allen, Texas: Star Newspapers. Retrieved October 4, 2010.
  13. ^ "The Allen Wranglers". GoIFL.com.
  14. ^ Carlisle, Candace (November 1, 2010). "Cowboys disappointing? Check out Wranglers". Dallas Business Journal. Retrieved October 11, 2012.
  15. ^ "Allen Wranglers, new arena football team, hires head coach". Pegasus News. Dallas. October 23, 2010. Retrieved October 11, 2012.
  16. ^ "Wranglers Announce Head Coach" (Press release). Allen Event Center. November 5, 2010. Archived from the original on July 7, 2011. Retrieved November 30, 2010.
  17. ^ Heinz, Frank (December 7, 2010). "Drew Pearson Named GM of IFL's Allen Wranglers". Blue Star. KXAS-TV. Retrieved October 11, 2012.
  18. ^ "Fever a team of big believers". Tri-City Herald. Kennewick, Washington. July 12, 2011. Retrieved October 11, 2012. That 70th victory came last Saturday, when his Fever beat the host Allen Wranglers 67-46 for the Intense Conference title.
  19. ^ "Fever Wins Intense Conference Championship". KVEW-TV. July 10, 2011. Retrieved October 11, 2012.
  20. ^ "Wranglers Move in a New Direction" (Press release). Allen Wranglers. Our Sports Central. April 30, 2012. Retrieved October 12, 2012.
  21. ^ Welch, Matt (June 27, 2012). "Picking and grinning: Late turnover topples Wranglers in playoff loss to Wichita". Allen American-Star. Allen, Texas: Star Newspapers. Retrieved October 12, 2012.
  22. ^ Eagle staff (June 26, 2012). "Wild pull off playoff win over Allen". The Wichita Eagle. Retrieved October 12, 2012.
  23. ^ Farrar, Doug (December 30, 2011). "Terrell Owens reportedly close to accepting offer from Indoor League team". Shutdown Corner. Yahoo! Sports Canada. Retrieved October 11, 2012.
  24. ^ "Allen Wranglers Extend Offer To Terrell Owens". Allen Wranglers. November 2, 2011. Archived from the original on January 7, 2012. Retrieved January 19, 2012.
  25. ^ a b Machota, Jon (February 25, 2012). "Huge crowd sees ex-Cowboy Terrell Owens's 3 TD Allen Wranglers debut". The Dallas Morning News. Retrieved October 12, 2012.
  26. ^ Watkins, Calvin (January 19, 2012). "Terrell Owens to join Allen Wranglers". ESPN Dallas/Fort Worth. ESPN. Retrieved January 19, 2012.
  27. ^ Boyle, John (February 29, 2012). "T.O. expected to be a no-show for Raptors' home debut". The Herald. Everett, WA. Retrieved October 12, 2012.
  28. ^ Herron, Gary (March 7, 2012). "Wranglers will bring Owens here for game". Rio Rancho Observer. Rio Rancho, New Mexico. Retrieved October 12, 2012.
  29. ^ MacMahon, Tim (May 20, 2012). "IFL team releases Terrell Owens". ESPN Dallas/Fort Worth. ESPN. Retrieved May 30, 2012.
  30. ^ Tomaso, Bruce (May 29, 2012). "Yet another football team shows Terrell Owens the door". The Dallas Morning News. Retrieved May 29, 2012.
  31. ^ "Terrell Owens again without team, released by indoor Allen Wranglers and loses ownership stake". Yahoo! Sports. Associated Press. May 29, 2012. Retrieved May 29, 2012.
  32. ^ "IFL Texas Team Announces New Ownership". IFL. Archived from the original on February 9, 2013.
  33. ^ Cummings, Tommy (September 19, 2012). "Allen indoor football league team gets new name". The Dallas Morning News. Retrieved October 11, 2012.
  34. ^ Kirby, Troy (January 24, 2014). "Texas Revolution Rebuilds a Broken Franchise Into a Success". Ticketing Today. Retrieved February 24, 2014.
  35. ^ "So You Say You Want a Revolution". OurSports Central. September 19, 2012. Retrieved September 19, 2012.
  36. ^ "2013 IFL Schedule Announced". Indoor Football League. October 22, 2012. Archived from the original on January 3, 2013. Retrieved October 22, 2012.
  37. ^ Herron, Gary (August 4, 2013). "Williams leaves Stars, heads to Allen, Texas". Rio Rancho Observer. Retrieved August 6, 2013.
  38. ^ "Revolution Introduce Chris Williams as Head Coach". Indoor Football League. August 14, 2013. Archived from the original on August 26, 2013. Retrieved October 21, 2013.
  39. ^ Hildbold, Charlie. "Texas Revolution Release 2014 Schedule". Texas Revolution. Archived from the original on October 23, 2013. Retrieved October 21, 2013.
  40. ^ Welch, Matt (January 21, 2014). "Female football standout Welter to try out for Texas Revolution". Allen American. Allen, Texas: Star Local News. Retrieved January 21, 2014.
  41. ^ Lunsford, Mat (August 20, 2014). "Revs Make Change, Hire Former Cowboy To Take Helm". Texas Revolution. Archived from the original on October 1, 2014. Retrieved October 1, 2014.
  42. ^ a b Lunsford, Mat (September 26, 2014). "Revs Hire Super Bowl Champ". Texas Revolution. Archived from the original on October 1, 2014. Retrieved October 2, 2014.
  43. ^ Lunsford, Mat (October 18, 2014). "2015 Schedule Released" (Press release). Allen, Texas: Texas Revolution. Archived from the original on November 10, 2014. Retrieved October 20, 2014.
  44. ^ "Revs announce 2015 schedule". Allen American. Allen, Texas: Star Local News. October 21, 2014. Retrieved October 24, 2014.
  45. ^ Grant, Ethan (April 2, 2015). "Wyman supplants Davis as Revs HC: Former DC promoted four games into CIF season". Allen American. Allen, Texas: Star Local News. Retrieved April 3, 2015.
  46. ^ "Texas Revolution to Celebrate Pro Sports in Frisco, Announce Move to Dr Pepper Arena Wednesday, Aug. 30". Texas Revolution. August 28, 2017.
  47. ^ "Revs add Championship's Mann back as Head Coach - Texas Revolution". Texas Revolution. 2018-04-09. Retrieved 2018-04-26.
  48. ^ "Texas Revolution to play home games at the Ford Center at The Star". Community Impact. December 18, 2018.
  49. ^ "May 4th Game Cancelled". Texas Revolution. May 4, 2019.
  50. ^ "BREAKING: Texas Revolution done at Ford Center". LastWordOnSports. May 7, 2019.
  51. ^ "May 9 Texas Revolution announcement". TexasRevs.com. May 9, 2019. Retrieved May 9, 2019.
  52. ^ Schnabel, Mark (June 27, 2012). "Wild wins playoff game over Wranglers". The Newton Kansan. Newton, Kansas. Retrieved October 11, 2012.
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