Sioux City Bandits

Last updated
Sioux City Bandits
AmericanFootball current event.svg Current season
Established 2000 (2000)
Play in Tyson Events Center
in Sioux City, Iowa
GoBandits.fun
SiouxCityBandits21.png
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)

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.

Contents

History

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

DateInformation
Friday, 31 March 2000This 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 2000This 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 2000This 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 2005This 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 2008This 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 2011Sioux 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 2011After 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 2012Sioux 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 2013Sioux 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 2014Sioux 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 2015For 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

Current roster

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

Running backs

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

Wide receivers

  •  2 Fred Bruno
  • 12Jacari Christion
  •  4 Sammie Epps
  • 18Noah Housh
  • 10 Braden Meints
  • 27 Ethan Mittelstaed-Snorton
  • 29Leslie Owusu
  • 14 Brandon Sheperd
Offensive linemen
  • 60 Sterling Clark
  • 96 Steven Fluker
  • 78 Shawn Kemmerer Jr.
  • 73 Dejarlis Reese
  • 75Omarr Roberts

Defensive linemen

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

Defensive backs

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

#PlayerPositionTenureHonored
60Darwin BishopOL/DL2000–032003
3Erv WhiteheadWR2000–022003
42Matt HughesLB2000–022004
64Carl ReinhardtDL/Coach2000–032004
12Jarrod DeGeorgiaQB/Coach2000, 2002–03, 20052006
40Jesse WavrunekDL2000–052006
5 Fred Jackson RB2004–052008
15John OstermeyerWR2002–03, 2005–082010
68Steve SchmidtOL/DL2000–09, 2013–142010
55Art MaulupeDL2000–072010
73Erv StrohbeenOL2000–082010
51Spetlar TongaLB2004–08, 2010–132015
1Alex ArdleyDB2004–05, 2007–122016
5Scott JensenQB2009–142017
10Damon MothersheadWR2007–162017
24Johnny BentleyRB2018
23Jon SmithDB2011–172019
3Rahn Franklin, JrDB2019
6Marlon LobbanLB2011–172019

Staff

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

League ChampionsConference ChampionsDivision ChampionsPlayoff berthLeague leader
Season Team League Conference Division Regular season Postseason results
FinishWinsLosses
Sioux City Attack
2000 2000 IFL WesternSouthern3rd95Won First Round (Lincoln) 52–38
Lost Quarterfinal (Bismarck) 14–30
Sioux City Bandits
2001 2001 NIFL Central6th410Did not qualify
2002 2002 NIFLPacificNorthern3rd95Did not qualify
2003 2003 NIFLPacificNorthern3rd68Did not qualify
2004 2004 NIFLPacificNorthern3rd86Lost First Round (Omaha) 40–46
2005 2005 UIF Northern1st132Won Quarterfinal (Ohio Valley) 52–17
Won Semifinal (Tennessee Valley) 42–37
Lost United Bowl I (Sioux Falls) 38–40
2006 2006 UIFWestern3rd69Lost Quarterfinal (Rock River) 33–37
2007 2007 UIFWestern5th312Did not qualify
2008 2008 UIFEastern3rd410Lost Quarterfinal (RiverCity) 33–37
2009 2009 IFL UnitedCentral5th410Did not qualify
2010 2010 IFLUnitedCentral West4th410Did not qualify
2011 2011 APFL 1st120Won Semifinal (Kansas) 54–20
Won APFL Championship (Iowa) 69–28
2012 2012 APFL1st120Won Semifinal (Mid-Missouri) 61–28
Won APFL Championship (Council Bluffs) 56–34
2013 2013 CPIFL 3rd102Lost Semifinal (Salina) 28–29
2014 2014 CPIFL2nd93Won Semifinal (Salina) 66–37
Lost Champions Bowl II (Wichita) 41–46
2015 2015 CIF 1st93Won Semifinal (Amarillo) 83–52
Won Champions Bowl I (Texas) 76–61
2016 2016 CIFNorthern3rd75Lost First Round (Bloomington) 45–65
2017 2017 CIFNorth1st93Won Quarterfinal (Bismarck) 82–43
Lost Conference Championship (Omaha) 45–55
2018 2018 CIFNorth2nd93Won Conference Semifinal (Quad City) 54–46
Won Conference Championship (Salina) 45–39
Lost Champions Bowl (Duke City) 27–31
2019 2019 CIFNorth3rd85Lost Quarterfinal (Omaha) 50–60
2020 2020 CIFNorthSeason cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic
2021 2021CIF3rd56Lost Semifinal (Omaha) 39–40
2022 2022CIF1st91Lost Semifinal (Omaha) 45–49
2023 2023CIF5th55Lost Quarterfinal (Billings) 39–31
2024 2024 NAL
Totals174123All-time regular season record
1314All-time postseason record
187137All-time regular season and postseason record

Head coaches

NameTenureRegular seasonPlayoffsAwards
WLWin%WL
Jim Anderson200095.64311
Phil Karpuk200104.00000
Carl Reinhardt2001–20031919.50000
Art Haege 200444.50000
Ervin Bryson200442.66701
Jose Jefferson2005–20061911.63322
Richard Britt200701.00000
Roger Jansen200736.33300
Tom Luxford/Pat Arens200705.00000
Jarrod DeGeorgia2008–2009820.28601
Tommie Williams201048.33300
Jarrod DeGeorgia/Erv Strohbeen201002.00000
Butch Faulkenberry20111201.00020APFL Coach of the Year (2011)
Erv Strohbeen2012–present [10] 9236.71989APFL Coach of the Year (2012)
CPIFL Coach of the Year (2014)
CIF Coach of the Year (2015)

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References

  1. 1 2 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.
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