The Wichita Wild were a professional indoor football team based in

Wichita, Kansas Wichita ( ) is the List of cities in Kansas, most populous city in the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Sedgwick County, Kansas, Sedgwick County. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of the city was 397, ...

. They were members of the Champions Professional Indoor Football League (CPIFL). The team was founded in 2006 as an independent indoor football franchise. In 2008, the team joined

United Indoor Football United Indoor Football (UIF) was an indoor American football league in the United States that operated from 2005 to 2008. Ten owners from the National Indoor Football League, including one expansion (the Dayton Warbirds, which never played a ...

(UIF). They joined the

Indoor Football League The Indoor Football League (IFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional indoor American football league in the United States. The league comprises 14 teams, divided equally between the Eastern Conference (EC) and Western Conference ...

(IFL) during the UIF and

Intense Football League The Intense Football League (IFL) was a professional indoor football minor league that began operations in 2004. Its focus was in Texas, but it was notable for being the first professional football league to place a franchise in Alaska. History ...

merger of 2009. In 2012, the team left the IFL to become charter members of the CPIFL. The Wild's home games were played at

Hartman Arena Park City Arena, formerly known as Hartman Arena, is a privately managed 5,000-seat multi-purpose arena in Park City, Kansas, United States. It is located northwest of I-135 and 77th Street North in the north Wichita, Kansas, Wichita metro area. ...

in nearby Park City. When they lost their lease with the Hartman Arena, they folded..

History

The Wild joined the CPIFL after playing in the

for the past four seasons. The IFL was formed in 2008 through a merger between the Intense Football League and the United Indoor Football (UIF) league. Both leagues had been in business for four seasons before the merger. The Wild host their home games in Park City, Kansas at the

. The owner of the team is Wink Hartman. Ken Matous was hired as head coach of the team on July 28, 2008. Matous came to the Wild from the Columbus Destroyers of the Arena Football League (AFL), where he served as offensive coordinator, special teams coordinator, and directed player personnel for three seasons. After an 0–5 start to the 2011 season, Matous was fired. Wild assistant coach, Morris Lolar, was then designated the interim head coach for the last nine games of the Wild’s 2011 season where he inherited an 0-5 team, but lead them to a 6-3 finish to earn the full-time position. In 2012, Lolar led a young Wild team all the way to the IFL conference championship game, but they ultimately fell to the Tri-Cities Fever 51-30 to end their season. Lolar then returned for the 2013 season with a more experienced team heading into their inaugural season with the newly formed Champions Professional Indoor Football League, where they finished with a 12-2 record, a championship win against the Salina Bombers, and a 7-0 record at home to close out the season. Lolar’s leadership in the 2013 season earned the team several league awards and an honorable mention as CPIFL Coach of the Year. After winning their second consecutive CPIFL Championship, owner Wink Hartman put the team up for sale on July 2, 2014. The Wild effectively folded after not joining the new Champions Indoor Football league after its merger with the Lone Star Football League.

Season-By-Season

, - , colspan="6" align="center" , Wichita Wild (Independent) , - , 2007 , , 9 , , 0 , , 0 , , -- , , -- , - , colspan="6" align="center" , Wichita Wild (UIF) , - , 2008 , , 2 , , 12 , , 0 , , 4th East , , -- , - , colspan="6" align="center" , Wichita Wild (IFL) , - , 2009 , , 8 , , 6 , , 0 , , 3rd United Central , , Won United Conference Quarterfinal ( Bloomington)
Won United Conference Semifinal (

Omaha Omaha ( ) is the List of cities in Nebraska, most populous city in the U.S. state of Nebraska. It is located in the Midwestern United States along the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's List of United S ...

)
Lost United Conference Championship (

River City ''River City'' is a Scottish television soap opera created by Stephen Greenhorn which has been broadcast on BBC One Scotland since September 2002. Since 2019, the show has aired episodes a day earlier on the new BBC Scotland channel. Set in ...

) , - , 2010 , , 9 , , 5 , , 0 , , 2nd Central West , , Won Round 1 ( Bloomington)
Won United Conference Semifinal ( Rochester)
Lost United Conference Championship (

Sioux Falls Sioux Falls ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of South Dakota and the 117th-most populous city in the United States. It is the county seat of Minnehaha County and also extends into northern Lincoln County. The population was 192 ...

) , - , 2011 , , 6 , , 8 , , 0 , , 3rd Great Plains , , -- , - , 2012 , , 8 , , 6 , , 0 , , 3rd Intense , , Won Intense Conference Semifinal ( Allen)
Lost Intense Conference Championship ( Tri-Cities) , - , colspan="6" align="center" , Wichita Wild (CPIFL) , - , 2013 , , 12 , , 2 , , 0 , , 3rd League , , Won Semi-Finals (

)
Won Champions Bowl I ( Salina) , - , 2014 , , 10 , , 2 , , 0 , , 1st League , , Won Semi-Finals ( Dodge City)
Won Champions Bowl II (

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 ...

) , - !Totals , , 72 , , 44 , , 0 , colspan="2", (including playoffs)

Past seasons

2007 season

They began play in 2007 as an independent organization playing all games at home against semi-pro opponents from the midwest. They played their home games at the

Kansas Coliseum Kansas Coliseum was an entertainment complex in unincorporated Sedgwick County, Kansas, United States. It was located north of Wichita, Kansas, Wichita at the intersection of Interstate 135 and 85th Street North. It hosted sporting events, con ...

. The Wichita Wild went undefeated with a record of 9 wins and no losses.

2008 season

In 2008, they competed in the UIF. The UIF the next season merged with the Intense Football League to form the

. They played their home games at the

2009 season

The Wild's breakout year came in 2009 when the Wild established themselves as top tier indoor football franchise. The Wild won the IFL's Central Division and fell in the Conference Championship game to RiverCity. Following the season, Wichita was recognized as the IFL Franchise of the Year. Running back Darius Fudge set league records for rushing touchdowns and rushing yards, which still stand today. Fudge was named the IFL's Offensive Rookie of the Year.

2010 season

For the new season the Wild have returned last years stars in Dixie Wooten, Clinton Soloman, and Darius Fudge. The Wichita Wild Season opener was February, 26 at the

. The 2010 season was the most successful season in franchise history in terms of success on and off the field. The team went 9-5 in the 2010 regular season and went on to win two playoff games before falling to Sioux Falls in the United Conference Championship. The 11 total wins for the Wild in 2010 was the most in franchise history. The team also set a record for total attendance by seeing almost 30,000 fans attend Wild home games in 2010. A crowd of 4,755 attended and watched the Wild snag their first win of the 2010 season. After an 8-4 start to the 2010 Indoor Football League season the Wichita Wild Clinched their second playoff berth in franchise history.

2011 season

The previous season's success did not carry over to the 2011 season. Starting 0-5, the Wild matched their worst start in team history (they had previously started 0-5 during their inaugural UIF season). Their start lead to the firing of head coach Ken Matous, and Morris Lolar was named the interim head coach. Although the Wild bravely rallied and went 6-3 the rest of the way, their 6-8 finish and third place standing in the Great Plains Division was not enough for a third consecutive playoff berth (the first time since 2008 that the Wild had missed the playoffs and finished with a losing record).

2012 season

The Wild would return to their winning ways in 2012. Like the previous season, the Wild had started 0-4; what was different, though, is their 8-2 finish was able to pull them into third place in the Intense Conference with an 8-6 record, returning the Wild to the playoffs. After an upset road win over the Allen Wranglers in the conference semifinals, the Wild would once again fall short of the United Bowl, losing to the Tri-Cities Fever in what would be their final game in the IFL before moving to the CPIFL the following season.

2013 season: Switching leagues and winning a championship

The 2013 season was a year of firsts for the Wichita Wild. They competed in the

from 2009-2012. During their tenure in the IFL, the Wild made it to three Conference Championships, but couldn't finish and get to the United Bowl. In 2013, the Wild left the IFL for a new league that was created with former members of the American Professional Football League and a few more from the IFL. Together, the new league consisted of 10 teams in total. Every founding member of the league was close to one another in geographic proximity. The Wild opened the season on a strong note, with four straight wins over the

Oklahoma Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...

, Salina,

Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...

, and Bloomington. They suffered their first loss of the season in a close game to the Kansas City Renegades. The Wild finished with a franchise best record of 10-2, heading into the 2013 playoffs. In a three-way tie for the best league record, The Wild were slotted as the #3 seed in a four team playoff. In the first round of the playoffs, the Wild faced a familiar foe from their prior IFL days, the Omaha Beef. In a tightly contested match up, Wichita was victorious on the road, outlasting their rivals by a score of (31-25). With the win, Wichita secured their first ever trip to a championship game. Their opponent was the #4 seeded Salina Bombers who they would host at their home venue,

. The Bombers, a brand new team, also enjoyed a magical first season finishing at (8-3) and were fresh off upsetting the #1 seed and two time APFL Champion Sioux City Bandits in their 1st round of the playoffs. In convincing fashion, Wichita dominated the Bombers in the first ever Champions Bowl, as they jumped out to an early three possession lead and never looked back. Wild quarterback Rocky Hinds was named the game's MVP, completing 18 of 22 passes for 163 yards and four touchdowns. The final score was (47-34). With the win, Wichita secured their first ever league title of any kind and became the first ever champions of the Champions Professional Indoor Football League.

2014

vs opponent

* = was called the Bloomington Extreme prior to 2012 ** = was called the Odessa Roughnecks prior to 2010

References

External links

* {{CPIFL 2006 establishments in Kansas 2014 disestablishments in Kansas American football teams established in 2006 American football teams disestablished in 2014