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Wichita Force

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Wichita Force
Established 2014
Folded 2022
Played in Wichita Ice Center
in Wichita, Kansas
WichitaForce.com
League/conference affiliations
Champions Indoor Football (2015–2021)
  • Northern Division (2016)
  • South Conference (2017–2018)
  • North Conference (2019)
Arena Football Association (2022)
Current uniform
Team colorsBlack, yellow, white
     
Personnel
Owner(s)Wichita Arena Football, LLC
Head coachEne Akpan
Team history
  • Wichita Force (2015–2022)
Championships
League championships (1)
Conference championships (0)
Division championships (1)
Playoff appearances (3)
Home arena(s)

The Wichita Force were a professional indoor football team based in Wichita, Kansas, with home games in Wichita Ice Center. The team was founded in 2014 as an expansion franchise in the Champions Indoor Football league for the 2015 season.[2] The Force's membership in the CIF was revoked prior to the 2022 season and the team joined the new Arena Football Association.

History

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For the inaugural 2015 season, the Force hired former Wichita Wild head coach Paco Martinez.[3] The Force opened the season with a home loss to the Salina Bombers,[4] then regrouped to win four consecutive games in a five-week span.[5][6] After that stretch, results have been mixed with road losses to the two teams that would end up playing in the Champions Bowl—Texas Revolution and Sioux City Bandits—then, a home win over the Salina Bombers, and a road win over the Dodge City Law.[7][8]

In 2017, the Force underwent an ownership change and head coach Martinez was fired after three seasons with the team.[9] He was replaced by Morris Lolar as the head coach and Stuart Schake was named general manager for the 2018 season.[10] Brian Turner was named general manager for the 2019 season,[11] but head coach Lolar left for a position with Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League and Rick Lee and Jerry Taylor were named co-coaches in March 2019.

For the 2020 season, the Force hired Pat Pimmel as head coach.[12] The team also moved from the larger Intrust Bank Arena, where the team had played for the first five seasons, to the smaller Hartman Arena, where the Wichita Wild used to play.[13] However, the 2020 season never began and was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic closing arenas. The following 2021 season, the season was shortened and delayed as the pandemic restrictions continued. Pat Pimmel left the team and was replaced by Ene Akpan.[14] On April 1, 2021, the Force announced they would play the season out of the Kansas Star Arena in Mulvane.[15] The facility was criticized by some players and was notable for using inflatable walls (this would carry over to the AFA).

In January 2022, the Force were removed from the CIF for not meeting the league's minimum operating requirements.[16] On February 7, 2022, the Force announced they had joined the new Arena Football Association, a league established by former CIF teams, the Amarillo Venom and West Texas Warbirds.[17] The Force also announced they would play 2022 games at the Wichita Ice Center instead of the Kansas Star Center.[18]

Season-by-season results

[edit]
League Champions Conference Champions Division Champions Playoff berth League leader
Season Team League Conference Division Regular season Postseason results
Finish Wins Losses Ties
2015 2015 CIF 3rd[a] 8 4 0 Lost Semifinal 27–39 (Texas)
2016 2016 CIF Northern 1st 10 2 0 Won Divisional Championship 52–51 (Bloomington)
Won Champions Bowl II 48–45 (Amarillo)
2017 2017 CIF South 6th 7 5 0
2018 2018 CIF South 4th 4 8 0 Lost Conference Semifinal (Duke City) 39–50
2019 2019 CIF North 4th 2 10 0
2020 2020 CIF Season cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic
2021 2021 CIF 5th 4 6 0
2022 2022 AFA 2nd 6 2 0 AFA Cup 52-6 (Spartans) (did not play due to scheduling conflicts of AFA championship)
Totals 41 37 0 All-time regular season record (2015–2022)
2 2 — All-time postseason record (2015–2022)
43 39 0 All-time regular season and postseason record (2015–2022)
  1. ^ During the 2015 season, the CIF did not have divisions. Listed finish is each team's position in the overall league standings.

References

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  1. ^ As the season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, no games were ever played in Hartman.
  2. ^ Suellentrop, Paul (August 21, 2014). "Indoor football to return with same players, coach – but with new name, owner, league". The Wichita Eagle. Wichita, Kansas: The McClatchy Company. Retrieved May 10, 2015.
  3. ^ Heck, Josh (March 2, 2015). "Wichita Force launch new era of indoor football". Wichita Business Journal. Wichita, Kansas: Advance Publications. Retrieved May 10, 2015.
  4. ^ Lutz, Jeffrey (February 28, 2015). "Salina rallies past Force football team in inaugural game". The Wichita Eagle. Wichita, Kansas: The McClatchy Company. Retrieved May 11, 2015.
  5. ^ "Beef come up short against Wichita". Omaha World-Herald. Omaha, Nebraska: Berkshire Hathaway. April 3, 2015. Retrieved April 19, 2015.
  6. ^ Adame, Tpny (April 3, 2015). "Wichita Force grabs fourth straight win". The Wichita Eagle. Wichita, Kansas: The McClatchy Company. Retrieved May 9, 2015.
  7. ^ Seminoff, Kirk (May 8, 2015). "Force knocks off league-leading Dodge City 52-49". The Wichita Eagle. Wichita, Kansas: The McClatchy Company. Retrieved May 8, 2015.
  8. ^ Curtis, John (May 9, 2015). "Law early miscues lose to Force". Dodge City Daily Globe. Dodge City, Kansas: GateHouse Media. Retrieved May 11, 2015.
  9. ^ "Paco Martinez out as head coach of the Force". KWCH. August 11, 2017.
  10. ^ "Stuart Schake named General Manager of Force". Wichita Force. September 11, 2017.
  11. ^ "Contact Wichita Force Football". Wichita Force Football. October 23, 2018.
  12. ^ "Wichita Force Announce New Head Coach". OurSports Central. November 15, 2019.
  13. ^ "Indoor Football Returns to Hartman Arena for 2020 Season". OurSports Central. December 20, 2019.
  14. ^ "Successful and Beloved Local Coach to Lead the Wichita Force for 2021". Wichita Force. March 17, 2021.
  15. ^ "Wichita Force relocating to Kansas Star Casino". Derby Informer. April 1, 2021.
  16. ^ "The Wichita Force have been removed from the CIF". CIF. January 13, 2022.
  17. ^ "Wichita Force and Magnolia State Spartans join the AFA!". Wichita Force Facebook. February 7, 2022.
  18. ^ "Big Changes for Wichita Force Football". Wichita Story. February 9, 2022.
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