Wisconsin Wolfpack

The Wisconsin Wolfpack was an American football franchise based in Wisconsin. The Wolfpack name and brand has been used for two teams: an indoor football team in the Continental Indoor Football League and a traditional (outdoor) football team in the Mid Continental Football League.

The indoor and outdoor teams were both coached by Jordan Kopac, wore the same uniforms and shared players, staff and a website. However, they were operated by different owners and were considered separate entities prior to the end of the 2010 indoor season.^[1]

The indoor team played its home games at the Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Madison, Wisconsin in its inaugural season of 2009, but moved to the Hartmeyer Arena for the 2010 season.^[2] The outdoor team was somewhat nomadic throughout its history with regards to where it played its home games, such as in 2010, when no two regular-season home games were played in the same city.^[3] However, outdoor games were generally played in the Milwaukee metropolitan area.

Outdoor Wolfpack

The Wisconsin Wolfpack franchise was formed in 2008. In the end of the 2007 season the Wisconsin Bullodgs of the NAFL reached out to the Franklin Outlaws of the Ironman football league to use their players in order to finish their season. That deal led to the merger of the two teams and the subsequent name change to the Wolfpack. The team took the spot of the Bulldogs in the North American Football League. Dustin Reynolds, the original owner of the Outlaws, and Mark Koch, the original owner of the Bulldogs were the two responsible for the merger and team operations. Jordan Kopac, longtime member of the Racine Raiders' coaching staff, was originally brought on as the defensive coordinator but later bought an ownership stake in the team and also took on the role of head coach. After the inagural outdoor season, Kopac became the sole owner of the franchise.

In 2008, Wolfpack finished with an 8-2-1 regular-season record, highlighted by a win for Kopac against the Raiders in front of a large crowd in Racine. The Wolfpack qualified for the NAFL Playoffs and defeated the 2007 NAFL champion Kane County Eagles in the first round before falling to the eventual 2008 NAFL champion Indianapolis Tornados in the second round. Six Wolfpack players were voted First Team All-Northern Conference, there were QB Brian Ryczkowski, WR Jim Leszcyznski, RB JoJo Moore, DL - James Washington, LB - Darrell Jack DL- Travis Fallon

In 2009, the introduction of the indoor Wolfpack team prompted a move to the Mid Continental Football League to lessen the schedule overlap with the end of the Continental Indoor Football League season for players and staff involved with both teams. The Wolfpack finished 3-5 and failed to qualify for the playoffs.

While the indoor team achieved its greatest success in 2010, it did not carry over to the outdoor team's regular season. The Wolfpack finished 2010 with a record of 1-6 in the MCFL and again failed to make the league playoffs.^[4] However, the Wolfpack finished the season by entering and winning the 2010 Mid-States Tournament, run by National Football Events. The Wolfpack's final outdoor game was the 2011 National Football Events Florida Bowl, which it lost to the Orlando Rage in a collaborative effort with the Burlington Blue Devils, 51-13.^[5]

The downfall of the outdoor teams in 2009 and 2010 seemed to be the lack of cohesivness from the indoor staff and players. Very Few crossed over to the outdoor team which caused their roster to vary greatly from week to week. Also the two main coaches outside of Kopac from the 2008 Outdoor team, Dave Mogensen and Pete Kishline never came back to the outdoor team after following them indoors.

Season-By-Season

Note: W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties

Indoor Wolfpack

Prior to the Wolfpack franchise's 2008 outdoor campaign, the Milwaukee Bonecrushers of the Continental Indoor Football League approached the Wolfpack coaches and staff and asked them to assist with the completion of their 2008 season following Gilbert Brown's decision to resign as head coach and the resulting resignation of most of the Bonecrushers' staff. Kopac assumed the role of general manager for the Bonecrushers, and brought with him the core coaches of the Wolfpack outdoor team that would later become the core of the Wolfpack indoor team.^[6] Kopac led the team to its only win, a 51-46 victory of the Muskegon Thunder.

With infrastructure already in place from the outdoor team, and following the previous year's experience with the Bonecrushers, Wolfpack management announced in early 2009 it would field both indoor and outdoor teams that year. To start the indoor team, Kopac coordinated with Lowe Entertainment, owners of the Rock River Raptors, also in the CIFL, to have Lowe run the indoor franchise while retaining Kopac as head coach. The Wolfpack were Madison's second indoor football franchise and the first to call Madison home since the Madison Mad Dogs folded in 2001.

The Wolfpack played its inaugural season's home games at the Veterans Memorial Coliseum on the campus of the Alliant Energy Center and used AstroTurf previously belonging to the Pensacola Barracudas of AF2. In its inagural season, the team finished 7-5 and qualified for the CIFL Playoffs, The team started 5-1 but struggled late in the season after former All-American UW-Platteville quarterback Tom Stetzer was lost to injury.^[7] The Wolfpack would fall to the eventual undefeated CIFL champion Chicago Slaughter in the 2009 CIFL Western Conference Championship Game, 63-19.^[8]

For 2010, the Wolfpack chose to move its home games to the Hartmeyer Arena on the northeast side of Madison.^[9] 2010 also saw the team stock its roster with more players from the nearby Wisconsin Badgers football program. Joining defensive lineman Kurt Ware and linebacker James Kamoku from the 2009 Wolfpack would be tight end Andy Crooks,^[7] safety Josh Nettles,^[7] defensive lineman Ricky Garner, offensive lineman Kenny Jones and, following a season-ending injury to quarterback Brian Ryczkowski, Matt Schabert.^[10] Under Schabert's guidance, the Wolfpack had its most successful season to date, indoor or outdoor, finishing the regular season 8-2 and becoming the only team to defeat the then-undefeated Cincinnati Commandos.^[11] The Wolfpack would win its first-ever home playoff game, beating the Fort Wayne FireHawks, 25-24,^[12] before falling to the Commandos in the 2010 CIFL Championship Game, 54-40, in Cincinnati.^[13]

The indoor Wolfpack had a dance team, the Pepsi Max Wild Things,^[14] numerous in-game promotions during home games and live streaming play-by-play of all games via the team's website and the CIFL Radio Network. Most indoor games were broadcast by Don Wadewitz. Both the indoor and outdoor teams utilized former Bulldogs' owner Mark Koch's D-Line Productions video production company to produce "Wolfpack TV", a highlight and interview show, for fans to view via the team's website and on YouTube following each home game and selected road games. The show was hosted by the indoor team's public address announcer, Dan Pfeifer.^[15]

Season-By-Season

Note: W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties

* = Current Standing

Season Schedules

2009

2009 CIFL Standings

2010

2010 CIFL Standings

Alumni

Racine Raiders Merger

After much speculation, the Racine Journal Times reported on December 9, 2010 that Jordan Kopac would return to coaching the Racine Raiders in 2011.^[16] It was subsequently announced that Wolfpack indoor operations were being suspended for 2011, while outdoor operations were merging with the Raiders'.^[1]

References

External links

• Wisconsin Wolfpack Official Website
• Wisconsin State Journal article announcing the team