Post by attackbandit on Aug 22, 2012 0:02:39 GMT -5
siouxcityjournal.com/sports/football/amateur/bandits-make-it-official-join-cpifl/article_fed7782a-389b-5d0c-a5e2-5df446b0b6a8.html
SIOUX CITY | For the Sioux City Bandits, another undefeated season will be hard to come by.
That’s just fine with them.
Managing partner Bob Scott announced Tuesday that the Bandits have joined the budding Central Professional Indoor Football League, officially turning the page after his team steamrolled through back-to-back undefeated seasons in the American Professional Football League.
The Bandits join four other confirmed CPIFL members -- the Wichita Wild, Mid-Missouri Outlaws, Oklahoma Defenders and a new franchise in Kansas City that has yet to be named.
The CPIFL is also reportedly considering another team in Lincoln, Neb.
Commissioner James Bain said league membership could bulge to as many as 10 by Sept. 30 -- the deadline the CPIFL has set for accepting new teams.
“We are going to be very picky about ownership that comes into our league,” Bain said. “We have the ability to say no -- and we think it’s powerful to be able to say no to people we don’t want to be associated with.”
That means the Bandits' days of strolling through 40-point blowouts may be behind them.
“On paper, the teams in this league -- there’s no cakewalk. And that’s what you want as a staff,” Sioux City head coach Erv Strohbeen said. “As a team, you want to be challenged each week. That’s going to require us to work a little bit harder.”
Wichita also announced its CPIFL membership on Tuesday, with Mid-Mo and Oklahoma expected to follow suit today.
No additional teams have been officially confirmed. Scott said Council Bluffs Express owner Brad Lindgren plans to field a CPIFL team, but is still “making some decisions about where he’s going to play next year.”
Lindgren said the league is negotiating terms to field a team in Lincoln, which hasn’t had indoor football since the Lincoln Capitols folded in 2006 as a member of the National Indoor Football League. The Capitols played their home games at Pershing Auditorium.
Even Pershing and the Bandits' beloved Tyson Events Center pale in comparison to Kemper Arena, where Kansas City owner Jeremy Ploeger said his new team will host its games next season. The 17,000-seat arena is the former home of the NAIA national basketball tournament.
“We all know Kansas City is known for barbecue and tailgating,” Ploeger said. “We’re going to put an excellent football team together and we’re excited about playing in this league.”
The CPIFL is the sixth different league the Bandits have joined since the franchise was created in 2000.
“I think we’ve been through as many football leagues as coaches. Right Erv?” Scott deadpanned, looking at Strohbeen, who is the 11th man to coach the Bandits.
But if Sioux City has had one stabilizing force, it’s been Strohbeen -- who has either played or coached for the Bandits for the past 12 years.
Strohbeen guided Sioux City through a perfect campaign in his first year at the helm. But the Bandits blew away their APFL opponents by an average of five touchdowns per game, and three opposing franchises folded before the season was up.
That left the Bandits with two holes on their schedule and other teams scrambling to find replacements.
“We had a couple no-shows at games, which quite frankly, our fans and our sponsors deserve more than that,” Scott said.
That shouldn’t be a problem in this league, according to Bain.
The CPIFL announced him as its commissioner last week, and also selected an executive committee to check Bain’s power. The committee is made up of Ploeger, Mid-Mo owner Ethan Henson and Wichita owner John Blazek.
Bain said the league has drafted recruiting guidelines that allow “nationwide recruiting,” to some extent, which would differ from the APFL’s 90-mile radius rule.
“Bottom line, there’s also programs in place for local players to be involved,” he added.
Nationwide recruiting or not, Strohbeen doesn’t think the Bandits will shift their recruiting focus.
“Whatever the local rules are, we’re going to focus on our local colleges,” he said. “Because it seems like the guys that are from around here care about the league, they care about the team, they care about the city -- and that brings fans out in and of itself.
“When you get to know a guy playing at Morningside, Briar Cliff or Wayne State through his college career,” he added, “you’re more likely to come see the Sioux City Bandits play.”
Especially if the games are closer.
Before leaving Tuesday's press conference, Ploeger added this parting shot: “Tell the Bandits that we can’t wait come up here and teach them how to play indoor football.”
That’s just fine with them.
Managing partner Bob Scott announced Tuesday that the Bandits have joined the budding Central Professional Indoor Football League, officially turning the page after his team steamrolled through back-to-back undefeated seasons in the American Professional Football League.
The Bandits join four other confirmed CPIFL members -- the Wichita Wild, Mid-Missouri Outlaws, Oklahoma Defenders and a new franchise in Kansas City that has yet to be named.
The CPIFL is also reportedly considering another team in Lincoln, Neb.
Commissioner James Bain said league membership could bulge to as many as 10 by Sept. 30 -- the deadline the CPIFL has set for accepting new teams.
“We are going to be very picky about ownership that comes into our league,” Bain said. “We have the ability to say no -- and we think it’s powerful to be able to say no to people we don’t want to be associated with.”
That means the Bandits' days of strolling through 40-point blowouts may be behind them.
“On paper, the teams in this league -- there’s no cakewalk. And that’s what you want as a staff,” Sioux City head coach Erv Strohbeen said. “As a team, you want to be challenged each week. That’s going to require us to work a little bit harder.”
Wichita also announced its CPIFL membership on Tuesday, with Mid-Mo and Oklahoma expected to follow suit today.
No additional teams have been officially confirmed. Scott said Council Bluffs Express owner Brad Lindgren plans to field a CPIFL team, but is still “making some decisions about where he’s going to play next year.”
Lindgren said the league is negotiating terms to field a team in Lincoln, which hasn’t had indoor football since the Lincoln Capitols folded in 2006 as a member of the National Indoor Football League. The Capitols played their home games at Pershing Auditorium.
Even Pershing and the Bandits' beloved Tyson Events Center pale in comparison to Kemper Arena, where Kansas City owner Jeremy Ploeger said his new team will host its games next season. The 17,000-seat arena is the former home of the NAIA national basketball tournament.
“We all know Kansas City is known for barbecue and tailgating,” Ploeger said. “We’re going to put an excellent football team together and we’re excited about playing in this league.”
The CPIFL is the sixth different league the Bandits have joined since the franchise was created in 2000.
“I think we’ve been through as many football leagues as coaches. Right Erv?” Scott deadpanned, looking at Strohbeen, who is the 11th man to coach the Bandits.
But if Sioux City has had one stabilizing force, it’s been Strohbeen -- who has either played or coached for the Bandits for the past 12 years.
Strohbeen guided Sioux City through a perfect campaign in his first year at the helm. But the Bandits blew away their APFL opponents by an average of five touchdowns per game, and three opposing franchises folded before the season was up.
That left the Bandits with two holes on their schedule and other teams scrambling to find replacements.
“We had a couple no-shows at games, which quite frankly, our fans and our sponsors deserve more than that,” Scott said.
That shouldn’t be a problem in this league, according to Bain.
The CPIFL announced him as its commissioner last week, and also selected an executive committee to check Bain’s power. The committee is made up of Ploeger, Mid-Mo owner Ethan Henson and Wichita owner John Blazek.
Bain said the league has drafted recruiting guidelines that allow “nationwide recruiting,” to some extent, which would differ from the APFL’s 90-mile radius rule.
“Bottom line, there’s also programs in place for local players to be involved,” he added.
Nationwide recruiting or not, Strohbeen doesn’t think the Bandits will shift their recruiting focus.
“Whatever the local rules are, we’re going to focus on our local colleges,” he said. “Because it seems like the guys that are from around here care about the league, they care about the team, they care about the city -- and that brings fans out in and of itself.
“When you get to know a guy playing at Morningside, Briar Cliff or Wayne State through his college career,” he added, “you’re more likely to come see the Sioux City Bandits play.”
Especially if the games are closer.
Before leaving Tuesday's press conference, Ploeger added this parting shot: “Tell the Bandits that we can’t wait come up here and teach them how to play indoor football.”