New England Surge

Last updated
New England Surge
Established 2007
Folded 2008
Played in DCU Center in Worcester, Massachusetts
Surge.PNG
League/conference affiliations
Continental Indoor Football League (2007–2008)
  • Atlantic Conference (2007–2008)
    • East Division (2008)
Current uniform
Team colorsRed, Gold, White
   
MascotSurgeo the Leopard
CheerleadersPower Surge
Personnel
PresidentRoy Lucas Jr.
Head coachRick Buffington (2007)
Roy Lucas Jr. (2007–2008)
Team history
  • New England Surge (2007–2008)
Championships
League championships (0)
Conference championships (0)
Division championships (1)
Playoff appearances (2)
Home arena(s)
View of DCU Center during initial home game on April 14, 2007 New England Surge.jpg
View of DCU Center during initial home game on April 14, 2007

The New England Surge were an indoor football team that was a member of the Continental Indoor Football League in 2007 and 2008. [1]

Contents

The Surge played home games at the DCU Center in downtown Worcester, Massachusetts. [2] On April 24, 2007, only four games into the team's first season, head coach Rick Buffington was fired, replaced by team president Roy Lucas Jr. [3]

The team shut down its operations after the 2008 season. [1] The mascot's name was Surgeo the Leopard. [4]

Season-by-season

Season records
SeasonWLTFinishPlayoff results
20078402nd AtlanticWon AD Semifinal (Lehigh Valley)
Lost AD Championship (Rochester)
20088301st Atlantic EastLost AD East Finals (Lehigh Valley)
Totals1790(including playoffs)

2007 season

The Surge started their inaugural season by losing their first two games before Defeating New York/New Jersey by a score of 61–6 in front of a home crowd of 4,724 fans. However, following a 1–3 start, team owner Roy Lucas Jr. fired Rick Buffington and named himself as a coach. [5] The team would dramatically improve under Lucas winning 7 of their final 8 games en route to a #2 seed in the playoffs. The Surge would defeat the Lehigh Valley Outlawz 58–34 in the Atlantic Division Semifinal game before losing 80–45 to the Rochester Raiders in the Championship game.

Notable players

2007 CIFL standings

2007 Continental Indoor Football League
TeamOverallDivision
WLTPCTWLTPCT
Great Lakes Conference
Michigan Pirates-y12001.00010001.000
Kalamazoo Xplosion-x1020.8331020.833
Chicago Slaughter-x930.750820.800
Marion Mayhem-x660.500650.545
Muskegon Thunder-x480.333470.364
Miami Valley Silverbacks 480.333370.300
Summit County Rumble 1110.083070.000
Springfield Stallions 0120.0000110.000
Atlantic Conference
Rochester Raiders-y1020.83390001.000
New England Surge-x840.667830.727
Lehigh Valley Outlawz-x750.583550.500
Chesapeake Tide-x750.583650.545
Steubenville Stampede 570.417260.250
NY/NJ Revolution 1110.0830110.000

2008 season

The Surge would start the 2008 season with a 5–0 record, highlighted by a dramatic 49–41 victory over the Chesapeake Tide and a ferocious rally to defeat the Flint Phantoms 49–48, before losing a 62–20 game against Rochester. They would finish the season with an 8–3 record and won the Atlantic Division East regular-season title. They would go into the playoffs as the #1 seed. On the eve of their semifinal playoff matchup with the Lehigh Valley Outlawz, Offensive coordinator Jerry Snay abruptly resigned from the team, stating that he had not been paid in two years. The Surge would go on to lose the game by a score of 27–21. This would end up being the last game played by the Surge.

2008 CIFL standings

2008 Continental Indoor Football League
TeamOverallDivision
WLTPCTWLTPCT
Great Lakes Conference
East Division
Kalamazoo Xplosion-y1110.917510.833
Muskegon Thunder-x570.417220.500
Fort Wayne Freedom 570.417240.333
Miami Valley Silverbacks 390.250120.333
West Division
Chicago Slaughter-y840.667310.750
Rock River Raptors-x750.583310.750
Milwaukee Bonecrushers 1110.083040.000
Atlantic Conference
East Division
New England Surge-y830.727510.833
Lehigh Valley Outlawz-x750.583420.667
New Jersey Revolution 390.250250.286
Chesapeake Tide 2100.583020.000
West Division
Rochester Raiders-z12001.0004001.000
Saginaw Sting-y1020.833310.750
Marion Mayhem-x750.583020.000
Flint Phantoms 1110.083040.000

Team demise

After only two years in existence as a franchise, the team investors stated that the Surge had lost a total of about $577,000. Still, on January 29, 2009, Lucas told the Worcester Telegram and Gazette, "we can guarantee there will be indoor football in Worcester in 2009." Shortly thereafter the investors voted 5–1 to remove Lucas as president. The same investors, mostly small business owners and retirees who borrowed some of the money they put up and had no experience in professional sports, allege that Mr. Lucas buried the team with sloppy bookkeeping, poor business practices, and out-of-control spending on hotel rooms, restaurant tabs, rental cars, airline tickets, and marketing expenses. [1] The Surge announced that they would be leaving the CIFL and would be starting a new league (the United States Indoor Football League) along with the Lehigh Valley Outlawz. Three other teams were announced but despite promises, the league never produced a schedule and is presumed defunct.

Reasons cited for the huge losses include the $40,000 plus tab the team ran up the first season with the Hilton Garden Inn hotel to house players, as well as money for plane tickets. Several out-of-state players were brought in and housed in the hotel rather than the Surge using local talent. Others cite that Lucas took on too many duties when he named himself the team’s coach and tried to handle on-field duties and the general manager’s job at the same time. Last, the Surge spent a large amount of $107,000 in advertising costs in its first season. On April 3, 2009, Lucas notified The DCU Center that it would be voiding the third and final year on its lease with the Arena. Several court cases have been filed as investors, creditors, as well as players and coaches, have all attempted to recover money owed to them. [1]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">DCU Center</span> Indoor arena in Worcester, Massachusetts, U.S.

The DCU Center is an indoor arena and convention center complex in downtown Worcester, Massachusetts. The facility hosts a variety of events, including concerts, sporting events, family shows, conventions, trade-shows and meetings. It is owned by the City of Worcester and managed by SMG, a private management firm for public assembly facilities.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Green Bay Blizzard</span> American indoor football team

The Green Bay Blizzard is a professional indoor football team based in Ashwaubenon, Wisconsin, founded in 2003. The Blizzard began play in the Indoor Football League in 2010, after having played the previous seven seasons in af2, the now-defunct minor league of the Arena Football League. They play their home games at the Resch Center. The team's logo represents Bruiser, the team mascot.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amarillo Venom</span> American indoor football team

The Amarillo Venom are a professional indoor football team based in Amarillo, Texas. They play their home games at the Amarillo Civic Center and are members of American Indoor Football as of August 2024. The Venom began play in 2004 as the Amarillo Dusters, a charter member of the Intense Football League, a small indoor football league based in Texas. They won the championship in their first and only season with the Intense Football League.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fort Wayne Freedom</span>

The Fort Wayne Freedom was a professional indoor football team based in Fort Wayne, Indiana.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Continental Indoor Football League</span> US indoor football league

The Continental Indoor Football League (CIFL) was an indoor football league based along the Midwestern United States region that played nine seasons from 2006 to 2014. It began play in April 2006 as the Great Lakes Indoor Football League (GLIFL). It was formed by Jeff Spitaleri, his brother Eric, and a third member, Cory Trapp, all from the Canton, Ohio, area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lehigh Valley Outlawz</span>

The Lehigh Valley Outlawz were a professional indoor football team based in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. The team began play as a semi-pro team in the Labelle Community Football League as the Philly Outlawz. The team was later a charter member of the Great Lakes Indoor Football League joining the league in 2006 as an expansion team. The Outlawz and the Reading Express were the first professional indoor football team to be based in Lehigh Valley. The Outlawz were owned by Jim DePaul. They played their home games at the Stabler Arena on the campus of Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marion Mayhem</span>

The Marion Mayhem were a professional indoor football team based in Marion, Ohio. The team was a charter member of the Great Lakes Indoor Football League (GLIFL), later renamed the Continental Indoor Football League (CIFL), joining in 2006 as an expansion team. The Mayhem were the first professional indoor football team to be based in Marion, but were the second pro football team to be based in the area since the NFL's Oorang Indians. The team folded during the 2010 season due to financial problems. The Owners of the Mayhem were Michael Burtch and Stanley Jackson. They played their home games at the Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Marion, Ohio.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Erie Explosion</span> American indoor football team

The Erie Explosion was a professional American indoor football team based in Erie, Pennsylvania. Founded in 2007 as the Pittsburgh RiverRats, the Explosion played in the Professional Indoor Football League, the United Indoor Football League, the Southern Indoor Football League, the Continental Indoor Football League and the American Indoor Football Association and operated continuously from 2007 to 2015.

The 2006 Great Lakes Indoor Football League season was the first season of the Great Lakes Indoor Football League (GLIFL).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Flint Phantoms</span> American indoor football team

The Flint Phantoms were a professional indoor football team based in Flint, Michigan. The Phantoms joined the Continental Indoor Football League (CIFL) in 2008 as an expansion team. They were the second professional indoor football team to be based in Flint, with the first being the Flint Flames of the original Indoor Football League. The Michigan Pirates played a home playoff game in Flint, in 2007, with the idea of moving there, but the team folded after the 2007 season. The Phantoms played their home games at the Perani Arena and Event Center in Flint, Michigan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chesapeake Tide</span> American Indoor Football team

The Chesapeake Tide were a former professional Indoor Football team based in Upper Marlboro, Maryland. The team began play in 2007 as an expansion team in the Continental Indoor Football League. The founding owner of the Tide was Martin Johnson. The Tide played its home games at The Show Place Arena. Midway through the 2008 season the team was acquired by Messay Hailermariam. Hailermariam folded the team at the end of the season and founded the Maryland Maniacs. Despite playing in the same arena with the same head coach, the Maniacs were not a continuation of the Tide.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sports in Worcester, Massachusetts</span>

Worcester, Massachusetts, is home to minor league sports teams and NCAA Division 1 college and university sports, most notably The College of the Holy Cross. Other professional teams that have moved on from the city include the New England Blazers, a Major League Lacrosse team that played at the Worcester Centrum during the 1980s, the Bay State Bombardiers of the Continental Basketball Association, who played in the Worcester Memorial Auditorium from 1984 to 1986, the Worcester Ice Cats, an American Hockey League franchise and developmental team for the National Hockey League's St. Louis Blues who played in the DCU Center from 1994 to 2005, and the Worcester Sharks, an American Hockey League franchise and developmental team for the NHL's San Jose Sharks. Many historic and local sporting events have occurred in Worcester such as the first official Ryder Cup golf tournament at Worcester Country Club in 1927.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lehigh Valley Steelhawks</span>

The Lehigh Valley Steelhawks were a professional indoor football team based in Allentown, Pennsylvania. The Steelhawks began play as an expansion team in the Indoor Football League (IFL) in 2011.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cedar Rapids River Kings</span>

The Cedar Rapids River Kings are a professional indoor football team based in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. They are current members of American Indoor Football and play their homes at the Alliant Energy PowerHouse.

The 2012 Saginaw Sting season is the fourth season for the Continental Indoor Football League (CIFL) franchise.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Worcester Bravehearts</span>

The Worcester Bravehearts are a summer collegiate baseball team based in Worcester, Massachusetts, US, that plays in the Futures Collegiate Baseball League (FCBL) of New England starting in 2014. The team's home games are played at Hanover Insurance Park at Fitton Field in Worcester.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Worcester Railers</span> American minor league hockey team

The Worcester Railers are a professional ice hockey team based in Worcester, Massachusetts. The team began play in the 2017–18 ECHL season, and is a member of the North Division of the Eastern Conference of the ECHL. The team plays their home games at the DCU Center and are the ECHL affiliate of the New York Islanders. The team filled the void left by the AHL's Worcester Sharks, who relocated to San Jose, California, in 2015 to become the San Jose Barracuda.

The 2009 Holy Cross Crusaders football team represented the College of the Holy Cross in the 2009 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by sixth-year head coach Tom Gilmore and played their home games at Fitton Field. They were a member of the Patriot League. They finished the season 9–3, 5–1 in Patriot League play to finish in first place and won the conference title. They went to the FCS Playoffs where they lost to Villanova, 38–28.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Massachusetts Pirates</span> American indoor football team

The Massachusetts Pirates are a professional indoor football team of the Indoor Football League based in Lowell, Massachusetts, with home games at the Tsongas Center. The Pirates began play in the 2018 season as a member of the National Arena League (NAL).

Richard B. Buffington is an American former football player and coach. After briefly playing college football at BYU, he played for 17–19 different minor league teams in several leagues. He became a coach afterwards, beginning in 1968 with Bristol Community College. Buffington was a scout and assistant coach in the National Football League (NFL) in the late 1970s, and was an administrator and coach in the United States Football League (USFL) from 1982 to 1984. From 1988 to 2000, Buffington was a coach for several teams in the Arena Football League (AFL), including serving as head coach for the Albany Firebirds (1990–1993), Connecticut Coyotes (1995), Charlotte Rage (1996), and Florida Bobcats. He also coached the New Haven Ninjas (2002) and Albany Conquest (2004) in af2, the New England Surge (2007) in the Continental Indoor Football League (CIFL), and the Boston Blaze (2017) in the Can-Am Indoor Football League.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Sutner, Shaun; Nordman, Dave (April 12, 2009). "The decline and fall of the N.E. Surge". Telegram & Gazette . Archived from the original on April 15, 2009. Retrieved June 2, 2009.
  2. ↑ Nordman, Dave (November 14, 2006). "Football returning to DCU". Telegram & Gazette . Archived from the original on September 27, 2007. Retrieved November 14, 2006.
  3. ↑ "Head Coach Rick Buffington Released from Contract". newenglandsurge.com. April 24, 2007. Archived from the original on October 8, 2007. Retrieved April 25, 2007.
  4. ↑ Bishop, Ashley (April 3, 2007). "Surgeo to lead indoor cheers". Telegram & Gazette . Archived from the original on July 31, 2017. Retrieved July 30, 2017.
  5. ↑ Surge Express Blocked By Raiders
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.