Billings Wolves

The Billings Wolves were a professional indoor football team based in Billings, Montana and members of the Indoor Football League (IFL) from 2015-2016. The Wolves began play in 2015 as an expansion team of the IFL and were owned by Ron Benzel and coached by Chris Dixon. The Wolves played their home games at the Rimrock Auto Arena at MetraPark.

History

After receiving unanimous approval by the IFL's existing 9 teams, the new Billings franchise was formally announced by IFL commissioner Mike Allshouse during a press conference on February 19, 2014. The city was previously home to the IFL's Billings Outlaws who folded in 2010 after the so-called Father's Day Tornado heavily damaged their home arena.

In April 2014, the team signed a two-year contract with the Yellowstone County Commission making the Rimrock Auto Arena at MetraPark the team's home arena in 2015 and 2016. The lease cost the team $3,000 per game in 2015 and $3,500 per game in 2016, plus an "improvement fee" of $1.25 to $4.00, varying with the face value of the ticket. The contract waives the rental fee for the final home game of each season. Season tickets went on sale April 7, 2014. The team initially announced James Walton as head coach but on July 31, 2014, they signed just-retired former Billings Outlaws quarterback Chris Dixon for the job.

The Wolves played their first ever game on February 28, 2015, losing 30–17 to the Tri-Cities Fever. The Wolves struggled to win early on, beginning the season on a 4 game losing streak. On April 18, 2015, the Wolves picked up their first ever victory, 56–37 over the Green Bay Blizzard. The Wolves offense was being paced by rookie quarterback Dakaratalib Britt, who had thrown for 13 touchdowns in his first 3 games, but during the Wolves first victory, Britt suffered an injury that sidelined him for the next three games, where the Wolves would fail to win a game. Upon Britt's return to the team, the Wolves improved dramatically on offense and the Wolves won 4 of their last 5 games. The Wolves finished their first season 5–9, finishing fourth in the Intense Conference. At the conclusion of the season, defensive back Michael Green was named the Defensive Rookie of the Year.

With the return of Britt for the 2016 season, the Wolves looked to be a playoff contender out of the gates. However after a 2–2 start, Britt injured his elbow forcing the Wolves to start rookie Jawad Yatim. Yatim lost what ended up being his only start due to suffering an injury. The Wolves then signed Mason Espinosa away from the Columbus Lions. Espinosa stepped in immediately, and put up passing numbers that made him the IFL Week 10 Offensive Player of the Week and Week 9 IFL Honorable Mention Player of the Week, tying a franchise record for TD passes in consecutive weeks. After Espinosa was sidelined due to injury, going 3–3 as the starter, the Wolves turned to another rookie, Cory Murphy, who ran for a franchise record 6 rushing touchdowns in a 49–39 victory over the Colorado Crush. The Wolves finished the season 8–8, earning the 2 seed in the Intense Conference, however they lost their first playoff game in franchise history 52–64 to the Nebraska Danger.

During the 2016 season, the Wolves' website was hacked, was never completely fixed, and was non-operational for months. Several former staff members claimed that the team had folded after the completion of the season. On October 24, 2016, the Wolves announced they had left the IFL because of state regulations and failing to find new ownership for the team.

Players of note

Final roster

All-League selections

* OL Nathaniel Ryan (1)
* DB Michael Green (2), Travonti Johnson (1)

Awards and honors

The following is a list of all Wolves' players who have won league Awards

Head coaches

Season-by-season results

References

External links

Billings Wolves official website

{{Billings Wolves seasons

2014 establishments in Montana
2016 disestablishments in Montana
American football teams established in 2014
American football teams disestablished in 2016