Billings Wolves

Billings Wolves
Established 2014
Folded 2016
Played in Rimrock Auto Arena at MetraPark
in Billings, Montana
BiilingsWolves.com
HelmetLogo
League/conference affiliations

Indoor Football League (2015–2016)

  • Intense Conference (2015–2016)
Team colors Black, red, white
              
Personnel
Owner(s) Ron Benzel
General manager Marc Burr
Head coach Chris Dixon
Team history
  • Billings Wolves (2015–2016)
Championships
League championships (0)
0
Conference championships (0)
0
Division championships (0)
0
Playoff appearances (1)
2016
Home arena(s)

The Billings Wolves were a professional indoor football team based in Billings, Montana and members of the Indoor Football League (IFL).[1] The Wolves began play in 2015 as an expansion team of the IFL. The Wolves were owned by Ron Benzel and coached by Chris Dixon. The Wolves played their home games at the Rimrock Auto Arena at MetraPark.[2][3]


History

After receiving unanimous approval by the IFL's existing 9 teams, the new Billings franchise was formally announced by IFL commissioner Mike Allshouse during a press conference on February 19, 2014.[4] The city was previously home to the IFL's Billings Outlaws who folded in 2010 after the so-called Father's Day Tornado heavily damaged their home arena.[5][6]

In April 2014, the team signed a two-year contract with the Yellowstone County Commission making the Rimrock Auto Arena at MetraPark the team's home arena in 2015 and 2016. The lease will cost the team $3,000 per game in 2015 and $3,500 per game in 2016, plus an "improvement fee" of $1.25 to $4.00, varying with the face value of the ticket. The contract waives the rental fee for the final home game of each season.[3] Season tickets went on sale April 7, 2014.[7] The team initially announced James Walton as head coach but on July 31, 2014, they signed just-retired former Billings Outlaws quarterback Chris Dixon for the job.[4][8][9]

During the 2016 season, the Wolves' website was hacked, was never completely fixed, and was non-operational for months. Several former staff members claimed that the team had folded after the completion of the season. On October 24, 2016, the Wolves announced they had left the IFL because of state regulations and failing to find new ownership for the team.[10]

Players of note

Current roster

Billings Wolves roster
Quarterbacks
  • Currently vacant

Running Backs

  • Currently vacant

Wide Receivers

  • Currently vacant
 Offensive Linemen
  • Currently vacant

Defensive Linemen

  • Currently vacant
 Linebackers
  • Currently vacant

Defensive Backs

  • Currently vacant

Kickers

  • Currently vacant
 Injured Reserve
  • Currently vacant

Transfer List

  • Currently vacant

Refused to report

  • Currently vacant

Rookies in italics
Roster updated August 24, 2016
0 Active, 0 Inactive

→ More rosters

All-League selections

Awards and honors

The following is a list of all Wolves' players who have won league Awards

Season Player Position Award
2015 Michael Green Defensive Back Defensive Rookie of the Year[11]

Coaches

Head coaches

Name Term Regular Season Playoffs Awards
W L T Win% W L
Chris Dixon 2015–2016 13 17 0 .433 0 1

Statistics and records

Season-by-season results

Note: The Finish, Wins, Losses, and Ties columns list regular season results and exclude any postseason play.

League Champions Conference Champions Division Champions Wild Card Berth League Leader
Season Team League Conference Regular season Postseason Results
Finish Wins Losses Ties
2015 2015 IFL Intense 4th 5 9 0
2016 2016 IFL Intense 2nd 8 8 0 Lost Intense Conference Wild Card 52-64 vs. Nebraska
Totals 13 17 0 All-time regular season record (2015–2016)
0 1 - All-time postseason record (2015–2016)
13 18 0 All-time regular season and postseason record (2015–2016)

References

  1. ↑ "Indoor football to return to Billings in 2015". Billings Gazette. Billings, MT. January 6, 2014. Retrieved January 14, 2014.
  2. ↑ Breen, Scott (January 6, 2014). "Billings close to deal with Indoor Football League". Missoula, MT: KPAX-TV. Archived from the original on January 16, 2014. Retrieved January 14, 2014.
  3. 1 2 Zimmer, Mike (April 1, 2014). "Wolves sign 2-year deal with Metra". Billings Gazette. Billings, MT. Retrieved April 2, 2014.
  4. 1 2 Zimmer, Mike (February 19, 2014). "Billings Wolves to bring indoor football back to Billings in 2015". Billings Gazette. Billings, MT. Retrieved February 24, 2014.
  5. ↑ Crisp, David (January 9, 2014). "Indoor football returns". The Billings Outpost. Billings, MT. Retrieved January 14, 2014.
  6. ↑ Krieger, Dan (January 13, 2014). "Weekly Sports League and Franchise Report". Our Sports Central. Retrieved January 14, 2014.
  7. ↑ "Season tickets on sale for Wolves". Billings Gazette. Billings, MT. April 7, 2014. Retrieved April 12, 2014.
  8. ↑ "Billings Wolves name Chris Dixon head coach". Billings Gazette. Billings, MT. July 31, 2014. Retrieved August 3, 2014.
  9. ↑ Welsch, Jeff (July 31, 2014). "Dixon ready to take IFL by storm as coach". Billings Gazette. Billings, MT. Retrieved August 2, 2014.
  10. ↑ "Billings Wolves suspend operations; team could return in 2018". MontanaSports.com. October 24, 2016.
  11. ↑ "Billings Wolves DB Michael Green honored". www.billingsgazette.com. Billings Gazette. December 29, 2015. Retrieved December 29, 2015.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/2/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.