Sacramento Mountain Lions
Team helmet
Team logo
Founded2009
Folded2012
Based inSacramento, California
Home stadium
Owner(s)Paul Pelosi (majority)
ColorsDark Metallic Gold, Sac Black, Sac Tan, Sac Dark Gold
       
Uniform

The Sacramento Mountain Lions were a professional American football team based in Sacramento, California that played in the United Football League. The franchise originated as the California Redwoods, and played its home games in San Francisco and San Jose before relocating to Hornet Stadium in Sacramento in 2010, then to Raley Field in West Sacramento in 2012. The team was coached by Dennis Green for three of its four years of existence. Amid financial problems, the UFL folded in the middle of the 2012 season.

Franchise history

California Redwoods (2009)

The team began play as the California Redwoods in October 2009. (Early trademark filings had suggested the UFL would name the team the "San Francisco Rockfish," a name that was dumped before any public announcement.)[1] In the league's 2009 season, the Redwoods played were originally slated to play all of its home games at AT&T Park in San Francisco, including the first-ever UFL game. Due to a conflict with the San Francisco Giants, the UFL's first game was instead played in Las Vegas. Poor attendance in San Francisco led to the league relocating one of the Redwoods' home games to Spartan Stadium in San Jose.

Former NFL head coach Dennis Green was hired as the Redwoods' head coach prior to the season. He led the team to a 2–4 record in its first season, finishing in third place.

Schedule

Week Date Kickoff Opponent Results Game site Attendance TV
Final score Team record
1 Thursday, October 8 9:00 p.m. ET at Las Vegas Locomotives L 17–30 0–1 Sam Boyd Stadium 18,187 Versus
2 Saturday, October 17 9:00 p.m. ET New York Sentinels W 24–7 1–1 AT&T Park 6,341 HDNet
3 Thursday, October 22 7:00 p.m. ET at Florida Tuskers L 7–34 1–2 Citrus Bowl 12,021 Versus
4 Thursday, October 29 7:00 p.m. ET at New York Sentinels W 20–13 2–2 Giants Stadium 10,818 Versus
5 Bye
6 Saturday, November 14 9:00 p.m. ET Las Vegas Locomotives L 10–16 2–3 Spartan Stadium 4,312 HDNet
7 Thursday, November 19 9:00 p.m. ET Florida Tuskers L 27–34 2–4 AT&T Park 6,837 Versus

Sacramento Mountain Lions (2010–2012)

2010 season

League commissioner Michael Huyghue announced shortly after the end of the 2009 regular season that the team would "likely" move permanently to San Jose for the 2010 season.[2] On March 3, 2010, the league declared that the team would permanently relocate instead to Hornet Stadium in Sacramento, California for 2010, as part of a deal with Sacramento State University that saw the UFL provide a new artificial turf for the facility.

Despite the "California Redwoods" name still being valid (as the team remained the only UFL team in the state), league officials also announced that the California Redwoods branding would be abandoned. A new name was decided through a fan vote, though the name "Redwoods" remained a possible choice.[3] On April 6, 2010, the league announced that the franchise would be known as the Sacramento Mountain Lions.[4]

Additionally, head coach Dennis Green added the title of general manager following the season; he replaced league-wide general manager Rick Mueller, who handled the duties in 2009.

On September 25, the team won their first game in Sacramento, 24-20, becoming the first team to defeat the Florida Tuskers in the regular season, in front of a reported crowd of over 20,000.

Schedule
Week Date Kickoff Opponent Results Game site Attendance TV
Final score Team record
1 Saturday, September 18 11:30 a.m. PT at Hartford Colonials L 10–27 0–1 Rentschler Field 14,384 NESN
2 Saturday, September 25 8:00 p.m. PT Florida Tuskers W 24–20 1–1 Hornet Stadium 20,000 Versus
3 Saturday, October 2 5:30 p.m. PT at Omaha Nighthawks L 17–20 1–2 Rosenblatt Stadium 23,416 HDNet
4 Bye
5 Friday, October 15 8:00 p.m. PT Las Vegas Locomotives L 3–26 1–3 Hornet Stadium 19,000 HDNet
6 Thursday, October 21 4:00 p.m. PT at Florida Tuskers W 21–17 2–3 Citrus Bowl 10,066 HDNet
7 Saturday, October 30 8:00 p.m. PT Hartford Colonials L 26–27 2–4 Hornet Stadium 13,500 Versus
8 Saturday, November 6 8:00 p.m. PT at Las Vegas Locomotives W 27–24 3–4 Sam Boyd Stadium 13,622 Versus
9 Saturday, November 13 8:00 p.m. PT Omaha Nighthawks W 41–3 4–4 Hornet Stadium 20,000 Versus
10 Bye

2011 season

Schedule
Week Date Kickoff * Opponent Results Game site
Final score Team record
1 Saturday, September 17 7:30 p.m. Las Vegas Locomotives L 17–23 0–1 Hornet Stadium
2 Bye
3 Saturday, October 1 4:00 p.m. Omaha Nighthawks L 30–33 0–2 Hornet Stadium
4 Friday, October 7 4:00 p.m. at Virginia Destroyers L 6–28 0–3 Virginia Beach Sportsplex
5 Saturday, October 15 4:00 p.m. Virginia Destroyers W 27–20 (OT) 1–3 Hornet Stadium
6 Friday, October 21 6:00 p.m. at Omaha Nighthawks W 25–19 2–3 TD Ameritrade Park Omaha
* All times are Pacific Time. † Postseason Consolation Game.

2012 season

Head coach Dennis Green left the team after the 2011 season amid dispute and legal action; he was replaced by Turk Schonert. The team also left Hornet Stadium, its home stadium of 2010 and 2011, without attempting to negotiate a lease renewal. Instead, the team signed a deal with Raley Field, a predominantly baseball-oriented park built for the Sacramento River Cats of the Pacific Coast League, for the team's four 2012 home games.

The UFL's financial woes, a new venue, less prominent coach, and continued on-field shortcomings hurt the Mountain Lions' attendance figures in 2012, although not nearly to the same extent as the other three UFL markets. Reports of players and staff not getting paid, as well as the 2011 season getting cut short, tested the devotion of fans, as many considered the UFL a dead product. The UFL abruptly halted the season again after four games and pledged to continue its season in 2013, a promise that never came to fruition because of lawsuits against the league.

Season-by-season records

California Redwoods logo
TeamSeasonWLTAvg.FinishPost SeasonAwardsAvg. attendance
California Redwoods2009240.3333rd5,830
Sacramento Mountain Lions2010440.5003rd18,125
Sacramento Mountain Lions2011130.2504th18,775
Sacramento Mountain Lions2012130.2504th
Totals8140.35014,171

Records vs. teams

This includes postseason games.

Team Record Percent
Hartford Colonials2-2.500
Las Vegas Locomotives1–4.200
Florida Tuskers/Virginia Destroyers3–4.429
Omaha Nighthawks1–3.250

Home, away, and neutral records

Location Record Percent
Home3–7.300
Away4–6.400
Neutral0-0.000

References

  1. Eskenazi, Joe. "Are You Ready For Some Football? The Team Is Named 'The California Redwoods.' Still Ready?". SF Weekly. Retrieved 9 February 2019.
  2. Pavlovic, Alex (2009-11-19). "UFL's California Redwoods likely to move to San Jose". San Jose Mercury News. Retrieved 2009-11-23.
  3. "United Football League Brings Professional Football to Sacramento and Invites Fans to 'Name Your Team'". United Football League. 2010-03-03. Retrieved 2010-03-03.
  4. Welch, Kat (April 6, 2010). "Welcome the Sacramento Mountain Lions to the United Football League". Sacramento Press. Retrieved May 22, 2020.
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