Tucson Sugar Skulls

Tucson Sugar Skulls

Founded	2018
Team history	Tucson Sugar Skulls (2019–present)
Based in	Tucson Arena in Tucson, Arizona
Home arena	Tucson Arena (2019–present)
Mascot	Bones
League	Indoor Football League (2019–present) Western Conference (2022-present)
Colors	Black, gold, red, white
Personnel
Head coach	Rayshaun Kizer [1]
Team president	Jay Gonzales [2]
Owners	Cathy Guy Ali Farhang
Playoff appearances (3)
2019, 2022, 2023
Current uniform
Current season

The Tucson Sugar Skulls are a professional indoor football team based in Tucson, Arizona, that competes in the Indoor Football League (IFL). The Sugar Skulls began play in the 2019 season as an expansion team. The team plays its home games at Tucson Convention Center's Tucson Arena. The franchise is led by owners Cathy Guy, wife of Arizona Rattlers' head coach Kevin Guy, and Ali Farhang.

History

The franchise was announced by the ownership group led by Kevin and Cathy Guy at a press conference held on August 23, 2018, at the Tucson Convention Center. ^[3] As Kevin Guy was also the head coach of the Arizona Rattlers, Cathy was named the majority owner of the Tucson team to oversee primary operations along with Mike Feder and Ali Farhang. ^[4] The team announced Marcus Coleman as its first head coach on September 12, 2018. ^[5] The team name was revealed on September 20, 2018, after a name-the-team contest originating from the local tradition of creating sugar skulls for Día de Muertos (Day of the Dead) and the Roman Catholic holiday of All Souls Day. ^[6]

The team qualified for the playoffs in their first season with a 7–7 record. They lost to the eventual league champion Sioux Falls Storm 50–47 in the first round. After the season, the Sugar Skulls hired two-time IFL coach of the year Dixie Wooten away from the Iowa Barnstormers as head coach and general manager for the 2020 season. ^[7] However, the season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic before the Sugar Skulls played any games. ^[8]

Statistics

Season-by-season results

League champions

Playoff berth

League leader

Season	League	Conference	Regular season				Postseason results
			Finish	Wins	Losses	Ties
2019	IFL		6th	7	7	0	Lost first round (Sioux Falls) 47–50
2020	IFL	Season cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic
2021	IFL		9th	6	8	0
2022	IFL	Western	3rd	9	7	0	Lost first round (Northern Arizona) 30-49
2023	IFL	Western	3rd	9	6	0	Lost first round (Bay Area) 46-34
2024	IFL	Western	8th	2	14	0
Totals				33	42	0	All-time regular season record (2019–2024)
				0	3	0	All-time postseason record (2019–2024)
				33	45	0	All-time regular season and postseason record (2019–2024)

Head coaches

Note: Statistics are correct through the 2022 IFL season.

Name	Term	Regular season			Playoffs		Awards
		W	L	Win%	W	L
Marcus Coleman	2019	7	7	.500	0	1
Dixie Wooten	2020–2022	15	15	.500	0	1
Hurtis Chinn	2023	9	6	.600	0	1
Billy Back	2024-2025	8	24	.250	0	0

References

1. "Sugar Skulls announce Rayshaun Kizer as Head Coach". Sugar Skulls. September 23, 2025. Retrieved September 29, 2025.
2. "Jay Gonzales named Sugar Skulls President". Sugar Skulls. July 24, 2019.
3. "Tucson Indoor Football". Facebook.com. August 23, 2018.
4. Richard Obert (August 23, 2018). "Tucson joins Indoor Football League with Rattlers coach Kevin Guy and wife as co-owners". azcentral.com.
5. "Tucson's Indoor Football League team has its first coach — and he's a reigning champion". Tucson.com. September 12, 2018.
6. Ryan Finlay (September 20, 2018). "Sweet: Tucson's new Indoor Football League team picks a name with local significance". tucson.com.
7. "Sugar Skulls Hire Championship Coach". OurSports Central. September 18, 2019.
8. "IFL Cancels Remaining 2020 Games". IFL. April 13, 2020.

External links

• Official website