Saginaw Sting
| Saginaw Sting | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Founded | 2008 |
| Current season | 2012 Saginaw Sting season |
| League | CIFL 2008 IFL 2009[1] UIFL 2011 CIFL 2012-present |
| Team history | Saginaw Sting 2008-2009 2011-present |
| Arena | Dow Event Center |
| Based in | Saginaw, Michigan |
| Team colors | Green, Orange |
| Owner(s) | Stuart Schweigert, Rob Licht & Tom O'Brien |
| Head coach | Fred Townsend |
| General Manager | Rob Licht |
| Championships | 2008 CIFL Champions 2011 UIFL Champions 2012 CIFL Champions |
| Division titles | 2008 CIFL Atlantic Division |
| Dancers | Stingers[2] |
| Mascot | Stanley Stinger[3] |
| Broadcasters | Donald Mathews John Wunderle |
| Local media | MRSN SportsRadio |
The Saginaw Sting are a professional Indoor Football team based in Saginaw, Michigan. The team is currently a member of the Continental Indoor Football League. They began play in 2008 as an expansion team in the CIFL and then moved to the Indoor Football League for the 2009 season. They suspended operations for the 2010 season before becoming an inaugural member of the Ultimate Indoor Football League.[4] The following season they were suspended by the UIFL and re-joined the CIFL under new ownership. The owners of the Sting are Stuart Schweigert, Rob Licht and Jim O'Brien. The Sting play their home games at The Dow Event Center in Saginaw, Michigan.
They are one of only a few teams to ever win a championship in multiple leagues (CIFL in 2008, the UIFL in 2011 & the CIFL again in 2012).
Contents |
Franchise history [edit]
2008 [edit]
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.[5] 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 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.
2009: Moving to the IFL [edit]
A number of Sting and Xplosion players indicated at 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 the Sting to move to the new Indoor Football League.[1] 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.
2011: Return to action [edit]
After not faring well during their only season in the IFL, the Sting For 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 was also the league's commissioner. He hired Stuart Schweigert as the Sting's Director of Player Development.[6] 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.
2012: Return to the CIFL [edit]
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 the team back to the CIFL.[7] 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,[8] 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.[9] With a 8–0 record, 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.[10]
2013 [edit]
The Sting's first move in its quest for a title defense in 2013 happened when they re-signed Head Coach Fred Townsend to a 3-year contract extension.[11]
Ultimately, the Sting progressed all the way 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. Thus, forced to attempt a touchdown, the team failed, giving the Erie Explosion the championship and a perfect season.
Notable Players [edit]
Current Roster [edit]
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Saginaw Sting roster
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quarterbacks
Running Backs Wide Receivers |
Offensive Linemen
Defensive Linemen
Linebackers |
Defensive Backs
Kickers |
Injured Reserve
Exempt List
Practice Squad
Rookies in italics |
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Awards and honors [edit]
The following is a list of all Saginaw Sting players who have won league Awards
| Season | Player | Position | Award |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Tommy Jones | Quarterback | 1st Team All-UIFL |
| 2011 | Phillip Smith | Linebacker | 1st Team All-UIFL |
| 2011 | Mike McFadden | Defensive Lineman | 1st Team All-UIFL |
| 2011 | LaVaughn Macon | Wide Receiver | 2nd Team All-UIFL |
| 2011 | Eric Brim | Offensive Line | 2nd Team All-UIFL |
| 2011 | Steve Michalek | Offensive Line | 2nd Team All-UIFL |
| 2011 | Tommy Jones | Quarterback | UIFL Offensive Player of the Year |
| 2011 | Tommy Jones | Quarterback | UIFL Ultimate Bowl I MVP |
| 2012 | Tommy Jones | Quarterback | CIFL MVP |
| 2012 | Tommy Jones | Quarterback | CIFL Offensive Player of the Year |
| 2012 | Charles Tarver | Wide Receiver | CIFL Special Teams Player of the Year |
Noteable Coaches [edit]
Head coaches [edit]
Note: Statistics are correct through the end of Week 3 of the 2013 CIFL season.
| Name | Term | Regular Season | Playoffs | Awards | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | T | Win% | W | L | |||
| Karl Featherstone | 2008-2009 | 12 | 4 | 0 | .750 | 3 | 0 | |
| Jason Lovelock | 2009 | 1 | 10 | 0 | .091 | 0 | 0 | |
| John Mize | 2011 | 2 | 1 | 0 | .667 | 0 | 0 | |
| Vince Leveille | 2011 | 7 | 4 | 0 | .636 | 2 | 0 | |
| Fred Townsend | 2012 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 | 1 | 0 | |
Coaching staff [edit]
| Saginaw Sting staff | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Front Office
Head Coach
Offensive Coaches
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Defensive Coaches
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Statistics and records [edit]
Season-by-season results [edit]
Note: The Finish, Wins, Losses, and Ties columns list regular season results and exclude any postseason play.
| League Champions | Conference Champions | Division Champions | Wild Card Berth | League Leader |
| Season | Team | League | Conference | Division | Regular season | Postseason Results | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Finish | Wins | Losses | Ties | ||||||||
| 2008 | 2008 | CIFL | Atlantic | West | 2nd | 10 | 2 | 0 | Won Divisional Playoffs (Mayhem) 41–34 Won Atlantic Conference Championship (Outlawz) 59–25 Won CIFL Championship Game (Xplosion) 41–37 |
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| 2009 | 2009 | IFL | United | Atlantic | 4th | 3 | 12 | 0 | |||
| 2011 | 2011 | UIFL | 2nd | 9 | 5 | 0 | Won UIFL semifinals (Northern Kentucky) 48–47 Won Ultimate Bowl I (Drillers) 86–69 |
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| 2012 | 2012 | CIFL | 1st | 8 | 0 | Won CIFL Championship Game (Silverbacks) 35–7 | |||||
| 2013* | 2013 | CIFL | 3 | 0 | 0 | ||||||
| Totals | 33 | 19 | 0 | All-time regular season record (2008–2012) | |||||||
| 6 | 0 | - | All-time postseason record (2008–2012) | ||||||||
| 39 | 19 | 0 | All-time regular season and postseason record (2008–2012) | ||||||||
* Season currently in progress
References [edit]
- ^ a b Mancina, Greg (2008-09-12). "Saginaw Sting ready to join new league while owners work to split their differences". The Saginaw News (Saginaw, Michigan: Booth Newspapers). Retrieved 2008-0-16.
- ^ Brandt, Patti (2008-04-07). "Local women find high-energy fun on Saginaw Sting dance team". Bay City Times (Booth Newspapers). Retrieved 2008-04-23.
- ^ Mancina, Greg. "Saginaw Sting football team begins season". Saginaw News (Booth Newspapers). Retrieved 2008-04-23.
- ^ UIFL Website - Teams
- ^ Morgan, Wes (2008-04-18). "Xplosion owners juggling two teams". Kalamazoo Gazette (Booth Newspapers). Retrieved 2008-04-23.
- ^ Stuart Schweigert gets chance to spread football wings as Saginaw Sting director of player development
- ^ Kyle Austin (November 11, 2011). "Local ownership group, including Stuart Schweigert, purchase Saginaw Sting indoor football team". Retrieved December 13, 2011.
- ^ Kyle Austin (December 29, 2011). "Vince Leveille to return as Saginaw Sting head coach". Retrieved January 11, 2012.
- ^ Kyle Austin (March 7, 2012). "Vince Leveille steps down as Saginaw Sting coach, Fred Townsend to replace him". Retrieved March 7, 2012.
- ^ Erich T. Doerr (June 3, 2012). "Saginaw Sting find perfection, third title in four years with 35-7 CIFL title game victory over Dayton Silverbacks". www.mlive.com. Retrieved June 5, 2012.
- ^ Hugh Bernreuter (October 25, 2012). "Saginaw Sting sign Fred Townsend to 3-year deal, start tryout camps for 2013 CIFL season". www.mlive.com. Michigan Live LLC. Retrieved November 9, 2012.
External links [edit]
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