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2010 UFL season

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2010 United Football League season
Regular season
DurationSeptember 18, 2010 – November 20, 2010
2010 UFL Championship Game
DateNovember 27, 2010
SiteJohnny Rosenblatt Stadium, Omaha, Nebraska
ChampionLas Vegas Locomotives
Runner-upFlorida Tuskers

The 2010 United Football League season was the second season of the United Football League. The regular season ran from September 18 to November 20 and featured five teams playing eight games each (twice against each of the other teams) over a 10-week span. The 2010 season was a relatively competitive one as no team won more than five games, and no team lost more than five. The season ended with the 2010 UFL Championship Game on November 27 at Johnny Rosenblatt Stadium in Omaha, Nebraska, where the Las Vegas Locomotives defeated the Florida Tuskers, 23–20.

League changes for 2010

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The UFL based its plans for 2010 in part on the lessons learned from its inaugural season in 2009, a year the league considered a modest "dress rehearsal".[1] One of the lessons learned from 2009 was that the league performed better in cities that did not have an NFL presence.[2] To that end, the league relocated two of their 2009 franchises away from NFL markets: The New York Sentinels were relocated to Hartford, Connecticut (where they played one home game in 2009) and were renamed the Hartford Colonials, while the California Redwoods, a team based in the San Francisco Bay Area in 2009, were moved to Sacramento, California and became the Sacramento Mountain Lions. Rentschler Field and Hornet Stadium were the respective home venues for the Colonials and Mountain Lions.

Along with the above franchise shifts, the league set forth to add two new franchises; San Antonio, Texas was considered as the leading candidate for a new team along with Salt Lake City, Los Angeles, and Omaha. Civic leaders in San Antonio were cool to the league's advances, however, citing previous failed football teams in the city and the fear that the UFL's presence would hinder the University of Texas at San Antonio's launch of its Division I college football team in 2011.[3][4] Instead, the league added just one franchise for 2010, the Omaha Nighthawks, who spent 2010 at Rosenblatt Stadium before moving downtown to TD Ameritrade Park Omaha for 2011.

Three of the four charter teams retained their ownership from the previous year, though some sold portions of their teams to minority owners. The lone exception was the Florida Tuskers; Stuart Sternberg pulled out of ownership after the 2009 season and filed legal action against the league for funds he believes is owed to his company, Sunburst Entertainment Group. After spending the offseason and the first four weeks of the season under league ownership, a group led by Joe Theismann purchased the Tuskers in October 2010.[5] NetSuite CEO Zach Nelson agreed to purchase the Omaha Nighthawks. Mark Cuban also loaned the league $5 million in April 2010; in January 2011, he filed a federal lawsuit against the league after they had yet to repay the loan.

To account for the odd number of teams (five), each team played an eight-game schedule over a 10-week span (as opposed to six games in seven weeks during 2009); two bye weeks for each team were included. The schedule's double round robin format remained intact. Also, all of the games were being played in the teams' home stadiums, as opposed to the neutral site "barnstorming" approach used for some of the 2009 games.

In another change from 2009, the UFL strengthened local exposure of its teams, including radio coverage (see Broadcasting below) and the establishment of training camps and practices at sites in each team's market.[6] (During 2009, the teams trained and practiced in two sites, Orlando and Casa Grande, Arizona.) Additionally, each team gained their own uniform identity for 2010, loosening them from the standard league colors (green, blue, black, silver) and uniform template used in 2009.[7]

  • The Hartford Colonials adopted a navy blue and gold color scheme.
  • The Omaha Nighthawks' colors are metallic silver, black and slate gray, as well as donning the league's first ever alternate jersey of a camouflage color scheme.[8]
  • The Sacramento Mountain Lions sport shades of gold and tan along with black trim.
  • The Las Vegas Locomotives kept silver and black in their palette, but replaced UFL blue with crimson (which replaced silver as the main color on their home jerseys).
  • The Florida Tuskers retained their UFL blue/black/silver palette, with black replacing blue as the primary home jersey color.

The 2010 season was a high-water mark for the league. The Sacramento and Omaha franchises were rousing successes with their fanbases, regularly playing to sold-out stadiums with over 20,000 fans a week. The league's salaries would be the highest in its history, peaking at $200,000 a year for a starting quarterback (a level comparable to the National Football League's minimum per-game salary); as such, the league was able to sign prominent NFL veterans such as Daunte Culpepper (Sacramento) and Jeff Garcia (Omaha).[9] The inability to sustain that level of spending and the systemic lack of sustainable revenue sources to match it became evident shortly after the season, prompting the league's slow unraveling over the course of the next two seasons. The league had intended to lose money the first two seasons in an effort to sell their product to television for a rights fee high enough to sustain spending at 2010 levels, but the networks refused to buy a rights package, instead insisting on payment from the league for television coverage.

Coaching changes for 2010

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Team 2010 Coach 2009 Coach Reason for leaving Story/Accomplishments
Hartford Colonials Chris Palmer Ted Cottrell Fired Cottrell compiled an 0-6 (.000) record in his lone season as the head coach of the New York Sentinels. Upon the team's move to Hartford, Palmer, a longtime NFL assistant and the first head coach of the revived Cleveland Browns, was named head coach and general manager.
Florida Tuskers Jay Gruden Jim Haslett Resigned Before leaving to become defensive coordinator for the NFL's Washington Redskins, Haslett compiled a 6-1 (.857) record, including a perfect 2009 regular season and an overtime loss in the championship game. He was replaced by Gruden, the Tuskers' offensive coordinator and a former coach of the Arena Football League's Orlando Predators; he is the brother of current Oakland Raiders' head coach Jon Gruden.
Omaha Nighthawks Jeff Jagodzinski N/A N/A Jagodzinski was named as the expansion franchise's first head coach on April 15, 2010. He has coached in the NFL and college football for over 20 years, including a 2-year stint as Boston College head coach.

Broadcasting

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The 2010 season was the second and final year in the UFL's initial broadcast deals with HDNet and Versus; HDNet carried 10 regular season games, while Versus carried eight games plus the championship game. In addition, the league gained its first partnership with a regional network—the New England–based NESN, which carried two Hartford Colonials home games. The league website provided live and archived video streaming for all games, while YouTube provided a live HD simulcast of Versus' Championship Game broadcast with additional content.[10]

Also, UFL games were carried on radio for the first time, with each team having their own flagship station:

Team 2010 Radio broadcaster
Florida Tuskers WYGM (740 AM) (primary); WFLF (540 AM) (secondary)
Hartford Colonials WPOP (1410 AM)
Las Vegas Locomotives KWWN (1100 AM) (primary); KBAD (920 AM) (secondary)
Omaha Nighthawks KOZN (1620 AM)
Sacramento Mountain Lions KHTK (1140 AM)

Team schedules

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  Win   Loss

Florida Tuskers

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Main article: 2010 Florida Tuskers season
Week Date Kickoff Opponent Results Game site Attendance TV
Final score Team record
1 Saturday, September 18 11:00 p.m. ET at Las Vegas Locomotives W 27–20 1–0 Sam Boyd Stadium 9,103 HDNet
2 Saturday, September 25 11:00 p.m. ET at Sacramento Mountain Lions L 20–24 1–1 Hornet Stadium 20,000 Versus
3 Thursday, September 30 6:00 p.m. ET Las Vegas Locomotives L 17–20 1–2 Citrus Bowl 9,053 Versus
4 Saturday, October 9 3:00 p.m. ET at Hartford Colonials W 33–20 2–2 Rentschler Field 14,468 Versus
5 Bye
6 Thursday, October 21 7:00 p.m. ET Sacramento Mountain Lions L 17–21 2–3 Citrus Bowl 10,066 HDNet
7 Bye
8 Friday, November 5 8:00 p.m. ET Omaha Nighthawks W 31–14 3–3 Citrus Bowl 9,203 HDNet
9 Thursday, November 11 7:00 p.m. ET Hartford Colonials W 41–7 4–3 Citrus Bowl 9,367 HDNet
10 Friday, November 19 8:30 p.m. ET at Omaha Nighthawks W 27–10 5–3 Rosenblatt Stadium 21,106 HDNet

Hartford Colonials

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Main article: 2010 Hartford Colonials season
Week Date Kickoff Opponent Results Game site Attendance TV
Final score Team record
1 Saturday, September 18 2:30 p.m. ET Sacramento Mountain Lions W 27–10 1–0 Rentschler Field 14,384 NESN
2 Friday, September 24 8:00 p.m. ET at Omaha Nighthawks L 26–27 1–1 Rosenblatt Stadium 23,067 HDNet
3 Bye
4 Saturday, October 9 3:00 p.m. ET Florida Tuskers L 20–33 1–2 Rentschler Field 14,468 Versus
5 Saturday, October 16 3:00 p.m. ET Omaha Nighthawks L 14–19 1–3 Rentschler Field 14,056 NESN
6 Saturday, October 23 3:30 p.m. ET at Las Vegas Locomotives L 21–24 (OT) 1–4 Sam Boyd Stadium 8,451 Versus
7 Saturday, October 30 11:00 p.m. ET at Sacramento Mountain Lions W 27–26 2–4 Hornet Stadium 13,500 Versus
8 Bye
9 Thursday, November 11 7:00 p.m. ET at Florida Tuskers L 7–41 2–5 Citrus Bowl 9,637 HDNet
10 Saturday, November 20 3:30 p.m. ET Las Vegas Locomotives W 27–14 3–5 Rentschler Field 14,554 Versus

Las Vegas Locomotives

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Main article: 2010 Las Vegas Locomotives season
Week Date Kickoff Opponent Results Game site Attendance TV
Final score Team record
1 Saturday, September 18 8:00 p.m. PT Florida Tuskers L 20–27 0–1 Sam Boyd Stadium 9,103 HDNet
2 Bye
3 Thursday, September 30 3:00 p.m. PT at Florida Tuskers W 20–17 1–1 Citrus Bowl 9,053 Versus
4 Friday, October 8 7:00 p.m. PT Omaha Nighthawks W 22–10 2–1 Sam Boyd Stadium 9,767 HDNet
5 Friday, October 15 8:00 p.m. PT at Sacramento Mountain Lions W 26–3 3–1 Hornet Stadium 19,000 HDNet
6 Saturday, October 23 12:30 p.m. PT Hartford Colonials W 24–21 (OT) 4–1 Sam Boyd Stadium 8,451 Versus
7 Thursday, October 28 5:00 p.m. PT at Omaha Nighthawks W 24–10 5–1 Rosenblatt Stadium 23,554 HDNet
8 Saturday, November 6 8:00 p.m. PT Sacramento Mountain Lions L 24–27 5–2 Sam Boyd Stadium 13,622 Versus
9 Bye
10 Saturday, November 20 12:30 p.m. PT at Hartford Colonials L 14–27 5–3 Rentschler Field 14,554 Versus

Omaha Nighthawks

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Main article: 2010 Omaha Nighthawks season
Week Date Kickoff Opponent Results Game site Attendance TV
Final score Team record
1 Bye
2 Friday, September 24 7:00 p.m. CT Hartford Colonials W 27–26 1–0 Rosenblatt Stadium 23,067 HDNet
3 Saturday, October 2 7:30 p.m. CT Sacramento Mountain Lions W 20–17 2–0 Rosenblatt Stadium 23,416 HDNet
4 Friday, October 8 9:00 p.m. CT at Las Vegas Locomotives L 10–22 2–1 Sam Boyd Stadium 9,767 HDNet
5 Saturday, October 16 2:00 p.m. CT at Hartford Colonials W 19–14 3–1 Rentschler Field 14,056 NESN
6 Bye
7 Thursday, October 28 7:00 p.m. CT Las Vegas Locomotives L 10–24 3–2 Rosenblatt Stadium 23,554 HDNet
8 Friday, November 5 7:00 p.m. CT at Florida Tuskers L 14–31 3–3 Citrus Bowl 9,203 HDNet
9 Saturday, November 13 10:00 p.m. CT at Sacramento Mountain Lions L 3–41 3–4 Hornet Stadium 20,000 Versus
10 Friday, November 19 7:30 p.m. CT Florida Tuskers L 10–27 3–5 Rosenblatt Stadium 21,106 HDNet

Sacramento Mountain Lions

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Main article: 2010 Sacramento Mountain Lions season
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

Standings

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United Football League
W L T PCT PF PA STK
y-Las Vegas Locomotives 5 3 0 .625 174 142 L2
y-Florida Tuskers 5 3 0 .625 213 136 W3
x-Sacramento Mountain Lions 4 4 0 .500 169 164 W2
x-Hartford Colonials 3 5 0 .375 169 194 W1
x-Omaha Nighthawks 3 5 0 .375 113 202 L4

y-denotes team has clinched a 2010 UFL championship game berth
x-denotes team has been eliminated from championship contention

Championship Game

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Main article: 2010 UFL Championship Game

The 2010 UFL Championship was held on November 27, 2010 (two days after Thanksgiving) and involved the Las Vegas Locomotives and Florida Tuskers, who finished first and second, respectively, in the league standings. The Locomotives won the championship game for the second straight year, beating the Tuskers 23-20 behind an MVP performance by quarterback Chase Clement and a blocked field goal by defensive lineman Alfred Malone on the final play. The game was played at Johnny Rosenblatt Stadium in Omaha, Nebraska, which was chosen as host venue on October 18, 2010, after the league employed a formula that took into consideration "advance ticket and merchandise sales, energy for all events prior to the season starting, and team record" to determine the site. (The first-year Nighthawks sold out each of their 4 home games, including the first UFL game with over 20,000 in attendance.)[11][12]

Attendance

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The UFL's attendance generally improved from its inaugural season; in that year, the average attendance was 9,678 spectators per game, with one game as low as 4,312 fans and the highest-attended game at less than 18,187. For the 20 home dates in the 2010 regular season, crowd numbers ranged from a high of 23,554 (Las Vegas at Omaha on October 28) to a low of 8,451 (Hartford at Las Vegas on October 23). The league's newest markets—Omaha, Sacramento, and Hartford—were the front runners in attendance, with the Nighthawks selling out all 4 of their home games and never failing to draw less than 21,000 to Johnny Rosenblatt Stadium. The Mountain Lions and Colonials saw marked improvements from their 2009 seasons in the San Francisco and New York markets, respectively.

After being the attendance leaders in 2009, both Las Vegas and Florida suffered noticeable declines at the turnstiles during 2010. The crowd decrease for the Locos, coupled with a high rate of rent at Sam Boyd Stadium, led the league and team management to consider a smaller, more affordable home stadium for 2011, such as Cashman Field.[13]

Note that in the table below, numbers for the Sacramento Mountain Lions are rounded to the nearest 500 spectators; Sacramento did not give out exact ticket counts and only offered estimates.

Team Home Gms Home Total Home Avg Top Home Crowd Road Gms Road Total Road Avg Overall Gms Overall Total Overall Avg
Omaha Nighthawks 4 91,143 22,785 23,554 (10/28 vs. LV) 4 53,026 13,256 8 144,169 18,021
Sacramento Mountain Lions 4 72,500 18,125 20,000 (9/25 vs. FLA and 11/13 vs. OMA) 4 61,488 15,372 8 133,988 16,749
Hartford Colonials 4 57,462 14,366 14,554 (11/20 vs. LV) 4 54,655 13,664 8 112,117 14,015
Las Vegas Locomotives 4 40,943 10,236 13,622 (11/6 vs. SAC) 4 66,161 16,540 8 107,104 13,388
Florida Tuskers 4 37,689 9,422 10,066 (10/21 vs. SAC) 4 64,677 16,169 8 102,366 12,796
League 20 299,737 14,987 23,554 (LV at OMA on 10/23) 20 300,007 15,000 - - -

Awards

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Players of the week

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Week Offense Defense Special Teams
1 [14] Josh McCown, QB, Hartford Brandon Moore, LB, Las Vegas Nick Novak, K, Florida
2 [15] Daunte Culpepper, QB, Sacramento
Jeff Garcia, QB, Omaha 		Zeke Moreno, LB, Sacramento Fabrizio Scaccia, K, Sacramento
3 [16] DeDe Dorsey, RB, Las Vegas Eric Henderson, DE, Las Vegas Tom Malone, P, Sacramento
4 [17] Dominic Rhodes, RB, Florida Isaiah Trufant, CB, Las Vegas Nick Novak, K, Florida
5 [18] Jeff Garcia, QB, Omaha Lewis Baker, S, Las Vegas Steve Hauschka, K, Las Vegas
6 [19] Daunte Culpepper, QB, Sacramento Derek Walker, DE, Hartford Steve Hauschka, K, Las Vegas
7 [20] Lorenzo Booker, RB, Hartford Kevin Hobbs, CB, Las Vegas Aaron Woods, KR, Sacramento
8 [21] Chris Greisen, QB, Florida Keiwan Ratliff, CB, Florida Fabrizio Scaccia, K, Sacramento
9 [22] Cory Ross, RB, Sacramento
Dominic Rhodes, RB, Florida 		Eric Moncur, DE, Sacramento Nick Novak, K, Florida
10 [23] Chris Greisen, QB, Florida Darius Vinnett, CB, Florida Nick Novak, K, Florida

Players and Coach of the Year

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References

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  1. ^ Keefer, Case (2009-11-25). "UFL's first season served as a 'dress rehearsal'". Las Vegas Sun. Archived from the original on 15 July 2010. Retrieved 2010-07-17.
  2. ^ Barrows, Matthew (2010-01-26). "UFL club may come to town". The Sacramento Bee. Retrieved 2010-07-17.[permanent dead link‍]
  3. ^ Orsborn, Tom (2010-04-14). "UFL plays waiting game with S.A." San Antonio Express-News. Retrieved 2010-07-13.
  4. ^ "No UFL in S.A.? Not a loss says city leaders". KENS. 2010-04-14. Archived from the original on 2011-07-16. Retrieved 2010-07-13.
  5. ^ Joe Theismann to buy the Florida Tuskers Archived 2010-10-02 at the Wayback Machine. Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved 2010-09-30.
  6. ^ "Training Camps Kick Off Aug. 16". United Football League. UFLAccess.com. 2010-08-12. Archived from the original on 27 August 2010. Retrieved 2010-08-18.
  7. ^ "Stars of UFL Unveil New 2010 Team Uniforms at Fashion Show Mall in Las Vegas". United Football League. 2010-07-28. Archived from the original on 2010-07-30. Retrieved 2010-07-28.
  8. ^ http://www.ufl-football.com/news/nighthawks-honor-armed-forces-camouflage-jerseys-auction[permanent dead link‍]
  9. ^ Sloan, Dusty (September 28, 2010). UFL quarterbacks: high value, low price Archived 2014-03-25 at the Wayback Machine. AOL News. Retrieved March 24, 2014.
  10. ^ "United Football League Creates Historic Partnership with YouTube to Broadcast 2010 Championship Game Live" Archived 2010-11-27 at the Wayback Machine, from ufl-football.com, 11/24/2010
  11. ^ "Fan Loyalty to Help Determine Site for 2010 UFL Championship Game". United Football League. 2010-05-12. Archived from the original on 2010-05-20. Retrieved 2010-05-12.
  12. ^ Pivovar, Steven (2010-10-18). Rosenblatt Stadium lands UFL title game. Omaha World-Herald. Retrieved 2010-10-18.
  13. ^ Carp, Steve (2010-11-06). UFL's Locomotives to return for third season despite poor attendance. Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved 2010-11-07.
  14. ^ "Colonials Quarterback, Locos Linebacker and Tuskers Kicker Named UFL Players of Week 1". United Football League. 2010-09-20. Archived from the original on 2010-09-22. Retrieved 2010-09-20.
  15. ^ Game Winning QBs Culpepper & Garcia share UFL Players of the Week 2 Archived 2010-10-05 at the Wayback Machine
  16. ^ Week 3 POW awards[permanent dead link‍]
  17. ^ UFL Player of Week 4 Honors[permanent dead link‍]
  18. ^ Quarterback Jeff Garcia Earns Second UFL Player of the Week Award; Las Vegas Locos Pair Honored Archived October 22, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
  19. ^ Quarterback Daunte Culpepper Earns Second United Football League Player of the Week Award Archived 2010-10-29 at the Wayback Machine
  20. ^ United Football League Player of the Week Honors Archived 2010-11-04 at the Wayback Machine
  21. ^ UFL Player of the Week Honors[permanent dead link‍]
  22. ^ Cory Ross and Dominic Rhodes Share UFL Offensive Player of the Week Award Archived 2010-11-18 at the Wayback Machine
  23. ^ Players of Week 10 Archived 2010-11-27 at the Wayback Machine
  24. ^ "UFL Names Season MVP's", UFL press release via OurSportsCentral.com, 11/23/2010
  25. ^ "UFL Coach of the Year", UFL press release via OurSportsCentral.com, 11/23/2010
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