Wikipedia

Sioux City Bandits

The Sioux City Bandits are a professional indoor football team based in Sioux City, Iowa, and compete as a member of National Arena League (NAL). The team was founded in 1999 as the Sioux City Attack. In 2001, the team assumed their current name of the Bandits. The Bandits play their home games at the Tyson Events Center.

Sioux City Bandits
Current season
Established 2000 (2000)
Play in Tyson Events Center
in Sioux City, Iowa
GoBandits.fun
League/conference affiliations
Current uniform
Team colors
  • Red, black, grey, & white
  •        
MascotSlinger
CheerleadersBandits/WITCC Dance Team
Personnel
Owner(s)Donald Belson [1]
PresidentBrett Funke
Head coachErv Strohbeen[1]
Team history
  • Sioux City Attack (2000)
  • Sioux City Bandits (2001–present)
Championships
League championships (3)
  • APFL: 2011, 2012
  • CIF: 2015
Conference championships (1)
  • CIF: 2018
Division championships (1)
  • UIF: 2005
Playoff appearances (16)
  • IFL: 2000
  • NIFL: 2004
  • UIF: 2005, 2006, 2008
  • APFL: 2011, 2012
  • CPIFL: 2013, 2014
  • CIF: 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2021, 2022, 2023
Home arena(s)

History

edit

In 2000, the Sioux City Attack joined the original Indoor Football League (IFL). After this season concluded, the Orlando Predators of the Arena Football League bought out all but two of the league's teams. Once they were founded, the Sioux City Bandits assumed identity of the Attack. The organization has played in eight different leagues including the original IFL (as the Attack), the National Indoor Football League (NIFL), United Indoor Football (UIF), the new Indoor Football League (IFL),[2] American Professional Football League (APFL),[3] the Champions Professional Indoor Football League (CPIFL),[4] and then Champions Indoor Football (CIF).[5]

Notable early team accomplishments include former Sioux City running back Fred Jackson being signed by the Buffalo Bills of the NFL.[6] Jackson, out of Coe College, was the 2005 United Indoor Football's league leading rusher in which he set an indoor football record for most yards in a single season with more than 1,700. That year the Bandits hosted the championship game facing their rival Sioux Falls Storm. Sioux City had beaten Sioux Falls three times during the regular season but lost the championship game, 40–38.

After owning the team for 20 years, owner Bob Scott sold the Bandits to Missouri businessman J. R. Bond on 20 January 2021. After the 2021 season, Don Belson came on as the minority co-owner of the team. Belson had been associated with the team for nearly 20 years working in game day operations.[7]

In July 2023, the Bandits announced they were leaving the CIF for a new league along with the Omaha Beef and the Topeka Tropics, the last of which would ultimately fold before the 2024 season.[8] On August 8, 2023, the team announced they had joined the National Arena League (NAL) beginning with the 2024 season.[9]

Notable games

edit
Date Information
Friday, 31 March 2000 This was the date of the first indoor football game in franchise history. The Sioux City Attack traveled to Lincoln, Nebraska, but lost, 40–27.
Saturday, 8 April 2000 This date marks the first time that the Attack won a game, a 47–31 victory over the Sioux Falls Cobras at the Sioux Falls Arena. This was the beginning of the Sioux City/Sioux Falls indoor football rivalry.
Friday, 21 April 2000 This was the first home game in franchise history, a 59–27 victory over the Wichita Warlords at the Sioux City Municipal Auditorium.
Sunday, 14 August 2005 This date marked Sioux City's first championship game. They played their arch rival, Sioux Falls Storm in which they lost a thrilling heartbreaker, 40–38 in front of 6,840 fans.
Saturday, 5 April 2008 This date marked a regular season game for Sioux City, in which they hosted the Colorado Ice. It is notable for being the highest attendance ever recorded at a Sioux City Bandits/Attack home game, at 5,956.
Sunday, 29 May 2011 Sioux City defeated the Kansas City Matadors, 112–0. This was the first time in franchise history in which they did not allow any points. It was also the first time the franchise scored over 100 points. It is still their highest score to date.
Saturday, 9 July 2011 After they finished the regular season 12-0 and won in the semi-finals, Sioux City defeated the Iowa Blackhawks, to claim their first championship. The final score was 69–28, capping off a perfect 14–0 season.
Saturday, 14 July 2012 Sioux City won their second championship in a row, beating the Council Bluffs Express, 56–34, to earn yet another 14–0 season.
Friday, 22 March 2013 Sioux City won their 30th straight game. The milestone occurred over a 38–26 victory in a contest against the Kansas City Renegades. The streak would end at 31 with a loss at Omaha.
Saturday, 21 June 2014 Sioux City played in their fourth franchise championship game overall against the Wichita Wild in the CPIFL's Champions Bowl II. They lost 46–41.
Saturday, 20 June 2015 For the fourth time in five years, and fifth time overall, Sioux City played in their league's championship game. This year, it was the CIF's Champions Bowl I, as they hosted the Texas Revolution. They won 76–61, clinching their third franchise championship. All of these titles have come in a span of five years.

Players

edit

Current roster

edit
Sioux City Bandits roster
Quarterbacks
  •  6 Scott Jensen
  • 13 Tyler Lauenstein


Running backs

  • 23 Jay Palmer
  • 20 Drew Prohaska
  • 23 Nathan Tilford


Wide receivers

  •  2 Fred Bruno
  • 12 Jacari Christion
  •  4 Sammie Epps
  • 18 Noah Housh
  • 10 Braden Meints
  • 27 Ethan Mittelstaed-Snorton
  • 29 Leslie Owusu
  • 14 Brandon Sheperd


 Offensive linemen
  • 60 Sterling Clark
  • 96 Steven Fluker
  • 78 Shawn Kemmerer Jr.
  • 73 Dejarlis Reese
  • 75 Omarr Roberts


Defensive linemen

  • 11 Randall Blash
  •  9 Keontae Chavies
  • 78 Norman McKissack
  •  8 Asi Tupua
  •  0 David Vargas


 Linebackers
  • 17 Derek Milsap


Defensive backs

  • -- Quantaye Battle
  •  7 Sherman Gilbert
  • 18 Juan Moore
  • 21 Antonio Pierce
  • 28 Aaron Rountree
  •  1 Xavier Spann
  • 25 Jovon Woods
  • 12 Brandon Wright


Special teams

  • -- Jared Amundson


 Reserve lists
  • Currently vacant
  • Rookies in italics
  • Roster updated March 1, 2024
  • 34 Active, 0 Inactive

Bandits Ring of Honor

edit
# Player Position Tenure Honored
60 Darwin Bishop OL/DL 2000–03 2003
3 Erv Whitehead WR 2000–02 2003
42 Matt Hughes LB 2000–02 2004
64 Carl Reinhardt DL/Coach 2000–03 2004
12 Jarrod DeGeorgia QB/Coach 2000, 2002–03, 2005 2006
40 Jesse Wavrunek DL 2000–05 2006
5 Fred Jackson RB 2004–05 2008
15 John Ostermeyer WR 2002–03, 2005–08 2010
68 Steve Schmidt OL/DL 2000–09, 2013–14 2010
55 Art Maulupe DL 2000–07 2010
73 Erv Strohbeen OL 2000–08 2010
51 Spetlar Tonga LB 2004–08, 2010–13 2015
1 Alex Ardley DB 2004–05, 2007–12 2016
5 Scott Jensen QB 2009–14 2017
10 Damon Mothershead WR 2007–16 2017
24 Johnny Bentley RB 2018
23 Jon Smith DB 2011–17 2019
3 Rahn Franklin, Jr DB 2019
6 Marlon Lobban LB 2011–17 2019

Staff

edit
Sioux City Bandits staff

Front office

  • Owner – Don Belson
  • President – Brett Funke
  • General manager – TBD
  • Director of game day operations – Cindy Belson
  • Sales and marketing executive – Carlie Benes

Head coaches

  • Head coach – Erv Strohbeen

Offensive coaches

  • Offensive coordinator – Scott Jensen
 Defensive coaches
  • Defensive coordinator – Marlon Lobban




Season-by-season

edit
League Champions Conference Champions Division Champions Playoff berth League leader
Season Team League Conference Division Regular season Postseason results
Finish Wins Losses
Sioux City Attack
2000 2000 IFL Western Southern 3rd 9 5 Won First Round (Lincoln) 52–38
Lost Quarterfinal (Bismarck) 14–30
Sioux City Bandits
2001 2001 NIFL Central 6th 4 10 Did not qualify
2002 2002 NIFL Pacific Northern 3rd 9 5 Did not qualify
2003 2003 NIFL Pacific Northern 3rd 6 8 Did not qualify
2004 2004 NIFL Pacific Northern 3rd 8 6 Lost First Round (Omaha) 40–46
2005 2005 UIF Northern 1st 13 2 Won Quarterfinal (Ohio Valley) 52–17
Won Semifinal (Tennessee Valley) 42–37
Lost United Bowl I (Sioux Falls) 38–40
2006 2006 UIF Western 3rd 6 9 Lost Quarterfinal (Rock River) 33–37
2007 2007 UIF Western 5th 3 12 Did not qualify
2008 2008 UIF Eastern 3rd 4 10 Lost Quarterfinal (RiverCity) 33–37
2009 2009 IFL United Central 5th 4 10 Did not qualify
2010 2010 IFL United Central West 4th 4 10 Did not qualify
2011 2011 APFL 1st 12 0 Won Semifinal (Kansas) 54–20
Won APFL Championship (Iowa) 69–28
2012 2012 APFL 1st 12 0 Won Semifinal (Mid-Missouri) 61–28
Won APFL Championship (Council Bluffs) 56–34
2013 2013 CPIFL 3rd 10 2 Lost Semifinal (Salina) 28–29
2014 2014 CPIFL 2nd 9 3 Won Semifinal (Salina) 66–37
Lost Champions Bowl II (Wichita) 41–46
2015 2015 CIF 1st 9 3 Won Semifinal (Amarillo) 83–52
Won Champions Bowl I (Texas) 76–61
2016 2016 CIF Northern 3rd 7 5 Lost First Round (Bloomington) 45–65
2017 2017 CIF North 1st 9 3 Won Quarterfinal (Bismarck) 82–43
Lost Conference Championship (Omaha) 45–55
2018 2018 CIF North 2nd 9 3 Won Conference Semifinal (Quad City) 54–46
Won Conference Championship (Salina) 45–39
Lost Champions Bowl (Duke City) 27–31
2019 2019 CIF North 3rd 8 5 Lost Quarterfinal (Omaha) 50–60
2020 2020 CIF North Season cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic
2021 2021 CIF 3rd 5 6 Lost Semifinal (Omaha) 39–40
2022 2022 CIF 1st 9 1 Lost Semifinal (Omaha) 45–49
2023 2023 CIF 5th 5 5 Lost Quarterfinal (Billings) 39–31
2024 2024 NAL 2nd 5 3 NAL Championship (Omaha)
Totals 179 126 All-time regular season record
13 14 All-time postseason record
192 140 All-time regular season and postseason record

Head coaches

edit
Name Tenure Regular season Playoffs Awards
W L Win% W L
Jim Anderson 2000 9 5 .643 1 1
Phil Karpuk 2001 0 4 .000 0 0
Carl Reinhardt 2001–2003 19 19 .500 0 0
Art Haege 2004 4 4 .500 0 0
Ervin Bryson 2004 4 2 .667 0 1
Jose Jefferson 2005–2006 19 11 .633 2 2
Richard Britt 2007 0 1 .000 0 0
Roger Jansen 2007 3 6 .333 0 0
Tom Luxford/Pat Arens 2007 0 5 .000 0 0
Jarrod DeGeorgia 2008–2009 8 20 .286 0 1
Tommie Williams 2010 4 8 .333 0 0
Jarrod DeGeorgia/Erv Strohbeen 2010 0 2 .000 0 0
Butch Faulkenberry 2011 12 0 1.000 2 0 APFL Coach of the Year (2011)
Erv Strohbeen 2012–present[10] 92 36 .719 8 9 APFL Coach of the Year (2012)
CPIFL Coach of the Year (2014)
CIF Coach of the Year (2015)

References

edit
  1. ^ a b Lantz, Shane (2021-11-04). "Jackson revisits Bandits roots". Sioux City Journal. Vol. 158, no. 42. Lee Enterprises. pp. B1–B2. ISSN 2689-5536. LCCN sn87058082. OCLC 15319768 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. ^ "Journal Exclusive: Sioux City team leaving IFL". Sioux City Journal. 2010-10-19. ISSN 2689-5544. LCCN 2019271409. OCLC 1002001030. Archived from the original on 2019-05-13. Retrieved 2022-03-09.
  3. ^ Pautsch, Brad (2012-08-01). "Bandits leave APFL; looking to create new league". KTIV. Quincy Media. Archived from the original on 2017-07-30. Retrieved 2016-12-31.
  4. ^ "Bandits to join Champions Professional Indoor Football League". KTIV. Quincy Media. 2012-08-11. Archived from the original on 2017-12-08. Retrieved 2016-12-31.
  5. ^ Grant, Ethan (2014-12-03). "Revolutionary league: Shift from IFL to CIF opens up new rivalries, salary cap to franchise". Allen American. Star Media. OCLC 849657866. Archived from the original on 2022-03-09. Retrieved 2022-03-09.
  6. ^ Chadiha, Jeffri (2009-07-31). "Jackson's path leads to prime position". ESPN. Archived from the original on 2017-12-16. Retrieved 2022-03-09.
  7. ^ "SPORTS BRIEFS: J.R. Bond becomes new Sioux City Bandits owner". Sioux City Journal. 2021-01-22. ISSN 2689-5544. LCCN 2019271409. OCLC 1002001030. Archived from the original on 2021-01-29. Retrieved 2022-03-09.
  8. ^ "Sioux City Bandits leaving the Champions Indoor Football League". KTIV. July 26, 2023.
  9. ^ "NAL ANNOUNCES SIOUX CITY BANDITS AS EXPANSION FRANCHISE". National Arena League. August 8, 2023.
  10. ^ "Quick Stats - Siouxland's Source for Local College and High School Stats on the Web". Quick Stats. 2021-07-10. Archived from the original on 2022-03-09. Retrieved 2022-03-09.
edit
Retrieved from "https://en.wiki.x.io/w/index.php?title=Sioux_City_Bandits&oldid=1229253479"