The Kansas Koyotes, founded by Ralph Adams, were a professional indoor football and were a charter member of the

Champions Professional Indoor Football League The Champions Professional Indoor Football League (CPIFL) was an indoor football minor league based along the Midwestern United States region. The league began play in February 2013. In August 2014, the CPIFL and Lone Star Football League (LSFL) ...

. Based in

Topeka, Kansas Topeka ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Shawnee County. It is along the Kansas River in the central part of Shawnee County, in northeastern Kansas, in the Central United States. As of the 2020 cen ...

, the Koyotes played their home games at

Landon Arena The Stormont Vail Events Center, formerly known as Kansas Expocentre, is a 10,000-seat multi-purpose arena built in 1987 in Topeka, Kansas. Previously, the Topeka Sizzlers of the Continental Basketball Association, Kansas Koyotes indoor footbal ...

. The Koyotes began play in 2003 as a professional football team. Before joining the CPIFL, the Koyotes were a charter member of the former

American Professional Football League The American Professional Football League (APFL) was an indoor football league that was founded in 2003. After the 2012 season, most of the teams left to start the Champions Professional Indoor Football League. The league consisted of professi ...

, where they won the league's first six championships. Brian Hebert, the running back coach, dominated with five great running backs, led by Donnell Smith, and propelled the team to its first championship in 2003, which opened the door for future Koyotes championship teams. Former

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. T ...

Super Bowl champion

Clayton Holmes Clayton Holmes (born August 23, 1969) is an American former professional football player who was a cornerback in the National Football League (NFL) for the Dallas Cowboys. He was selected in the third round of the 1992 NFL draft. He played coll ...

played for the Koyotes in 2003.

History

In their first four years of existence, the Koyotes dominated the APFL. They went undefeated in the 2003 and 2004 seasons, beating the Missouri Minutemen in the APFL Bowl both times

In the 2005 season, they went undefeated again, albeit being in many close games, winning their third APFL Bowl over the Iowa Blackhawks by a field goal kicked as time expired

The winning streak lasted 31 games, including exhibition games and post-season games. In 2006 the Koyotes finally lost their first game in Wichita, losing to the

Wichita Aviators The Wichita Aviators were a professional indoor football team that played in the American Professional Football League (APFL). The Aviators played their home games in Britt Brown Arena at the Kansas Coliseum during the team's first season (200 ...

in the season opener. They would lose to the Aviators again, and finish second in the regular-season standings to the Aves. The two teams were going to play for APFL Bowl IV at the Wichita Ice Arena, for reasons that may never be clear, the league moved the game to

. These were clear control issues that lead to the demise of the league. In 2007, the Koyotes continued winning all their regular season home games and losing only two road games. They proceeded to win APFL Bowl V against Iowa Blackhawks. During the season, the Koyotes signed Abby Vestal as their kicker. On April 23, Vestal kicked three PATs, becoming the first woman to score points in a professional men's football game. Vestal, who signed a soccer scholarship for 2007 with

Johnson County Community College Johnson County Community College (JCCC) is a public community college in Overland Park, Kansas, which is in Johnson County. History In 1963, Johnson County Commissioners, recognizing the emerging community college movement and seeking to acc ...

in Overland Park, Kansas, would kick 6-9 PATs and go 0-2 in FGs. Starting with the 2013 season, the Koyotes joined the

for two years. After joining the CPIFL, they finally took on true teams at a professional level, that lead to a 2-22 finish over their final two seasons. The Koyotes were up against competition at a true professional level after their years in the APFL. The Koyotes announced after the 2014 season ended that they would leave the CPIFL and play 2015 as an independent team, playing eight home games. None of these games were played and the team apparently disbanded.

Logos and uniforms

Image:KansasKoyotes.PNG, 2003–2012 Image:Kansas Koyotes logo.png, 2013–2014

Final roster

Season-by-season

, - , colspan="6" align="center" , Kansas Koyotes (APFL) , - , 2003 , , 8 , , 0 , , 0 , , 1st League , , Won APFL Bowl I (

Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...

) , - , 2004 , , 8 , , 0 , , 0 , , 1st League , , Won APFL Bowl II (

) , - , 2005 , , 8 , , 0 , , 0 , , 1st League , , Won APFL Bowl III (

Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...

) , - , 2006 , , 8 , , 2 , , 0 , , 2nd League , , Won Semifinals (

)
No Winner - APFL Bowl IV ( Kansas vs Wichita) , - , 2007 , , 8 , , 2 , , 0 , , 1st League , , Won APFL Bowl V (

) , - , 2008 , , 9 , , 1 , , 0 , , 1st Northern , , Won Semifinals (

)
Won APFL Bowl VI ( Beaumont) , - , 2009 , , 8 , , 2 , , 0 , , 1st League , , Lost APFL Bowl VII (

) , - , 2010 , , 4 , , 4 , , 0 , , 4th League , , Won APFL Qualifier ( Junction City)
Lost APFL Bowl VIII (

) , - , 2011 , , 5 , , 6 , , 0 , , 4th League , , Lost APFL Semifinal (

Sioux City Sioux City () is a city in Woodbury and Plymouth counties in the U.S. state of Iowa. The population was 85,797 in the 2020 census, making it the fourth-most populous city in Iowa. The county seat of Woodbury County, Sioux City is the primar ...

) , - , 2012 , , 7 , , 5 , , 0 , , 5th League , , -- , - , colspan="6" align="center" , Kansas Koyotes (

CPIFL The Champions Professional Indoor Football League (CPIFL) was an indoor American football, indoor American football, football minor league based along the Midwestern United States region. The league began play in February 2013. In August 2014, the ...

) , - , 2013 , , 1 , , 11 , , 0 , , 9th League , , -- , - , 2014 , , 1 , , 11 , , 0 , , 9th League, , -- , - !Totals , , 84 , , 47 , , 0 , colspan="2", (including playoffs)

2014

Season Schedule

2013

Season Schedule

References

External links

Official website

Facebook page
{{CPIFL American football teams in Kansas Champions Professional Indoor Football League teams Sports in Topeka, Kansas American football teams established in 2003 American football teams disestablished in 2014 2003 establishments in Kansas 2014 disestablishments in Kansas