Sacramento Mountain Lions

Last updated
Sacramento Mountain Lions
SacramentoMountainLionshelmet.PNG
SacramentoMountainLions.PNG
Founded2009
Folded2012
Based in Sacramento, California
Home stadium
Owner(s) Paul Pelosi (majority)
ColorsDark Metallic Gold, Sac Black, Sac Tan, Sac Dark Gold
    
Uniform
UFL-Uniform-SAC.png

The Sacramento Mountain Lions were a professional American football team based in Sacramento, California that played in the United Football League. The franchise originated as the California Redwoods, and played its home games in San Francisco and San Jose before relocating to Hornet Stadium in Sacramento in 2010, then to Raley Field in West Sacramento in 2012. The team was coached by Dennis Green for three of its four years of existence. Amid financial problems, the UFL folded in the middle of the 2012 season.

Contents

Franchise history

California Redwoods (2009)

The team began play as the California Redwoods in October 2009. (Early trademark filings had suggested the UFL would name the team the "San Francisco Rockfish," a name that was dumped before any public announcement.) [1] In the league's 2009 season, the Redwoods played were originally slated to play all of its home games at AT&T Park in San Francisco, including the first-ever UFL game. Due to a conflict with the San Francisco Giants, the UFL's first game was instead played in Las Vegas. Poor attendance in San Francisco led to the league relocating one of the Redwoods' home games to Spartan Stadium in San Jose.

Former NFL head coach Dennis Green was hired as the Redwoods' head coach prior to the season. He led the team to a 2–4 record in its first season, finishing in third place.

Schedule

WeekDateKickoffOpponentResultsGame siteAttendanceTV
Final scoreTeam record
1Thursday, October 89:00 p.m. ET at Las Vegas Locomotives L 17–300–1 Sam Boyd Stadium 18,187 Versus
2Saturday, October 179:00 p.m. ET New York Sentinels W 24–71–1 AT&T Park 6,341 HDNet
3Thursday, October 227:00 p.m. ETat Florida Tuskers L 7–341–2 Citrus Bowl 12,021Versus
4Thursday, October 297:00 p.m. ETat New York SentinelsW 20–132–2 Giants Stadium 10,818Versus
5 Bye
6Saturday, November 149:00 p.m. ETLas Vegas LocomotivesL 10–162–3 Spartan Stadium 4,312HDNet
7Thursday, November 199:00 p.m. ETFlorida TuskersL 27–342–4AT&T Park6,837Versus

Sacramento Mountain Lions (2010–2012)

2010 season

League commissioner Michael Huyghue announced shortly after the end of the 2009 regular season that the team would "likely" move permanently to San Jose for the 2010 season. [2] On March 3, 2010, the league declared that the team would permanently relocate instead to Hornet Stadium in Sacramento, California for 2010, as part of a deal with Sacramento State University that saw the UFL provide a new artificial turf for the facility.

Despite the "California Redwoods" name still being valid (as the team remained the only UFL team in the state), league officials also announced that the California Redwoods branding would be abandoned. A new name was decided through a fan vote, though the name "Redwoods" remained a possible choice. [3] On April 6, 2010, the league announced that the franchise would be known as the Sacramento Mountain Lions. [4]

Additionally, head coach Dennis Green added the title of general manager following the season; he replaced league-wide general manager Rick Mueller, who handled the duties in 2009.

On September 25, the team won their first game in Sacramento, 24-20, becoming the first team to defeat the Florida Tuskers in the regular season, in front of a reported crowd of over 20,000.

Schedule
WeekDateKickoffOpponentResultsGame siteAttendanceTV
Final scoreTeam record
1Saturday, September 1811:30 a.m. PT at Hartford Colonials L 10–270–1 Rentschler Field 14,384 NESN
2Saturday, September 258:00 p.m. PT Florida Tuskers W 24–201–1 Hornet Stadium 20,000 Versus
3Saturday, October 25:30 p.m. PTat Omaha Nighthawks L 17–201–2 Rosenblatt Stadium 23,416 HDNet
4 Bye
5Friday, October 158:00 p.m. PT Las Vegas Locomotives L 3–261–3Hornet Stadium19,000HDNet
6Thursday, October 214:00 p.m. PTat Florida TuskersW 21–172–3 Citrus Bowl 10,066HDNet
7Saturday, October 308:00 p.m. PTHartford ColonialsL 26–272–4Hornet Stadium13,500Versus
8Saturday, November 68:00 p.m. PTat Las Vegas LocomotivesW 27–243–4 Sam Boyd Stadium 13,622Versus
9Saturday, November 138:00 p.m. PTOmaha NighthawksW 41–34–4Hornet Stadium20,000Versus
10Bye

2011 season

Schedule
WeekDateKickoff *OpponentResultsGame site
Final scoreTeam record
1Saturday, September 177:30 p.m. Las Vegas Locomotives L 17–230–1 Hornet Stadium
2 Bye
3Saturday, October 14:00 p.m. Omaha Nighthawks L 30–330–2Hornet Stadium
4Friday, October 74:00 p.m.at Virginia Destroyers L 6–280–3 Virginia Beach Sportsplex
5Saturday, October 154:00 p.m.Virginia DestroyersW 27–20 (OT)1–3Hornet Stadium
6Friday, October 21 †6:00 p.m.at Omaha NighthawksW 25–192–3 TD Ameritrade Park Omaha
* All times are Pacific Time. † Postseason Consolation Game.

2012 season

Head coach Dennis Green left the team after the 2011 season amid dispute and legal action; he was replaced by Turk Schonert. The team also left Hornet Stadium, its home stadium of 2010 and 2011, without attempting to negotiate a lease renewal. Instead, the team signed a deal with Raley Field, a predominantly baseball-oriented park built for the Sacramento River Cats of the Pacific Coast League, for the team's four 2012 home games.

The UFL's financial woes, a new venue, less prominent coach, and continued on-field shortcomings hurt the Mountain Lions' attendance figures in 2012, although not nearly to the same extent as the other three UFL markets. Reports of players and staff not getting paid, as well as the 2011 season getting cut short, tested the devotion of fans, as many considered the UFL a dead product. The UFL abruptly halted the season again after four games and pledged to continue its season in 2013, a promise that never came to fruition because of lawsuits against the league.

Season-by-season records

California Redwoods logo California Redwoods logo.png
California Redwoods logo
TeamSeasonWLTAvg.FinishPost SeasonAwardsAvg. attendance
California Redwoods 2009 240.3333rd5,830
Sacramento Mountain Lions 2010 440.5003rd18,125
Sacramento Mountain Lions 2011 130.2504th18,775
Sacramento Mountain Lions 2012 130.2504th
Totals8140.350–––14,171

Records vs. teams

This includes postseason games.

TeamRecordPercent
Hartford Colonials 2-2.500
Las Vegas Locomotives 1–4.200
Florida Tuskers/Virginia Destroyers 3–4.429
Omaha Nighthawks 1–3.250

Home, away, and neutral records

LocationRecordPercent
Home3–7.300
Away4–6.400
Neutral0-0.000

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References

  1. ↑ Eskenazi, Joe. "Are You Ready For Some Football? The Team Is Named 'The California Redwoods.' Still Ready?". SF Weekly. Retrieved 9 February 2019.
  2. ↑ Pavlovic, Alex (2009-11-19). "UFL's California Redwoods likely to move to San Jose". San Jose Mercury News . Retrieved 2009-11-23.
  3. ↑ "United Football League Brings Professional Football to Sacramento and Invites Fans to 'Name Your Team'". United Football League . 2010-03-03. Retrieved 2010-03-03.[ dead link ]
  4. ↑ Welch, Kat (April 6, 2010). "Welcome the Sacramento Mountain Lions to the United Football League". Sacramento Press. Retrieved May 22, 2020.
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