The Sioux City Bandits are a professional indoor football team based in Sioux City, Iowa, and compete as a member of National Arena League (NAL). The team was founded in 1999 as the Sioux City Attack. In 2001, the team assumed their current name of the Bandits. The Bandits play their home games at the Tyson Events Center.
| Sioux City Bandits | |
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 Current season | |
| Established 2000 Play in Tyson Events Center in Sioux City, Iowa GoBandits.fun | |
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| League/conference affiliations | |
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Current uniform | |
| Team colors |
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| Mascot | Slinger |
| Cheerleaders | Bandits/WITCC Dance Team |
| Personnel | |
| Owner(s) | Donald Belson [1] |
| President | Brett Funke |
| Head coach | Erv Strohbeen[1] |
| Team history | |
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| Championships | |
League championships (3)
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Conference championships (1)
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Division championships (1)
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| Playoff appearances (16) | |
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| Home arena(s) | |
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History
In 2000, the Sioux City Attack joined the original Indoor Football League (IFL). After this season concluded, the Orlando Predators of the Arena Football League bought out all but two of the league's teams. Once they were founded, the Sioux City Bandits assumed identity of the Attack. The organization has played in eight different leagues including the original IFL (as the Attack), the National Indoor Football League (NIFL), United Indoor Football (UIF), the new Indoor Football League (IFL),[2] American Professional Football League (APFL),[3] the Champions Professional Indoor Football League (CPIFL),[4] and then Champions Indoor Football (CIF).[5]
Notable early team accomplishments include former Sioux City running back Fred Jackson being signed by the Buffalo Bills of the NFL.[6] Jackson, out of Coe College, was the 2005 United Indoor Football's league leading rusher in which he set an indoor football record for most yards in a single season with more than 1,700. That year the Bandits hosted the championship game facing their rival Sioux Falls Storm. Sioux City had beaten Sioux Falls three times during the regular season but lost the championship game, 40–38.
After owning the team for 20 years, owner Bob Scott sold the Bandits to Missouri businessman J. R. Bond on 20 January 2021. After the 2021 season, Don Belson came on as the minority co-owner of the team. Belson had been associated with the team for nearly 20 years working in game day operations.[7]
In July 2023, the Bandits announced they were leaving the CIF for a new league along with the Omaha Beef and the Topeka Tropics, the last of which would ultimately fold before the 2024 season.[8] On August 8, 2023, the team announced they had joined the National Arena League (NAL) beginning with the 2024 season.[9]
Notable games
| Date | Information |
|---|---|
| Friday, 31 March 2000 | This was the date of the first indoor football game in franchise history. The Sioux City Attack traveled to Lincoln, Nebraska, but lost, 40–27. |
| Saturday, 8 April 2000 | This date marks the first time that the Attack won a game, a 47–31 victory over the Sioux Falls Cobras at the Sioux Falls Arena. This was the beginning of the Sioux City/Sioux Falls indoor football rivalry. |
| Friday, 21 April 2000 | This was the first home game in franchise history, a 59–27 victory over the Wichita Warlords at the Sioux City Municipal Auditorium. |
| Sunday, 14 August 2005 | This date marked Sioux City's first championship game. They played their arch rival, Sioux Falls Storm in which they lost a thrilling heartbreaker, 40–38 in front of 6,840 fans. |
| Saturday, 5 April 2008 | This date marked a regular season game for Sioux City, in which they hosted the Colorado Ice. It is notable for being the highest attendance ever recorded at a Sioux City Bandits/Attack home game, at 5,956. |
| Sunday, 29 May 2011 | Sioux City defeated the Kansas City Matadors, 112–0. This was the first time in franchise history in which they did not allow any points. It was also the first time the franchise scored over 100 points. It is still their highest score to date. |
| Saturday, 9 July 2011 | After they finished the regular season 12-0 and won in the semi-finals, Sioux City defeated the Iowa Blackhawks, to claim their first championship. The final score was 69–28, capping off a perfect 14–0 season. |
| Saturday, 14 July 2012 | Sioux City won their second championship in a row, beating the Council Bluffs Express, 56–34, to earn yet another 14–0 season. |
| Friday, 22 March 2013 | Sioux City won their 30th straight game. The milestone occurred over a 38–26 victory in a contest against the Kansas City Renegades. The streak would end at 31 with a loss at Omaha. |
| Saturday, 21 June 2014 | Sioux City played in their fourth franchise championship game overall against the Wichita Wild in the CPIFL's Champions Bowl II. They lost 46–41. |
| Saturday, 20 June 2015 | For the fourth time in five years, and fifth time overall, Sioux City played in their league's championship game. This year, it was the CIF's Champions Bowl I, as they hosted the Texas Revolution. They won 76–61, clinching their third franchise championship. All of these titles have come in a span of five years. |
Players
Current roster
Quarterbacks
Running backs
Wide receivers
| Offensive linemen
Defensive linemen
| Linebackers
Defensive backs
Special teams
| Reserve lists
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Bandits Ring of Honor
| # | Player | Position | Tenure | Honored |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 60 | Darwin Bishop | OL/DL | 2000–03 | 2003 |
| 3 | Erv Whitehead | WR | 2000–02 | 2003 |
| 42 | Matt Hughes | LB | 2000–02 | 2004 |
| 64 | Carl Reinhardt | DL/Coach | 2000–03 | 2004 |
| 12 | Jarrod DeGeorgia | QB/Coach | 2000, 2002–03, 2005 | 2006 |
| 40 | Jesse Wavrunek | DL | 2000–05 | 2006 |
| 5 | Fred Jackson | RB | 2004–05 | 2008 |
| 15 | John Ostermeyer | WR | 2002–03, 2005–08 | 2010 |
| 68 | Steve Schmidt | OL/DL | 2000–09, 2013–14 | 2010 |
| 55 | Art Maulupe | DL | 2000–07 | 2010 |
| 73 | Erv Strohbeen | OL | 2000–08 | 2010 |
| 51 | Spetlar Tonga | LB | 2004–08, 2010–13 | 2015 |
| 1 | Alex Ardley | DB | 2004–05, 2007–12 | 2016 |
| 5 | Scott Jensen | QB | 2009–14 | 2017 |
| 10 | Damon Mothershead | WR | 2007–16 | 2017 |
| 24 | Johnny Bentley | RB | 2018 | |
| 23 | Jon Smith | DB | 2011–17 | 2019 |
| 3 | Rahn Franklin, Jr | DB | 2019 | |
| 6 | Marlon Lobban | LB | 2011–17 | 2019 |
Staff
Front office
Head coaches
Offensive coaches
| Defensive coaches
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Season-by-season
| League Champions | Conference Champions | Division Champions | Playoff berth | League leader |
| Season | Team | League | Conference | Division | Regular season | Postseason results | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Finish | Wins | Losses | |||||||||||||
| Sioux City Attack | |||||||||||||||
| 2000 | 2000 | IFL | Western | Southern | 3rd | 9 | 5 | Won First Round (Lincoln) 52–38 Lost Quarterfinal (Bismarck) 14–30 | |||||||
| Sioux City Bandits | |||||||||||||||
| 2001 | 2001 | NIFL | Central | 6th | 4 | 10 | Did not qualify | ||||||||
| 2002 | 2002 | NIFL | Pacific | Northern | 3rd | 9 | 5 | Did not qualify | |||||||
| 2003 | 2003 | NIFL | Pacific | Northern | 3rd | 6 | 8 | Did not qualify | |||||||
| 2004 | 2004 | NIFL | Pacific | Northern | 3rd | 8 | 6 | Lost First Round (Omaha) 40–46 | |||||||
| 2005 | 2005 | UIF | Northern | 1st | 13 | 2 | Won Quarterfinal (Ohio Valley) 52–17 Won Semifinal (Tennessee Valley) 42–37 Lost United Bowl I (Sioux Falls) 38–40 | ||||||||
| 2006 | 2006 | UIF | Western | 3rd | 6 | 9 | Lost Quarterfinal (Rock River) 33–37 | ||||||||
| 2007 | 2007 | UIF | Western | 5th | 3 | 12 | Did not qualify | ||||||||
| 2008 | 2008 | UIF | Eastern | 3rd | 4 | 10 | Lost Quarterfinal (RiverCity) 33–37 | ||||||||
| 2009 | 2009 | IFL | United | Central | 5th | 4 | 10 | Did not qualify | |||||||
| 2010 | 2010 | IFL | United | Central West | 4th | 4 | 10 | Did not qualify | |||||||
| 2011 | 2011 | APFL | 1st | 12 | 0 | Won Semifinal (Kansas) 54–20 Won APFL Championship (Iowa) 69–28 | |||||||||
| 2012 | 2012 | APFL | 1st | 12 | 0 | Won Semifinal (Mid-Missouri) 61–28 Won APFL Championship (Council Bluffs) 56–34 | |||||||||
| 2013 | 2013 | CPIFL | 3rd | 10 | 2 | Lost Semifinal (Salina) 28–29 | |||||||||
| 2014 | 2014 | CPIFL | 2nd | 9 | 3 | Won Semifinal (Salina) 66–37 Lost Champions Bowl II (Wichita) 41–46 | |||||||||
| 2015 | 2015 | CIF | 1st | 9 | 3 | Won Semifinal (Amarillo) 83–52 Won Champions Bowl I (Texas) 76–61 | |||||||||
| 2016 | 2016 | CIF | Northern | 3rd | 7 | 5 | Lost First Round (Bloomington) 45–65 | ||||||||
| 2017 | 2017 | CIF | North | 1st | 9 | 3 | Won Quarterfinal (Bismarck) 82–43 Lost Conference Championship (Omaha) 45–55 | ||||||||
| 2018 | 2018 | CIF | North | 2nd | 9 | 3 | Won Conference Semifinal (Quad City) 54–46 Won Conference Championship (Salina) 45–39 Lost Champions Bowl (Duke City) 27–31 | ||||||||
| 2019 | 2019 | CIF | North | 3rd | 8 | 5 | Lost Quarterfinal (Omaha) 50–60 | ||||||||
| 2020 | 2020 | CIF | North | Season cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic | |||||||||||
| 2021 | 2021 | CIF | 3rd | 5 | 6 | Lost Semifinal (Omaha) 39–40 | |||||||||
| 2022 | 2022 | CIF | 1st | 9 | 1 | Lost Semifinal (Omaha) 45–49 | |||||||||
| 2023 | 2023 | CIF | 5th | 5 | 5 | Lost Quarterfinal (Billings) 39–31 | |||||||||
| 2024 | 2024 | NAL | |||||||||||||
| Totals | 174 | 123 | All-time regular season record | ||||||||||||
| 13 | 14 | All-time postseason record | |||||||||||||
| 187 | 137 | All-time regular season and postseason record | |||||||||||||
Head coaches
| Name | Tenure | Regular season | Playoffs | Awards | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | Win% | W | L | |||
| Jim Anderson | 2000 | 9 | 5 | .643 | 1 | 1 | |
| Phil Karpuk | 2001 | 0 | 4 | .000 | 0 | 0 | |
| Carl Reinhardt | 2001–2003 | 19 | 19 | .500 | 0 | 0 | |
| Art Haege | 2004 | 4 | 4 | .500 | 0 | 0 | |
| Ervin Bryson | 2004 | 4 | 2 | .667 | 0 | 1 | |
| Jose Jefferson | 2005–2006 | 19 | 11 | .633 | 2 | 2 | |
| Richard Britt | 2007 | 0 | 1 | .000 | 0 | 0 | |
| Roger Jansen | 2007 | 3 | 6 | .333 | 0 | 0 | |
| Tom Luxford/Pat Arens | 2007 | 0 | 5 | .000 | 0 | 0 | |
| Jarrod DeGeorgia | 2008–2009 | 8 | 20 | .286 | 0 | 1 | |
| Tommie Williams | 2010 | 4 | 8 | .333 | 0 | 0 | |
| Jarrod DeGeorgia/Erv Strohbeen | 2010 | 0 | 2 | .000 | 0 | 0 | |
| Butch Faulkenberry | 2011 | 12 | 0 | 1.000 | 2 | 0 | APFL Coach of the Year (2011) |
| Erv Strohbeen | 2012–present[10] | 92 | 36 | .719 | 8 | 9 | APFL Coach of the Year (2012) CPIFL Coach of the Year (2014) CIF Coach of the Year (2015) |