The Sacramento Mountain Lions was 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.
  | |
| Founded | 2009 |
|---|---|
| Folded | 2012 |
| Based in | Sacramento, California |
| Home stadium |
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| Owner(s) | Paul Pelosi (majority) |
| Colors | Dark Metallic Gold, Sac Black, Sac Tan, Sac Dark Gold |
| Uniform | |
 | |
Franchise history
editCalifornia Redwoods (2009)
editThe 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
edit| Week | Date | Kickoff | Opponent | Results | Game site | Attendance | TV | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Final score | Team record | |||||||
| 1 | Thursday, October 8 | 9:00 p.m. ET | at Las Vegas Locomotives | L 17–30 | 0–1 | Sam Boyd Stadium | 18,187 | Versus |
| 2 | Saturday, October 17 | 9:00 p.m. ET | New York Sentinels | W 24–7 | 1–1 | AT&T Park | 6,341 | HDNet |
| 3 | Thursday, October 22 | 7:00 p.m. ET | at Florida Tuskers | L 7–34 | 1–2 | Citrus Bowl | 12,021 | Versus |
| 4 | Thursday, October 29 | 7:00 p.m. ET | at New York Sentinels | W 20–13 | 2–2 | Giants Stadium | 10,818 | Versus |
| 5 | Bye | |||||||
| 6 | Saturday, November 14 | 9:00 p.m. ET | Las Vegas Locomotives | L 10–16 | 2–3 | Spartan Stadium | 4,312 | HDNet |
| 7 | Thursday, November 19 | 9:00 p.m. ET | Florida Tuskers | L 27–34 | 2–4 | AT&T Park | 6,837 | Versus |
Sacramento Mountain Lions (2010–2012)
edit2010 season
editLeague 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
edit| Week | Date | Kickoff | Opponent | Results | Game site | Attendance | TV | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Final score | Team record | |||||||
| 1 | Saturday, September 18 | 11:30 a.m. PT | at Hartford Colonials | L 10–27 | 0–1 | Rentschler Field | 14,384 | NESN |
| 2 | Saturday, September 25 | 8:00 p.m. PT | Florida Tuskers | W 24–20 | 1–1 | Hornet Stadium | 20,000 | Versus |
| 3 | Saturday, October 2 | 5:30 p.m. PT | at Omaha Nighthawks | L 17–20 | 1–2 | Rosenblatt Stadium | 23,416 | HDNet |
| 4 | Bye | |||||||
| 5 | Friday, October 15 | 8:00 p.m. PT | Las Vegas Locomotives | L 3–26 | 1–3 | Hornet Stadium | 19,000 | HDNet |
| 6 | Thursday, October 21 | 4:00 p.m. PT | at Florida Tuskers | W 21–17 | 2–3 | Citrus Bowl | 10,066 | HDNet |
| 7 | Saturday, October 30 | 8:00 p.m. PT | Hartford Colonials | L 26–27 | 2–4 | Hornet Stadium | 13,500 | Versus |
| 8 | Saturday, November 6 | 8:00 p.m. PT | at Las Vegas Locomotives | W 27–24 | 3–4 | Sam Boyd Stadium | 13,622 | Versus |
| 9 | Saturday, November 13 | 8:00 p.m. PT | Omaha Nighthawks | W 41–3 | 4–4 | Hornet Stadium | 20,000 | Versus |
| 10 | Bye | |||||||
2011 season
editSchedule
edit| Week | Date | Kickoff * | Opponent | Results | Game site | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Final score | Team record | |||||
| 1 | Saturday, September 17 | 7:30 p.m. | Las Vegas Locomotives | L 17–23 | 0–1 | Hornet Stadium |
| 2 | Bye | |||||
| 3 | Saturday, October 1 | 4:00 p.m. | Omaha Nighthawks | L 30–33 | 0–2 | Hornet Stadium |
| 4 | Friday, October 7 | 4:00 p.m. | at Virginia Destroyers | L 6–28 | 0–3 | Virginia Beach Sportsplex |
| 5 | Saturday, October 15 | 4:00 p.m. | Virginia Destroyers | W 27–20 (OT) | 1–3 | Hornet Stadium |
| 6 | Friday, October 21 † | 6:00 p.m. | at Omaha Nighthawks | W 25–19 | 2–3 | TD Ameritrade Park Omaha |
| * All times are Pacific Time. † Postseason Consolation Game. | ||||||
2012 season
editHead 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
edit
| Team | Season | W | L | T | Avg. | Finish | Post Season | Awards | Avg. attendance |
| California Redwoods | 2009 | 2 | 4 | 0 | .333 | 3rd | 5,830 | ||
| Sacramento Mountain Lions | 2010 | 4 | 4 | 0 | .500 | 3rd | 18,125 | ||
| Sacramento Mountain Lions | 2011 | 1 | 3 | 0 | .250 | 4th | 18,775 | ||
| Sacramento Mountain Lions | 2012 | 1 | 3 | 0 | .250 | 4th | |||
| Totals | 8 | 14 | 0 | .350 | – | – | – | 14,171 |
Records vs. teams
editThis includes postseason games.
| Team | Record | Percent |
|---|---|---|
| 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
edit| Location | Record | Percent |
|---|---|---|
| Home | 3–7 | .300 |
| Away | 4–6 | .400 |
| Neutral | 0-0 | .000 |
References
edit- ^ Eskenazi, Joe. "Are You Ready For Some Football? The Team Is Named 'The California Redwoods.' Still Ready?". SF Weekly. Retrieved 9 February 2019.
- ^ Pavlovic, Alex (2009-11-19). "UFL's California Redwoods likely to move to San Jose". San Jose Mercury News. Retrieved 2009-11-23.
- ^ "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]
- ^ Welch, Kat (April 6, 2010). "Welcome the Sacramento Mountain Lions to the United Football League". Sacramento Press. Retrieved May 22, 2020.