The Reno Barons were a professional indoor football team that began play in spring 2011. Based in

Reno, Nevada Reno ( ) is a city in the northwest section of the U.S. state of Nevada, along the Nevada–California border. It is the county seat and most populous city of Washoe County, Nevada, Washoe County. Sitting in the High Eastern Sierra foothills, ...

, the Barons played their home games at the

Reno Events Center The Reno Events Center is a 7,000-seat multi-purpose arena, located in downtown Reno, Nevada, that was constructed in January 2005. It was the home to the Reno Bighorns of the NBA G League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is a p ...

History

The Barons were founded by businessman Cesare (Chez) Jennings in 2010. Their name seems to be a play on

Manfred von Richthofen Manfred Albrecht Freiherr von Richthofen (; 2 May 1892 – 21 April 1918), known in English as Baron von Richthofen or the Red Baron, was a fighter pilot with the German Air Force during World War I. He is considered the ace-of-aces of th ...

(the

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

pilot colloquially known as

The Red Baron Manfred Albrecht Freiherr von Richthofen (; 2 May 1892 – 21 April 1918), known in English as Baron von Richthofen or the Red Baron, was a fighter pilot with the German Air Force during World War I. He is considered the ace-of-aces of th ...

), and a reference to the Reno Air Races in the nearby

Reno Stead Airport Reno Stead Airport is a large public and military general aviation airport located in the North Valleys area, 10 nautical miles (19 km) northwest of the central business district of Reno, in Washoe County, Nevada, United States. A fo ...

(the Stead Air Force Base-decommissioned in the 1990s). The team had a brief tumultuous which featured various personnel changes. Originally set to join the

American Indoor Football Association American Indoor Football (AIF) is a professional indoor football league, one of the several regional professional indoor football leagues in North America. The AIFL began as a regional league with six franchises on the East Coast of the United ...

in 2011, the AIFA lost too many teams to field a league that year, prompting two of the remaining three teams, Reno and the

Stockton Wolves The Stockton Wolves were a professional indoor football team, initially based in San Jose, California and subsequently moving to be based in Stockton, California. As the San Jose Wolves, the team played its home games at the Cow Palace, located ...

, to defect from the league, ensuring its demise. Reno and Stockton are playing a schedule comprising independent teams and each other, under the name "Western Indoor Football Association", though there is ''no'' record of a league ever existing. The team's first head coach in its brief history was Jarrod Rogol. However, he was quickly replaced by defensive coordinator Anthony Bartley (who would later became head coach of the Reno Express briefly in 2019, then co-owner/defensive coordinator for the

Cedar Rapids River Kings The Cedar Rapids Titans are a professional indoor football team based in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. They are current members of American Indoor Football. The Titans first joined the Indoor Football League (IFL) as an expansion team in 2011 and first ...

briefly in 2024 and is now co-owner/head coach of the

Iowa Power The Iowa Power are an American future professional indoor football team based in Dubuque, Iowa. They were originally set to play in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and Coralville, Iowa, but both arenas in those locations already have teams and they were lo ...

starting in 2025). One of the first players to be signed by the Barons was NAIA standout quarterback Philip Staback from

Lindenwood University Lindenwood University is a private university in St. Charles, Missouri, United States. Founded in 1832 by George Champlin Sibley and Mary Easton Sibley as The Lindenwood School for Girls, it is the second-oldest higher-education institution wes ...

St. Joseph, Missouri St. Joseph is a city in and county seat of Buchanan County, Missouri, Buchanan County, Missouri, United States. A small portion of the city extends north into Andrew County, Missouri, Andrew County. Located on the Missouri River, it is the princ ...

. They played their first game on April 17, 2011, against a team from San Diego but instead faced the Tucson Trojans, winning 67-8. The team changed head coaches as Bartley left and James Terry took over and saw his team get a statement win against the Sacramento Warriors 113-23. As the season rolled on, the Barons began experiencing financial difficulties with current coach at the time Terry would not elaborate. However, after several bounced checks to players, coaches and staff, and a mjor social media blow-up, the team threatened to quit the team if the situation did not improve. Things did not improve and the team followed through on the threat, leaving the owner Chez Jennings no choice but to fold after the season ended without playing a championship game. Despite the calamity with the Barons, indoor football ''would'' return to the area in the form of the Reno Express of the

American West Football Conference The American West Football Conference (AWFC) was a professional indoor American football minor league created in 2018 by Platinum Events & Security, LLC, the owners of the Idaho Horsemen. The league's inaugural season was in 2019. Players were ...

in 2018. However, they, too, would succumb to financial strife and problems within that league, folding in 2019. Reno has not seen indoor football ever since.

References

{{reflist

External links

RenoBarons.com Official website
(web archive) American football teams in Nevada American football teams established in 2010 2010 establishments in Nevada Sports in Reno, Nevada