The Cincinnati Commandos were a professional indoor football team based in

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state lin ...

Ohio Ohio () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Of the List of states and territories of the United States, fifty U.S. states, it is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 34th-l ...

. The team suspended operations for the 2013 season, with hope of returning in 2014. They began play in 2010 as an

expansion team An expansion team is a new team in a sports league, usually from a city that has not hosted a team in that league before, formed with the intention of satisfying the demand for a local team from a population in a new area. Sporting leagues also ...

in the

Continental Indoor Football League The Continental Indoor Football League (CIFL) was an indoor football league based along the Midwestern United States region that played nine seasons from 2006 to 2014. It began play in April 2006 as the Great Lakes Indoor Football League (GLI ...

before moving to the

United Indoor Football League The Ultimate Indoor Football League (UIFL) was a regional professional indoor football league that began its inaugural season on February 18, 2011 as the Ultimate Indoor Football League before playing as the United Indoor Football League in 2012 ...

in 2012. The Commandos then left the UIFL after winning

Ultimate Bowl The Ultimate Bowl was the annual championship game of the Ultimate Indoor Football League (UIFL). In 2011, it was the meeting of the two semifinal game winners. In 2012, it was the meeting of the winners of the North and South Divisions. Past Ulti ...

II and re-joined the CIFL, but never took the field after its announcement. The Commandos were the fifth arena or indoor football in Cincinnati, after the

Cincinnati Rockers The Cincinnati Rockers were an arena football team based in Cincinnati, Ohio. They began play in 1992 as an expansion team in the Arena Football League and competed through the 1993 season before they suspended operations due to low attendance. ...

(

Arena Football League The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 season, making it the third longest-running professional football league in ...

1992–93), Cincinnati Swarm ( af2 2003), Cincinnati Marshals (

National Indoor Football League The National Indoor Football League (NIFL) was a professional indoor football league in the United States. For their first six years, the league had teams in markets not covered by either the Arena Football League or its developmental league, ...

2004–2006), and Cincinnati Jungle Kats (af2 2007). The owners of the Commandos are Dennis Whitman and Paul Napier. The Commandos played their home games at

Cincinnati Gardens Cincinnati Gardens was an indoor arena located in Cincinnati, Ohio, that opened in 1949. The 25,000 square foot (2,300 m²) brick and limestone building at 2250 Seymour Avenue in Bond Hill had a entrance that was decorated with six three-dimensio ...

Franchise history

Play begins: 2010

The Commandos posted a 9-1 regular season mark in the 2010 season, winning their first nine games before losing the final one at Wisconsin. After a three-week break, Cincinnati defeated Miami Valley, 48-24, in the CIFL Semifinals, and then defeated the Wisconsin Wolfpack, 54-40 in the 2010

CIFL Championship Game The CIFL Championship Game was the annual championship game of the Continental Indoor Football League (CIFL). In 2006, it was the meeting of the two semifinal game winners. Following the 2007 and 2008 season, the game was between the Great Lakes ...

, on June 26, to claim Cincinnati's first ever professional football championship.

2011

Head Coach Billy Back returned for the 2011 season, Brian Wells, former head coach of the

Miami Valley Silverbacks The Dayton Silverbacks were a professional indoor football team based in Dayton, Ohio. The team was a member of the Continental Indoor Football League (CIFL). The franchise started as the Miami Valley Silverbacks and joined the CIFL in 2007 af ...

, was hired as Assistant Head Coach / Special Teams Coordinator / Offensive Line Coach. For 2011 the Commandos have announced the signing of: Tyler Sheehan (QB), Derrick Crawford (Defensive Line), Maurice Lee (WR), Corey Clarke (WR), Brandon Harrison (WR), and

Peter Warrick Peter L. Warrick (born June 19, 1977) is an American former college and professional football player who was a wide receiver in National Football League (NFL) for six seasons. He played college football at Florida State University, and was r ...

(WR) Cincinnati opened up defense of its 2010 CIFL Championship with a convincing 53-7 victory over Chicago on March 5. Cincinnati unveiled its championship banner at The Gardens that same night and gave its fans a memorable evening. Cincinnati dominated the game from start to finish jumping out to 21-0 lead and 27-7 halftime lead. Cincinnati scored just once in the third quarter before adding three more scores in the final stanza. Cincinnati was led by two quarterbacks. Starting quarterback Tyler Sheehan was 11 of 20 for 135 yards and two touchdowns. Fellow quarterback and 2010 CIFL MVP Ben Mauk was nine of 15 for 102 yards and four touchdowns. The passing was spread around to seven receivers. The top receiver was Keynes Mincy with six receptions for 64 yards and two touchdowns. Other receivers include Brandon Boehm wo had three catches for 50 yards; George Murray had four receptions for 44 yards; and Greg Moore had two catches for 35 yards. The leading rusher was Greg Moore with 24 yards on nine carries. On March 19, quarterback Tyler Sheehan broke a Commandos record, by throwing 8 touchdown passes against the

Indianapolis Enforcers The Indianapolis Enforcers were a professional indoor football team based in Indianapolis, Indiana. The team was a member of the Continental Indoor Football League. The Enforcers joined the CIFL in 2011 as an expansion team. The Enforcers were ...

. The previous record had been 7, which Mauk achieved twice in the 2010 season. On May 29, 2011, the Commandos completed their first ever undefeated regular season, with a 50-20 win over the Marion Blue Racers, in what was a battle for first place and home field advantage throughout the CIFL Playoffs. Once again, the season ended with the Commandos as CIFL Champions, defeating the Blue Racers 44-29.

2012

After an initial report that stated the Commandos would join the

Stadius Football Association Johannes Stadius or Estadius (Dutch: ''Jan Van Ostaeyen''; French: ''Jean Stade'') (ca. 1 May 1527 – 17 June 1579), was a Flemish astronomer, astrologer, and mathematician. He was one of the important late 16th-century makers of ephemerides, ...

, on July 11, 2011, the Commandos announced they were leaving the CIFL to join the

Ultimate Indoor Football League The Ultimate Indoor Football League (UIFL) was a regional professional indoor football league that began its inaugural season on February 18, 2011 as the Ultimate Indoor Football League before playing as the United Indoor Football League in 2012 ...

. On August 23, 2011, it was announced that Bill Back would return as head coach for a 3rd season with the Commandos On July 2, 2012, the Commandos completed their third straight league championship, defeating the Florida Tarpons 62-44 in the UIFL's

II. The Commandos had won the CIFL Championship the previous two seasons.

2013

The Commandos left the UIFL after winning its third championship in a row. On August 3, 2012, they re-joined the CIFL. In September 2012, head coach Billy Back told the Commandos that he was not returning to pursue a higher level coaching position in professional football. The team named receivers coach, and former

receiver, J.C. Baker as Back's replacement. In November 2012, the Commandos announced that they would suspend operations for the 2013 season, and re-organize for their future success. However, seeing as though ownership thought they could not win with anyone other than Back, the team never returned and disappeared.

Statistics

Season-by-season results

Head coaches' records

Players

Final roster

Awards and honors

The following is a list of all Commandos players who have won league awards:

Other notable former players

* Rayshawn Askew - RB * Maurice Lee - WR *

Robert Redd Robert Redd (born September 1, 1980) is an American football wide receiver for the Florida Tarpons of the American Arena League (AAL). Early life Redd attended Wayne High School in Huber Heights, Ohio, where he compiled 152 career catches for ...

- WR/DB * Khalil El-Amin - OL * Chris Respress - DB *

E.J. Underwood E. J. Underwood (born August 4, 1983) is a former American football defensive back. Early life As a prep, E.J. attended Hamilton High School. His football abilities were so good that he received a 4-star prospect rating according to Rivals.com ...

- DB

Staff

References

External links

Cincinnati Commandos official website
{{CIFL American football teams in Cincinnati Former Ultimate Indoor Football League teams Former Continental Indoor Football League teams Defunct American football teams in Ohio American football teams established in 2010 American football teams disestablished in 2013 2010 establishments in Ohio 2013 disestablishments in Ohio