Sarasota Thunder

The Sarasota Thunder were a professional indoor football team based in Sarasota, Florida. They played in the Ultimate Indoor Football League (UIFL) for part of the 2013 season before folding. The Thunder initially announced Robarts Arena as their home venue, though they played all their games on the road.

Sarasota Thunder
Established 2013
Folded 2013
Played in Sarasota, Florida
at the Robarts Arena
League/conference affiliations
Ultimate Indoor Football League (2013)
Current uniform
Team colorsRed, Orange, and White
     
Personnel
Owner(s)Dale Taylor
Jeff Eberly
Head coachGreg Walls
Team history
  • Huntington Hammer (2011-2012)
    Sarasota Thunder (2013)
Championships
League championships (0)
Conference championships (0)
Division championships (0)
Playoff appearances (0)
0
Home arena(s)

Franchise history

In August 2012, the Sarasota Thunder was announced as the third 2013 expansion team of the Ultimate Indoor Football League.[1][2] This was the second attempt to bring an indoor football team to Sarasota, the first being the Florida Scorpions of the National Indoor Football League. The team announced they would play their home games at Robarts Arena.[3] In September 2012, the Thunder named Greg Walls the franchise's first head coach.[4]

Before the season, however, the league took over control of the Thunder and shifted them to an all-travel schedule, with no home games in Sarasota. The team played very poorly, generally losing in blowouts. Their performance caused disruption through the league, as their host teams had difficulty drawing fans to such lopsided games. On May 9, the Florida Tarpons – whose owners also owned the UIFL – announced the Thunder had forfeited a scheduled game against them; the league subsequently folded the team.[5][6][7]

Coaches of note

Head coaches
Name Term Regular season Playoffs Awards
W L T Win% W L
Greg Walls 2013 0 3 0 .000 0 0

Coaching staff
Sarasota Thunder staff
Front office
  • Founder/Owner/President –

Head coach

  • Head coach – Greg Walls

Offensive coaches

  • Offensive coordinator –
  • Quarterbacks -
  • Running Backs -
  • Wide receivers –
  • Offensive line –
  

Defensive coaches

  • Defensive coordinator –
  • Defensive line –
  • Linebackers –
  • Secondary -

Season-by-season results
League Champions Conference Champions Division Champions Wild Card Berth League Leader
Season Team League Conference Division Regular season Postseason results
Finish Wins Losses Ties
2013 2013 UIFL 6th 0 3 0
Totals 0 3 0 All-time regular season record (2013)
0 0 - All-time postseason record (2013)
0 3 0 All-time regular season and postseason record (2013)

References
  1. Dennis Maffezzoli (August 12, 2012). "FOOTBALL: Sarasota Thunder coming in 2013". www.htpreps.com. HT Preps. Retrieved August 13, 2012.
  2. "Pro football: UIFL adds expansion franchise in Sarasota for 2013". Naples Daily News. August 12, 2012. Retrieved August 13, 2012.
  3. "Indoor football: Sarasota team coming in 2013". Bradenton Herald. August 14, 2012. Retrieved August 14, 2012.
  4. Dennis Maffezzoli (September 13, 2012). "Sarasota indoor football team names Walls head coach". Herald Tribune. Retrieved September 17, 2012.
  5. Maffezzoli, Dennis (February 5, 2013). "Sarasota Thunder have seven games - all on the road". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. Retrieved October 18, 2013.
  6. Milligan, Del (May 21, 2013). "Raiders Reassessing Future in Lakeland". The Ledger. Retrieved October 18, 2013.
  7. "UIFL, Tarpons swimming in murky waters". 239sports.com. May 29, 2013. Retrieved October 18, 2013.
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