Abilene Ruff Riders

ABILENE RUFF RIDERS ANNOUNCE HEAD COACH

Wed, 12 Nov 2008 19:00:00 GMT

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact Dane Lisser at (432) 202-7822

ABILENE, TX. : The Abilene Ruff Riders Indoor Football League organization announced on Tuesday, November 11th, 2008 from Chick-fil-A in Abilene, that Gerald Dockery has been named the Head Coach for the 2009 season. Coach Dockery (38) attended Arizona Western College from 1989-1990 where he still holds the record for most yards and touchdowns in a single game at the wide receiver position (245 yards / 4 touchdowns). He graduated from Eastern New Mexico University in 1994 and played at the wide receiver position during the 1991-1992 seasons. He helped the program win the Lone Star Conference championship in ‘91.

“I’m absolutely thrilled to be the Head Coach of the Abilene Ruff Riders. I’m excited to be involved with an Abilene community that has welcomed our professional football organization with open arms. I look forward to getting to work on developing this team for the 2009 season.” stated Head Coach Gerald Dockery.

Following college, Dockery moved on to the higher ranks of professional football, playing for the Calgary Stampeders of the CFL in 1995, an organization that has featured NFL greats such as QB Jeff Garcia, and QB Doug Flutie. Dockery then moved on to the Arena Football League in 1996 as a WR/DB playing for the Houston based franchise, the Texas Terror. He began his coaching career with the Houston Gunners police department football club as the Offensive Coordinator in 2002. In a three year span he led his team to a 24-2 record, including a undefeated campaign in just his second season with the Gunners.

“Gerald is a very successful coach who understands the indoor football game. We are very excited to see what he has in store for the Ruff Riders, and we are confident that he will bring many great things to the table for the 2009 season.” stated Allegiance Pro Sports President and Ruff Riders Team Owner, Brandon Smith.

Dockery began his coaching career with the Katy Ruff Riders, of the former Intense Football League, in their 2007 inaugural season as a Defensive Backs Coach. He moved to Defensive Coordinator after the first game of the season, and led a defense that helped collect 5 straight wins for the team and finish the regular season at 7-7. In 2008, Dockery was named the Head Coach of the Katy Ruff Riders and assumed the role of Assistant General Manager, overseeing football operations. In ‘08 he led Katy to a 5-9 regular season record, including a 4-4 home record. Coach Dockery finds himself living by one simple quote, “I’ll go anywhere, as long as it’s forward.”

12-Nov-08 1:00 PM

RUFF RIDERS ANNOUNCE TRYOUTS

Wed, 12 Nov 2008 19:00:00 GMT

The Abilene Ruff Riders additionally announced that tryouts for the 2009 season will take place on Sunday, December 7th, 2008 at 11:00 AM from Wylie High School located at 4502 Antilley Road in Abilene. For more information regarding this event, please contact Head Coach Gerald Dockery at (832) 656-2981. Download Announcement, Registration Form and Tryout Waiver Form below.

/attachments/wysiwyg/1/AbileneRRTryoutAnnounce.doc

/attachments/wysiwyg/1/RuffRiderTryoutCampRegistrationForm.doc

/attachments/wysiwyg/1/AbileneRRTryoutWaiver.doc

12-Nov-08 1:00 PM

ABILENE RUFF RIDERS TO HOLD PRESS CONFERENCE

Sun, 09 Nov 2008 21:00:00 GMT

Friday, November 7, 2008

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact Dane Lisser at (432) 202-7822

ABILENE RUFF RIDERS TO HOLD PRESS CONFERENCE

REMINDER NOTICE

ABILENE, TX. : The Abilene Ruff Riders professional football organization of the Indoor Football League would like to remind all members of the media of the special press conference to be held on Tuesday, November 11th, 2008. The Ruff Riders are asking all media representatives and all those who plan to attend, to come to Chick-fil-A located at 3130 South Clack Street in Abilene. Food and beverages will be served at 1:30 p.m. with announcements to follow at 2:00 p.m. Owners and staff members of the Abilene Ruff Riders will be on hand for questions and interviews during, and after the press conference. Topics to be covered will be the introduction of the Abilene Ruff Riders new head coach. The press conference will tentatively conclude at 2:30 p.m., and the Abilene Ruff Riders front office staff would like to ask all media personnel to RSVP as soon as possible.

For any questions regarding the press conference, please contact the Abilene Ruff Riders front office at (325) 370-6997 or Dane Lisser, Director of Communications at (432) 202-7822. Further information can also be obtained by logging onto the Ruff Riders website at www.abileneruffriders.com.

9-Nov-08 3:00 PM

Abilene Ruff Riders add local ticket number

Sat, 01 Nov 2008 05:00:00 GMT

The Abilene Ruff Riders of the Indoor Football League announced a new telephone number for ticket information on Wednesday. Information can be obtained by calling (325) 370-6997 or by calling Dane Lisser, the team's director of communications, at (432) 202-7822.

31-Oct-08 11:00 PM

BARNEY WELCH NAMED INTERIM GENERAL MANAGER, RUFF RIDERS UNVEIL TICKET PRICES AND SEASON TICKETS

Wed, 29 Oct 2008 02:00:00 GMT

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact Dane Lisser at (432) 202-7822

ABILENE, TX. : The Abilene Ruff Riders announced Tuesday, October 28th, 2008 from Lithia Toyota Dealership in Abilene, that Barney Welch, III has been named the Interim General Manager for the organization as the club prepares for the 2009 season. Originally from San Antonio, Welch has recently been residing in Odessa and is a graduate of Permian High School. He is the proud parent of two children, Donavon (8) and Absadie (5).

“I am confident that my previous sales and marketing experience, and knowledge of the sports industry will allow me to make a positive contribution to the Abilene Ruff Riders, and to the Abilene community. I am looking forward to a great season in Abilene, and I am very excited about the positive response Abilene has shown thus far.” stated Welch.

Welch has registered more than fourteen years of sales experience including; B2B sales, retail, telemarketing, sports marketing and ticket sales. Most recently, he has been working for the Odessa Roughnecks of the Indoor Football League as the Director of Business Operations. He has been with both the Odessa Roughnecks and the CenTex Barracudas since the inception of the Intense Football League in 2004. Welch worked his way up from being the Assistant Ticket Director to being the Director of Sales, to Assistant General Manager for the Odessa Roughnecks, and was the General Manager of the CenTex Barracudas during the ‘08 season. Welch has also been in charge of Game Operations for both organizations since 2004. His contributions to the success of both organizations have led to the Franchise of the Year Award in 2004 & 2006, and the Best Game Operations Award in 2007 & 2008 in the former Intense Football League.

“Barney was a major contributor to Odessa and CenTex, and he will continue his great work with Abilene. We are confident that he will help Abilene get off on the right foot for the 2009 season. He understands the level of dedication, professionalism, and integrity that is required to be successful in this field.” stated Allegiance Pro Sports President and Abilene Ruff Riders Owner, Brandon Smith.

ABILENE UNVEILS TICKET PRICES AND SEASON TICKETS -

The Abilene Ruff Riders additionally announced prices on individual tickets, and season tickets going on sale. Prices for adults on season tickets in select seating will begin at $126, reserved seating at $161, and VIP at $231. For child season tickets, select seating starts at $56, reserved seating at $91, and VIP at $126. Individual ticket pricing per game is as follows; discount seating is $10 for adults and $5 for children, select seating is $20 for adults and $10 for children, reserved seating is $25 for adults and $15 for children, and finally VIP is $35 for adults and $20 for children. For any questions or information regarding these topics, please contact the Ruff Riders front office at (432) 550-4744 or Dane Lisser, Director of Communications at (432) 202-7822.

28-Oct-08 8:00 PM

Indoor football coming to Abilene

Mon, 20 Oct 2008 18:00:00 GMT

By Sam Waller (Contact)

Abilene News Reporter
Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Abilene is officially home to a franchise in the Indoor Football League.

The Abilene Ruff Riders, who are relocating from Katy, will play a 14-game schedule starting in March with home games played at Taylor County Coliseum.

Team and league officials were in Abilene on Tuesday to make the announcement.

The Ruff Riders are owned by Allegiance Pro Sports, an Odessa-based firm which will also operate the IFL's Odessa and El Paso franchises. Team president Brandon Smith said the Abilene franchise will be almost totally made over.

"Other than the ownership, we're starting over with a new (front office) staff," he said following Tuesday's news conference. "Hopefully, we'll be able to hire a lot of those people here from within the Abilene community and get some local support going. We will be hiring a new coach in the next few weeks and hope to announce that real soon, but we've got all our equipment, turf and everything that we'll just bring over from Katy."

The Indoor Football League will play its inaugural season starting in March. The league was formed over the summer by the merger of the Intense Football League and the United Indoor Football League, The new league includes 18 teams held over from the merged leagues and IFL officials expect to have more than 20 franchises by the time the season starts.

"In terms of the league, these guys are not local sandlot football players," IFL commissioner Tommy Benizio said. "These guys are professionals who are seeking NFL careers.

20-Oct-08 1:00 PM

Abilene to try its luck with indoor football

Mon, 20 Oct 2008 18:00:00 GMT

By Sam Waller (Contact)
Abilene News Reporter
Saturday, October 18, 2008

After unsuccessful stints as home to baseball and hockey teams in the 1990s, Abilene returned to the world of minor-league sports last week with the official announcement that the Katy Ruff Riders of the Indoor Football League will relocate here for the 2009 season.

How the team and league deal with issues that eventually sank the Abilene Prairie Dogs and Abilene Aviators will determine how successful the latest effort will be.

The Prairie Dogs returned professional baseball to Abilene in 1995 as an expansion team in the Texas-Louisiana League and won the league championship in their second season. But low attendance at Abilene Christian University's Crutcher Scott Field, where alcohol and tobacco use are forbidden, and a change of league ownership led to the team's demise following the 1999 season.

The Aviators' existence in the Western Professional Hockey League was even shorter as the team joined the league in 1998 and, following a change of owners, ceased operations during the 1999-2000 season.

Now comes the Indoor Football League, a first-year entity that was created in July by the merger of the Intense Football League and United Indoor Football. The Ruff Riders joined the Intense Football League in 2007.

Former Reporter-News sports editor Al Pickett, who has covered sports in Abilene since 1986, said any chance of success begins at the top.

"I believe that both the baseball and the hockey could have made it with proper ownership," he said. "I think that is key to the success. Owners have to come in and win the trust of the community, pay their bills and do what they say they're going to do."

The Ruff Riders are owned by Allegiance Pro Sports, an Odessa-based company that will also operate teams in Odessa and El Paso. The company's president, Brandon Smith, will oversee team operations.

Indoor Football League commissioner Tommy Benizio, who helped found the Intense Football League and was owner of the Odessa franchise before this summer's merger, also pointed to strong ownership as the key.

"About 90 percent of the success or failure comes from that one decision, so we are extremely careful on who we bring in," Benizio said. "These are not new people who have never done this before. Allegiance Pro Sports comes in here having operated a franchise before and they own two others that are enjoying great success. These are people who are very financially capable and have the experience it takes to make this work.

"That's what gives us a great comfort level that despite any obstacles they may face here in Abilene based on history or whatever that these guys will forge forward and become a success."

Rochelle Johnson, administrative vice president for the Taylor County Expo Center, said the ownership group's track record alleviated concerns officials may have had in bringing another team to town. The Ruff Riders are in the process of finalizing a lease agreement for use of Taylor County Coliseum.

"They've been successful with arena football in Katy, so they're not coming in to this cold," Johnson said. "They know what they're doing, they have their equipment and they've made their investment. And the facility is anxious to host other entertainment activities for the community of Abilene.

"The main thing is we want to boost the economy in Abilene and that's a lot of what the Expo Center does. Our economic impact to this city is significant and the more that we can bring in and host, the better off all of the citizens of Abilene and the surrounding communities are."

Taylor County Coliseum also was home to the Aviators. One major change this time around is the facility will likely have beer sales following action taken this summer by the Taylor County Exposition board of directors.

"I think some of the changes that are coming at the Expo Center and Taylor County Coliseum are going to be important for their success," Johnson said. "One of those is having beer sales out at the facility, and that was not a part of when we had hockey and it wasn't a part of the Prairie Dogs."

Although Expo Center general manager Tony McMillan told the Reporter-News last month that the possibility of beer sales was extremely attractive to the ownership group, Benizio downplayed the significance of the development.

"The conversations that we started with the arena were before that ever came up," Benizio said. "We really feel like if beer wasn't there before, there was probably a reason. If people want beer, I hope they have it. If they don't want beer, I'm sorry it's there.

"The bottom line is this is a professional football team that's coming here to entertain regardless of what people want to drink. That will be their choice. We're not here about beer and that was not a major factor in those discussions."

Pickett said the lack of beer sales definitely contributed to the demise of the Prairie Dogs and Aviators.

"I think the biggest thing was it hurt their profitability," he said. "There was a profit margin to having beer sales and the profit margins of minor-league sports are so small. I think that certainly will be a benefit to (the Ruff Riders).

"The biggest reason is not so much the draw, though it may have some impact, but the opportunity for profitability."

Benizio said Abilene appears to be a good fit for the league, which expects to have up to 24 teams next season.

"When you're in a market the size of Houston competing with the Texans and the Astros, it's a whole different world," he said. "Our teams are very well suited for small- to mid-size markets, and in recognizing that the ownership group there decided to look at what else was available. We looked at Texarkana and Wichita Falls and had some conversations with those places.

"We believe that the people of Abilene are really going to embrace football at this level as they do football at all levels. When you get people, good people, who are going to do this right with the proper financial backing, we really believe that the people are going to support this."

But while Abilene doesn't have teams in the NFL, NBA or Major League Baseball, there is still plenty of competition for the local sports fan's dollar. In addition to the athletic programs of the city's high schools, the three local universities have all added sports in the years since Abilene was home to professional teams.

"Abilene's unique because of having multiple high schools and colleges," Pickett said. "I've always thought that all minor sports tend to -- no matter what they do, unless they're a huge failure or a huge success -- draw a certain percentage of the available audience. The potential to draw from Lubbock is twice as big as Abilene.

"You can almost figure out that you have X number of population and you're going to get Y percentage. Now, what that number is, I don't know. But I always think that is a factor, which is why Midland-Odessa is the smallest place Double-A baseball exists."

While acknowledging the market competition, Benizio said he thinks the league can turn the situation to its advantage.

"There aren't thousands of college students who can enjoy the product we're going to present to them in some of these other communities in which the IFL has franchises," he said. "We view that as more of an opportunity. It increases the population and it really brings in folks that I think will enjoy what we're doing.

"It also brings in a greater passion for football. The fact that these people are used to going out and watching football games on Saturdays in the fall months, we're going to fill in a gap where there isn't football on Saturday nights."

The bottom line, Pickett said, is offering a product for which the public is willing to pay.

"Can it make it? Yeah, it can make it because this is a football town," he said. "It certainly has the opportunity. But I think you have to treat it like you are competitive for the entertainment dollar. You can't think that somebody's going to hand it to you because you show up and you have an automatic fan base. You've got to work to earn that fan base and then work to keep it."

20-Oct-08 1:00 PM

NEW ABILENE IFL FRANCHISE TO HOLD PRESS CONFERENCE

Mon, 13 Oct 2008 02:00:00 GMT

Friday, October 10, 2008

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact Dane Lisser at (432) 202-7822

NEW ABILENE IFL FRANCHISE TO HOLD PRESS CONFERENCE

INVITATION ANNOUNCEMENT

ABILENE, TX. : Representatives of the new Abilene franchise of the Indoor Football League would like to invite all members of the media to an important press conference on Tuesday, October 14th, 2008. The Abilene indoor football organization is asking all media representatives and all those who plan to attend, to come to Buffalo Wild Wings located at 4401 Ridgemont Drive in Abilene. Food and beverages will be served at 1:30 p.m.

with announcements to follow at 2:00 p.m. Owners and staff members of the Abilene franchise will be on hand for questions and interviews following the press conference. Topics to be covered will be the launching of the new Abilene team of the Indoor Football League. The press conference will tentatively conclude at 2:30 p.m. and the Abilene front office staff would like to ask all media to RSVP as soon as possible.

For any questions regarding the press conference, please contact the Abilene front office at (432) 550-4744 or Dane Lisser, Director of Communications at

(432) 202-7822.

##END##

12-Oct-08 9:00 PM

Indoor football a '99 percent' chance in Abilene

Fri, 26 Sep 2008 20:00:00 GMT

Announcement expected in about 2 weeks

By Doug Myers (Contact)
Originally published 02:41 p.m., September 26, 2008
Updated 02:41 p.m., September 26, 2008

Talks between representatives of the Taylor County Expo Center and Odessa-based Allegiance Pro Sports went so well today that a news conference is being planned to announce Abilene will have an Indoor Football League team for the 2009 season.

The announcement that the Katy Ruff Riders will move to Abilene is tentatively scheduled to be held in two weeks.

“We do have some exciting things to announce at the press conference,” said Brandon Smith, president of Allegiance, the parent company for the Ruff Riders, Odessa Roughnecks and a yet-to-be named IFL expansion team in El Paso.

Told it seemed there was a 99 percent chance the Ruff Riders were moving to Abilene, Smith agreed.

“Lots of people will be invited to the press conference,” Smith said. “We’ll answer all questions at that time.”

While Smith said he didn’t want to disclose much until the news conference, he said he expects the team’s nickname to remain the Ruff Riders. He also said he hopes the agreement with the expo center, when signed, will be a multiyear deal.

Taylor County Expo Center General Manager Tony McMillan said the two sides “verbalized where we want to go.”

“Now we’ve got to put it all in writing,” McMillan said. “We’ll get it to our attorney and have it drawn up.”

In addition to getting the lease signed, McMillan and Smith said Allegiance also must obtain much-needed corporate sponsorships.

“Those are the two major things,” McMillan said. “The key factor is going to be up to them. They’re going to be the ones to hustle the sponsorships. Hopefully, the corporate sponsors will be there.”

McMillan said Allegiance feels like they have a “good project” and that Abilene will provide a “good fan base.”

Earlier this week, Brandon Smith’s father, Albert, revealed that Allegiance has the IFL franchise for Abilene and that it looks forward to having a “good old-fashioned West Texas football rivalry” among IFL teams in San Angelo, Odessa, El Paso and Abilene.

Allegiance Pro Sports recently purchased the Odessa franchise. Smith’s daughter, Rebecca Greenfield, will be charged with marketing and promoting the Roughnecks and helping run the Abilene operation if the Ruff Riders relocate.

Allegiance likes the prospect of playing in a smaller market, where it could get more media coverage and not have to compete with metropolitan Houston professional teams such as the Texans, Rockets and Astros.

When the two sides previously met several weeks ago, McMillan spelled out what would be an acceptable deal for the expo center.

Abilene became especially appealing to Allegiance Pro Sports, Albert Smith said, when the expo center moved to allow beer sales.

This summer the expo center board took action that paved the way for beer sales — at certain events — beginning next year. At that time, the Taylor County Exposition board of directors voted to develop policies for beer sales on expo center grounds that its president has said should be approved and in place by Jan. 1.

In Katy, the 5,600-seat Leonard E. Merrill Center hasn’t permitted alcohol sales because it serves as an all-purpose arena for the Katy Independent School District.

While trying to change markets, McMillan has said, the franchise asked for a percentage of concessions and for expo center employees to provide labor to put down the floor for games and remove it afterward.

However, because it would benefit from sponsorships and T-shirt, cap and other sales, McMillan has drawn a line in the sand and said no to both possibilities.

Today, McMillan said his stance remained the same and Allegiance officials didn’t even bring up the earlier requests.

The Ruff Riders will be part of the newly formed IFL, which is the result of the merger of the United Indoor Football League and the Intense Football League.

The league, which will have at least 24 teams and can be accessed online at www.goifl.com, will feature other Texas teams in Frisco, Robstown and Belton. In addition to El Paso and other expansion teams, it also will include two Alaska squads — Anchorage and Fairbanks — and teams from Lake Charles, La.; Omaha, Neb.; Billings, Mont.; Fort Collins, Colo.; Bloomington, Ill.; Sioux City, Iowa; St. Charles, Mo.; Sioux Falls, S.D.; and Wichita, Kan.

The league typically plays from April to August.

26-Sep-08 3:00 PM

OPEN PLAYER TRYOUTS on Sunday, October 26, 2008

Mon, 08 Sep 2008 16:00:00 GMT

www.katyruffriders.com

PROFESSIONAL INDOOR FOOTBALL

INTENSE FOOTBALL LEAGUE (IFL)

www.intensefootballleague.net

ARE YOU RUFF ENOUGH?

OPEN PLAYER TRYOUTS on Sunday, October 26, 2008 at Crosspoint Community Church Athletic Fields 700 Westgreen@ I-10 in Katy,Tx. Registration begins at 2 PM with tryouts beginning at 3 PM.

All participants will be required to sign a waiver, complete a registration form and pay the $50.00 Registration Fee CASH or MONEY ORDER ONLY.

TRYOUT PARTICIPANT REQUIREMENTS & STANDARDS:

· Dress in workout gear and have the appropriate shoes

· Every player will be required to participate in offensive and defensive drills

· Every player will compete at one of the following positions: QB, WR, DB, OL, DL, FB or LB

· Bring $50 CASH or MONEY ORDER ONLY Registration Fee

· Arrive one hour early at 2 PM to register

· Pads will NOT be worn

THE FORMAT OF THE TRYOUT WILL BE A PRO-STYLE COMBINE. SELECT PLAYERS WILL BE INVITED TO STAY FOR POSITION DRILLS.

Visit www.katyruffriders.com for more information. 713.376.6626 Coach Dockery. Call to pre-register. Registration form and waiver form documents may be downloaded from below.

8-Sep-08 11:00 AM

Katy Ruff Rider Tryout-August 16, 2008

Fri, 01 Aug 2008 20:00:00 GMT

www.katyruffriders.com

PROFESSIONAL INDOOR FOOTBALL

INTENSE FOOTBALL LEAGUE (IFL)

www.intensefootballleague.net

ARE YOU RUFF ENOUGH?

OPEN PLAYER TRYOUTS on Saturday, August 16, 2008 at Crosspoint Community Church Athletic Fields 700 Westgreen@ I-10 in Katy,Tx. Registration begins at 8 AM with tryouts beginning at 9 AM.

All participants will be required to sign a waiver, complete a registration form and pay the $50.00 Registration Fee CASH or MONEY ORDER ONLY.

TRYOUT PARTICIPANT REQUIREMENTS & STANDARDS:

· Dress in workout gear and have the appropriate shoes

· Every player will be required to participate in offensive and defensive drills

· Every player will compete at one of the following positions: QB, WR, DB, OL, DL, FB or LB

· Bring $50 CASH or MONEY ORDER ONLY Registration Fee

· Arrive one hour early at 8AM to register

· Pads will NOT be worn

THE FORMAT OF THE TRYOUT WILL BE A PRO-STYLE COMBINE. SELECT PLAYERS WILL BE INVITED TO STAY FOR POSITION DRILLS.

Visit www.katyruffriders.com for more information. 713.376.6626 Coach Dockery. Call to pre-register.

1-Aug-08 3:00 PM

National Championship Game Leads to Merger Between UIF and IFL

Wed, 23 Jul 2008 17:00:00 GMT

TUESDAY, JULY 22, 2008

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Robert Winfrey

Director of Communications for the Intense Football league

409.363.1957

National Championship Game Leads to Merger Between UIF and IFL

CORPUS CHRISTI, Tex./ OMAHA, NEBRASKA (July 22, 2008) – In a historic move that will bring both credibility and stability to indoor football, two of the sport’s most stable business organizations will combine strengths and resources beginning in 2009.

The United Indoor Football League and the Intense Football League announced their plans to merge today, creating a partnership that will insure the long-term growth of the sport.

Both leagues will have concluded their fourth season of play and will stage a joint championship on Saturday August 2 when the Sioux Falls Storm hosts the IFL champion in the National Indoor Bowl Championship game.

“Today is one of the best days, if not the best, for indoor football,’’ said IFL president Chad Dittman. “What the merger of the NFL and the AFL did for professional football in the 1960s, this partnership will do for us. It can and will lead to bigger and better things.”

UIF Executive Director Paul Aaron echoed Dittman’s sentiments.

“Today is the dawn of a new era for our sport,” Aaron said. “We now have a solid base and strength in both quality and quantity of existing franchises. We can now move forward and accept the challenges of growing our sport as a collective whole rather than simply maintaining the status quo. The new league will be owned and operated by all of the teams equally, as it is done in all major league sports such as the NFL, NBA and MLB.”

An official unveiling of the league’s new name, logo and website is scheduled for August 1. Team owners of the new league will meet in September.

IFL defending champion, Louisiana Swashbucklers, posted the league’s first unbeaten regular season in 2008 and will be hosting Corpus Christi Hammerheads in the Intense Bowl 4 on July 28.

Sioux Falls has won all four UIF Championships and won 40 consecutive games from 2005 before losing a regular season game early this year.

Many details of the new league such as conference and divisional alignments, final expansion for the 2009 season, a hybrid of the two leagues playing rules, etc. will be decided at the first-ever league meetings hosted in Omaha, Nebraska in mid-September. Members of the media are welcome to contact their local franchises for limited information on the merger, or contact league officials Paul Aaron, UIF Commissioner at (402) 679-5741 or IFL Director of Communications, Robert Winfrey at (409) 363-1957.

23-Jul-08 12:00 PM

Katy 61 Odessa 74, Ruff Riders season comes to an end

Sun, 29 Jun 2008 20:00:00 GMT

With their first playoff birth within reach, the Ruff Riders failed to pull out the comeback needed to secure a spot. A fumble by Odessa on the opening kickoff, followed by a Ruff Rider touchdown seemed to suggest things would go Katy's way. However, falling behind in the second quarter with missed opportunities proved fatal as the Ruff Riders went to the locker room at half down 40-20.

The difference in the game appeared to be Odessa's ability to move the ball at will, on the ground and through the air. But ultimately, the turnovers by the Ruff Riders created an insurmountable lead for Odessa.

29-Jun-08 3:00 PM

Playoffs on the line Saturday for Ruff Riders

Thu, 26 Jun 2008 23:00:00 GMT

June 25, 2008, 1:14PM
Playoffs on the line Saturday for Ruff Riders
Katy's success tied to coaching change earlier in season

By W.J. RICHARDSON Chronicle Correspondent

It has been an interesting season to say the least for the Katy Ruff Riders.

After starting the season 1-4, with the lone win coming against a struggling start-up franchise from Alaska, the outlook appeared pretty bleak.

But a three-game winning streak in May, coupled by a coaching change, provided a renewed level of confidence and spurred a new attitude on the field. And though the team has come up on the short end of three agonizing last-second losses in recent weeks, a win this Saturday against the Odessa Roughnecks, (6-7) would consummate a playoff berth.

"As far as I'm concerned, our playoff run started weeks ago," head coach Gerald Dockery said. "Whenever you get off to the kind of start that we did, it means that every additional loss could send you home early for the summer."

The Ruff Riders enter Saturday's match up at (5-8), which places them in a dead heat with the Alaska Wild for the sixth and final Intense Football League playoff spot. But Katy owns the tie-breaker advantage, which means that they control their own destiny and can advance with a win.

Odessa has also played solid football as of late and solidified a playoff spot with a 59-50 win over the Fairbanks Grizzlies last week at home.

"All you can ask for at this point is just a shot to get a ticket to the dance. And as we have seen in recent weeks, almost anything can happen once you strap'em up," Dockery said.

Dockery and his Ruff Riders are extremely confident about their chances if they are to advance, based on recent performances against the league's top-echelon teams.

Katy had top-seeded Louisiana (13-0) against the ropes, and all but defeated until a late fourth-quarter collapse in Katy a few weeks back, resulting in a 45-38 loss. But the team rebounded nicely to take out No.2 seed Corpus Christi (10-3) the next week (48-41).

"Even when we have lost some of these close games, I have tried to impress the importance of taking care of the football and not give games away," Dockery added. "It's pretty apparent what we can accomplish if we play smart football."

Untimely miscues have doomed the Ruff Riders in each close loss registered, including last week's 51-48 loss at San Angelo, a game which they surrendered the lead with just one second remaining, and prevented them from locking up a playoff spot.

The IFL elected to expand the playoff field from four to six teams this season, based on league expansion.

The Ruff Riders ended the campaign at 7-7 last season and missed the playoff derby by just one game, which still leaves a bad taste in the mouths of some of the holdovers from last season.

"I'm not ready to start my summer vacation plans early this year," said defensive standout Darvin Peterson. "If we continue to fight hard, and create extra opportunities for ourselves, this team can play with anybody and keep our season going."

26-Jun-08 6:00 PM