Sioux City Bandits

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
Current season
Established 2000 (2000)
Play in Tyson Events Center
in Sioux City, Iowa
League/conference affiliations
Indoor Football League (2000)
  • Western Conference (2000)
    • Southern Division (2000)

National Indoor Football League (2001–2004)

  • Pacific Conference (2001–2004)
    • Central Division (2001)
    • Northern Division (2002–2004)

United Indoor Football (2005–2008)

    • Northern Division (2005)
    • Western Division (2006–2008)

Indoor Football League (2009–2010)

  • United Conference (2009–2010)
    • Central Division (2009)
    • Central West Division (2010)
  • Northern Division (2016)
  • North Conference (2017–2019)
National Arena League (in 2024)
Current uniform
Team colors
  • Red, black, grey, & white
  •        
MascotSlinger
CheerleadersBandits/WITCC Dance Team
Personnel
Owner(s)Donald Belson [1]
PresidentBrett Funke
Head coachErv Strohbeen[1]
Team history
  • Sioux City Attack (2000)
  • Sioux City Bandits (2001–present)
Championships
League championships (3)
  • APFL: 2011, 2012
  • CIF: 2015
Conference championships (1)
  • CIF: 2018
Division championships (1)
  • UIF: 2005
Playoff appearances (16)
  • IFL: 2000
  • NIFL: 2004
  • UIF: 2005, 2006, 2008
  • APFL: 2011, 2012
  • CPIFL: 2013, 2014
  • CIF: 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2021, 2022, 2023
Home arena(s)

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.[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 2000This 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 2000This 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 2000This 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 2005This 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 2008This 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 2011Sioux 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 2011After 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 2012Sioux 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 2013Sioux 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 2014Sioux 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 2015For 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

Sioux City Bandits roster
Quarterbacks
  • -- Ja'Vonte Johnson
  • -- Tyler Lauenstein

Running backs

  • -- Nathan Tilford

Wide receivers

  • -- Sammie Epps
Offensive linemen
  • -- Steven Fluker

Defensive linemen

  • -- Randall Blash
  • -- Asi Tupua
Linebackers
  • Currently vacant

Defensive backs

  • -- Quantaye Battle
  • -- Aaron Rountree
  • -- Xavier Spann

Special teams

  • Currently vacant
Reserve lists
  • Currently vacant
  • Rookies in italics
  • Roster updated October 23, 2023
  • 10 Active, 0 Inactive

More rosters

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

Sioux City Bandits staff
Front office
  • Owner – Don Belson
  • President – Brett Funke
  • General manager – TBD
  • Director of game day operations – Cindy Belson
  • Sales and marketing executive – Carlie Benes

Head coaches

  • Head coach – Erv Strohbeen

Offensive coaches

  • TBD
Defensive coaches
  • TBD



Season-by-season

League Champions Conference Champions Division Champions Playoff berth League leader
Season Team League Conference Division Regular season Postseason results
FinishWinsLossesTies
Sioux City Attack
2000 2000IFLWesternSouthern 3rd950
Sioux City Bandits
2001 2001NIFLCentral 6th4100
2002 2002NIFLPacificNorthern 3rd950
2003 2003NIFLPacificNorthern 3rd680
2004 2004NIFLPacificNorthern 3rd860Lost Round 1 (Omaha) 40–46
2005 2005UIFNorthern 1st1320Won Quarterfinal (Ohio Valley) 52–17
Won Semifinal (Tennessee Valley) 42–37
Lost United Bowl I (Sioux Falls) 38–40
2006 2006UIFWestern 3rd690Lost Quarterfinal (Rock River) 33–37
2007 2007UIFWestern 5th3120
2008 2008UIFEastern 3rd4100Lost Quarterfinal (RiverCity) 33–37
2009 2009IFLUnitedCentral 5th590
2010 2010IFLUnitedCentral West 4th4100
2011 2011APFL 1st1200
  • Won Semifinal (Kansas) 54–20
  • Won APFL Championship (Iowa) 69–28
2012 2012APFL 1st1200
2013 2013CPIFL 3rd1020Lost Semifinal (Salina) 28–29
2014 2014CPIFL 2nd930
  • Won Semifinal (Salina) 66–37
  • Lost Champions Bowl II (Wichita) 41–46
2015 2015CIF 1st930
2016 2016CIFNorthern 3rd750Lost Round 1 (Bloomington) 45–65
2017 2017CIFNorth 1st930
  • Won Quarterfinal (Bismarck) 82–43
  • Lost Conference Championship (Omaha) 45–55
2018 2018CIFNorth 2nd930
  • Won Conference Semifinal (Quad City) 54–46
  • Won Conference Championship (Salina) 45–39
  • Lost Champions Bowl (Duke City) 27–31
2019 2019CIFNorth 3rd850Lost Quarterfinal (Omaha) 50–60
2020 2020CIFNorth Season cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic
2021 2021CIF 3rd560Lost Semifinal (Omaha) 39–40
2022 2022CIF 1st910Lost Semifinal (Omaha) 45–49
2023 2023CIF 5th550Lost Quarterfinal (Billings) 39–31
2024 2024NAL ------
Totals 1751210All-time regular season record
1314All-time postseason record
1881350All-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 3 .571 0 1
Jose Jefferson 2005–2006 21 13 .618 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 21 .276 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] 85 35 .708 8 6
  • APFL Coach of the Year(2012)
  • CPIFL Coach of the Year (2014)
  • CIF Coach of the Year (2015)

References

  1. Lantz, Shane (2021-11-04). "Jackson revisits Bandits roots". Sioux City Journal. Vol. 158, no. 42. Lee Enterprises. pp. B1–B2. ISSN 2689-5536. LCCN sn87058082. OCLC 15319768 via Newspapers.com.
  2. "Journal Exclusive: Sioux City team leaving IFL". Sioux City Journal. 2010-10-19. ISSN 2689-5544. LCCN 2019271409. OCLC 1002001030. Archived from the original on 2019-05-13. Retrieved 2022-03-09.
  3. Pautsch, Brad (2012-08-01). "Bandits leave APFL; looking to create new league". KTIV. Quincy Media. Archived from the original on 2017-07-30. Retrieved 2016-12-31.
  4. "Bandits to join Champions Professional Indoor Football League". KTIV. Quincy Media. 2012-08-11. Archived from the original on 2017-12-08. Retrieved 2016-12-31.
  5. Grant, Ethan (2014-12-03). "Revolutionary league: Shift from IFL to CIF opens up new rivalries, salary cap to franchise". Allen American. Star Media. OCLC 849657866. Archived from the original on 2022-03-09. Retrieved 2022-03-09.
  6. Chadiha, Jeffri (2009-07-31). "Jackson's path leads to prime position". ESPN. Archived from the original on 2017-12-16. Retrieved 2022-03-09.
  7. "SPORTS BRIEFS: J.R. Bond becomes new Sioux City Bandits owner". Sioux City Journal. 2021-01-22. ISSN 2689-5544. LCCN 2019271409. OCLC 1002001030. Archived from the original on 2021-01-29. Retrieved 2022-03-09.
  8. "Sioux City Bandits leaving the Champions Indoor Football League". KTIV. July 26, 2023.
  9. "NAL ANNOUNCES SIOUX CITY BANDITS AS EXPANSION FRANCHISE". National Arena League. August 8, 2023.
  10. "Quick Stats - Siouxland's Source for Local College and High School Stats on the Web". Quick Stats. 2021-07-10. Archived from the original on 2022-03-09. Retrieved 2022-03-09.
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