| Texas Revolution | |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2000 |
| League | af2 (2000-2009) IFL (2010-present) |
| Team history | Arkansas Twisters (2000-2009) Arkansas Diamonds (2010) Allen Wranglers (2011-2012) Texas Revolution (2013-present) |
| Arena | Allen Event Center |
| Based in | Allen, Texas |
| Team colors | Blue, Red, Silver, Copper, White |
| Owner(s) | Tommy Benizio, Tim Brown & Ken Paxton |
| President | Tommy Benizio |
| Head coach | Billy Back |
| General Manager | Tim Brown |
| Championships | 0 |
| Division titles | 2 (2010, 2011) |
| Dancers | Dodge City Dancers |
| Mascot | TBD |
| Website | www.texasrevs.com |
The Texas Revolution is an American professional indoor football team which is currently a member of the United Conference of the Indoor Football League. Based in Allen, Texas, the Revolution plays its home games at the Allen Event Center.[1] The 2013 season is the team's fourteenth season as a football franchise, fourth in the Indoor Football League, third in Texas, and first as the "Revolution".
Founded in 2000 as the Arkansas Twisters, the Little Rock-based team played 10 seasons in af2 before that league folded. The team jumped to the Indoor Football League as the Arkansas Diamonds for the 2010 season. Remaining in the IFL, the team moved to Texas to become the Allen Wranglers for the 2011 and 2012 seasons. The franchise grabbed headlines in 2012 when former NFL standout Terrell Owens played 8 games for the Wranglers before being cut in late May 2012. The team became the Texas Revolution after a shift in ownership before the 2013 season.
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The franchise began play as the Arkansas Twisters in 2000 as the only professional football team in the state of Arkansas. The team played 10 seasons as a charter member of af2, the "developmental" league of the original Arena Football League. The Twisters played their home games at Verizon Arena in North Little Rock, Arkansas. The team enjoyed success on and off the field, twice reaching the league's championship game. After the AFL took a season off and was forced into bankruptcy in 2009, the af2 was dissolved and the Twisters were announced as a planned charter member of Arena Football 1.[2]
Concerns for stability with Arena Football 1 lead to a November 2009 shift by Arkansas to the Indoor Football League.[3] However, the rights to the Twisters name and logo belonged to Arena Football 1 so the Arkansas franchise held a "name the team" contest in late January and became the Arkansas Diamonds of the IFL's Intense Conference for the 2010 season.[4][5][6] The new team colors for 2010 were Carolina blue, black, and gray.[7] Arena football veteran Danton Barto took over as head coach, leading the team to a 11-3 regular season record and first place in the 2010 Lonestar East Division.[8] The team's playoff run ended with a loss to the Billings Outlaws in the Intense Conference Finals.[9] With the team struggling financially, co-owners Jim Smith and Jeff Everetts announced in September 2009 that the franchise was relocating to Allen, Texas, a prosperous suburb of Dallas.[10][11]
After a name-the-team contest, the team announced on September 29, 2010, it would be called the Allen Wranglers, starting with the 2011 Indoor Football League season.[12][1] The relocated Intense Conference team would play their home games at the Allen Event Center in Allen, Texas.[13] The team shared the name with a previous indoor football team in Allen, the Texas Wranglers, who played the 2009 and 2010 seasons in the Independent Indoor Football Alliance.
In October 2010, the team announced that Chris MacKeown would be the Wranglers' head coach for the 2011 season.[14][15] Former Dallas Cowboys player Drew Pearson was named general manager of the franchise in early December 2010.[16] The team finished with a 10-4 regular season record and first place in the Lonestar Division. They advanced through two rounds of the IFL playoffs before losing the Intense Conference Championship to the Tri-Cities Fever of Kennewick, Washington.[17][18]
The Wranglers started the 2012 season strong under new head coach Pat Pimmell but after consecutive losses dropped their record to 5-3 in April, Pimmel was let go and the team's offensive and defensive coordinators shared the title "co-interim head coach" through the end of the season.[19][20] The team finished with a 9-5 regular season record and reached the IFL playoffs but lost in the Intense Conference semi-finals to the Wichita Wild.[21]
National attention was focused on the Wranglers in 2012 when NFL veteran wide receiver Terrell Owens joined the team.[22][23] Recovering from surgery and receiving no offers from NFL teams, Owens accepted a generous contract and partial ownership in the franchise to play in Allen.[24][25] He swelled attendance at Wranglers home games. His debut drew a crowd of 5,711 people, larger than the Wranglers' home attendance for the entire 2011 season,[24] but his contract allowed him to skip many away dates.[26][27] Although his play was solid,[28] with three games left in the season, citing his "lack of effort both on and off the field", failure to show up for a scheduled appearance at a children's hospital, and refusal to play in two upcoming road games,[29] Owens was released by the Wranglers on May 29, 2012.[30] Along with his release, Owens also relinquished his ownership stake in the team.[31]
For the 2013 season, the team announced that it was staying in Allen but making several critical changes. On September 19, 2012, the team unveiled its new nickname and colors as the Texas Revolution.[32] Operation of the team was taken over by Tommy Benizio, a former commissioner of the Indoor Football League.[33] After three seasons in the Intense Conference, the team was realigned to the United Conference for the 2013 season.[34] This is not the first football team in the Metroplex to bear the name. In 2005, a "Texas Revolution" competed in the Independent Women's Football League.[35] In November 2012, the team named Billy Back as head coach for the 2013 season.
Note: W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties
| Season | W | L | T | Finish | Playoff results |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arkansas Twisters (af2) | |||||
| 2000 | 7 | 9 | 0 | 6th NC | -- |
| 2001 | 6 | 10 | 0 | 5th NC South Central | -- |
| 2002 | 11 | 5 | 0 | 2nd NC Central | Lost Week 1 (Tulsa 34-32) |
| 2003 | 9 | 7 | 0 | 2nd NC Central | Won NC Round 1 (Bakersfield 36-28) Won NC Semifinals (Quad City 63-61) Lost NC Championship (Tulsa 63-52) |
| 2004 | 4 | 12 | 0 | 4th AC Mid-South | -- |
| 2005 | 5 | 11 | 0 | 3rd AC South | -- |
| 2006 | 10 | 6 | 0 | 3rd NC Midwest | Won NC Round 1 (Oklahoma City 47-43) Won NC Semifinals (Tulsa 53-51) Lost NC Championship (Spokane 48-30) |
| 2007 | 12 | 4 | 0 | 2nd NC Central | Lost NC Round 1 (Bossier-Shreveport 62-40) |
| 2008 | 11 | 5 | 0 | 2nd NC Central | Lost NC Round 1 (Central Valley 68-55) |
| 2009 | 11 | 5 | 0 | 2nd NC Southwest | Lost NC Round 1 (Boise 77-36) |
| Arkansas Diamonds (IFL) | |||||
| 2010 | 11 | 3 | 0 | 1st Intense Lonestar East | Won Intense Quarterfinal (Corpus Christi) Won Intense Semifinal (Amarillo) Lost Intense Conference Championship (Billings) |
| Allen Wranglers (IFL) | |||||
| 2011 | 10 | 4 | 0 | 1st Lonestar | Won Round 1 (Wyoming) Won Conference Semi-Final (Fairbanks) Lost Intense Conference Championship (Tri-Cities) |
| 2012 | 9 | 5 | 0 | 3rd Intense | Lost Intense Semi-Final (Wichita)[36] |
| Texas Revolution (IFL) | |||||
| 2013 | 2 | 3 | 0 | United | -- |
| Totals | 126 | 98 | 0 | (including playoffs) | |
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Texas Revolution roster
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| Quarterbacks
Running Backs Wide Receivers
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Offensive Linemen
Defensive Linemen
Linebackers
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Defensive Backs
Kickers |
Coaches
Injured Reserve
Exempt List
Practice Squad
Rookies in italics |
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