The Sacramento Mountain Lions were a professional

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

team based in

Sacramento, California Sacramento ( or ; ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of California and the county seat, seat of Sacramento County, California, Sacramento County. Located at the confluence of the Sacramento Rive ...

that played in the United Football League. The franchise originated as the California Redwoods, and played its home games in

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

and San Jose before relocating to Hornet Stadium in Sacramento in 2010, then to

Raley Field Sutter Health Park is a ballpark in West Sacramento, California, directly adjacent to downtown Sacramento. It is the home of the Sacramento River Cats of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the temporary home of the Athletics of Major League ...

in West Sacramento in 2012. The team was coached by

Dennis Green Dennis Earl Green (February 17, 1949 – July 22, 2016) was an American football coach. During his National Football League (NFL) career, Green coached the Minnesota Vikings from 1992 to 2001 and the Arizona Cardinals from 2004 to 2006. He coa ...

for three of its four years of existence. Amid financial problems, the UFL folded in the middle of the 2012 season.

Franchise history

California Redwoods (2009)

The team began play as the California Redwoods in October 2009. (Early trademark filings had suggested the UFL would name the team the "San Francisco Rockfish," a name that was dumped before any public announcement.) In the league's 2009 season, the Redwoods played were originally slated to play all of its home games at

AT&T Park Oracle Park is a ballpark in the South of Market, San Francisco, SoMa district of San Francisco, California. Since 2000, it has been the home of the San Francisco Giants of Major League Baseball (MLB). The stadium stands along San Francisco Bay ...

, including the first-ever UFL game. Due to a conflict with the

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Div ...

, the UFL's first game was instead played in Las Vegas. Poor attendance in San Francisco led to the league relocating one of the Redwoods' home games to Spartan Stadium in San Jose. Former NFL head coach

was hired as the Redwoods' head coach prior to the season. He led the team to a 2–4 record in its first season, finishing in third place.

Schedule

Sacramento Mountain Lions (2010–2012)

2010 season

League commissioner

Michael Huyghue Michael L. Huyghue (born September 21, 1961; pronounced "hewg") is a sports lawyer and businessman and former commissioner of the United Football League, having served in that capacity since the league's founding in 2007. He was previously a me ...

announced shortly after the end of the 2009 regular season that the team would "likely" move permanently to San Jose for the 2010 season. On March 3, 2010, the league declared that the team would permanently relocate instead to Hornet Stadium in

for 2010, as part of a deal with

Sacramento State University California State University, Sacramento (CSUS, Sacramento State, or informally Sac State) is a public university in Sacramento, California, United States. Founded in 1947 as Sacramento State College, it is part of the California State Universit ...

that saw the UFL provide a new

artificial turf Artificial turf is a surface of synthetic fibers made to look like natural grass, used in sports arenas, residential lawns and commercial applications that traditionally use grass. It is much more durable than grass and easily maintained wi ...

for the facility. Despite the "California Redwoods" name still being valid (as the team remained the only UFL team in the state), league officials also announced that the California Redwoods branding would be abandoned. A new name was decided through a fan vote, though the name "Redwoods" remained a possible choice. On April 6, 2010, the league announced that the franchise would be known as the Sacramento Mountain Lions. Additionally, head coach Dennis Green added the title of general manager following the season; he replaced league-wide general manager

Rick Mueller Rick Mueller (born December 4, 1967) is an American football executive who serves as the director of player personnel for the Arlington Renegades of the United Football League (UFL). He past served as the general manager of the Omaha Nighthawk ...

, who handled the duties in

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

. On September 25, the team won their first game in

Sacramento Sacramento ( or ; ; ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the seat of Sacramento County. Located at the confluence of the Sacramento and American Rivers in Northern California's Sacramento Valley, Sacramento's 2020 p ...

, 24-20, becoming the first team to defeat the

Florida Tuskers Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

in the regular season, in front of a reported crowd of over 20,000.

=Schedule

2011 season

=Schedule

2012 season

Head coach Dennis Green left the team after the 2011 season amid dispute and legal action; he was replaced by

Turk Schonert Turk Leroy Schonert (January 15, 1957 – January 17, 2019) was an American professional football player and assistant coach in the National Football League (NFL). He played as a quarterback in the NFL before becoming a coach. Schonert playe ...

. The team also left Hornet Stadium, its home stadium of 2010 and 2011, without attempting to negotiate a lease renewal. Instead, the team signed a deal with

, a predominantly baseball-oriented park built for the

Sacramento River Cats The Sacramento River Cats are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and are the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the San Francisco Giants. Prior to 2015, the River Cats were the Triple-A affiliate of the Oakland ...

of the

Pacific Coast League The Pacific Coast League (PCL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Western United States. Along with the International League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade bel ...

, for the team's four 2012 home games. The UFL's financial woes, a new venue, less prominent coach, and continued on-field shortcomings hurt the Mountain Lions' attendance figures in 2012, although not nearly to the same extent as the other three UFL markets. Reports of players and staff not getting paid, as well as the 2011 season getting cut short, tested the devotion of fans, as many considered the UFL a dead product. The UFL abruptly halted the season again after four games and pledged to continue its season in 2013, a promise that never came to fruition because of lawsuits against the league.

Season-by-season records

Records vs. teams

This includes postseason games.

Home, away, and neutral records

References

External links

Official webpage
{{Central Valley Sports 2010 establishments in California 2012 disestablishments in California American football teams established in 2010 American football teams disestablished in 2012