Post by Monika on Oct 30, 2024 22:27:43 GMT -8
Overview
The following is the 2025 schedule for the Tucson Sugar Skulls.
This Year will mark the 16th complete season (17th overall) of the Indoor Football League. The league is coming off a 2024 campaign which saw increased parity of the 16 teams in the league. The Arizona Rattlers have the target on their backs as they return as IFL champions after defeating the Massachusetts Pirates in the 2024 IFL National Championship, 53-16. It marked the Rattlers first championship since 2017, and their seventh overall championship dating back to their days in the Arena Football League. The Pirates, who entered the league prior to the 2019 season, had won the championship in 2021 and have made the playoffs in all four season they have been in the IFL.
The IFL has added one team - the Fishers Freight, located just outside of Indianapolis, Indiana to the northeast of that city. The team will be coached by Dixie Wooten, who led the Iowa Barnstormers to the 2018 United Bowl championship and was co-head coach of the Bay Area Panthers' 2023 IFL National Championship. The league, however has lost a pair of teams for 2025 -- the Duke City Gladiators and Frisco Fighters. Both teams will be considered dormant this season. The Gladiators seem to be regrouping, while the Fighters are looking for new ownership. The Germain family, based in Columbus, Ohio, is run by patriarch Steve Germain's three children. It has been reported that the three voted 2-1 to sell the team. The decision also marks the sure doom of the Columbus Wild Dogs; the family's first team, announced in 2019, but which have never taken the field. Additionally, the Dakota (formerly Bismarck) Bucks remain dormant for the third straight season as they work on ownership questions and a potential move to Fargo.
In an statement on October 30 the Sioux Falls Storm announced that that franchise also will go dormant for 2025. Owners cited difficulties in reaching a deal for Denny Sanford Premier Center or other arena options for the season. They vow to return in 2026.
The league is broken up into two conferences; the Western and the Eastern. The Freight will join the Eastern Conference. The conference alignment appears below.
Each IFL team will play a 16-game schedule over 19 weeks with opening weekend being March 15-16. Each team has three bye weeks which occur at various points throughout the season. The set up means each team will play eight home games and eight away games. Eight teams, four from each conference, will make the playoffs, culminating with the conference champions meeting in the IFL National Championship Game in August.
The IFL has announced that the next three National Championship Games will be held at Tucson Convention Center in Tucson, Arizona, home of the Sugar Skulls. Click for our complete IFL 2025 Schedule.
The Sugar Skulls open their season in week 2 with a trip to the Arizona Rattlers and close out the season with a visit to face the Vegas Knight Hawks. They have a pair of two-game home stands, as well as a pair of stretches where they play two straight on the road. They play 14 conference games and a pair of games against Eastern Conference foes (Jacksonville Sharks and Massachusetts Pirates); both coming at home. Billy Back returns for his second season as head coach of the Sugar Skulls this season.
Several (if not all) games will be broadcast locally on the radio in team markets. Most IFL games will be broadcast live on the league's official YouTube Channel, as well as other basic social media sites such as X (formerly Twitter) and Facebook. SCtoC will provide previews each game, as well as recaps of games upon their conclusions. Those previews will be posted on the page of the home team on this site. In the schedule below. Home games are noted in bold black. Times and dates are subject to change. All times are pacific. Where applicable, click for SCtoC's original recap of the game.
Regular Season
MARCH
Week 1: BYE
Week 2: Sun., March 30 - at Arizona Rattlers, 3:05 p.m.
APRIL
Week 3: BYE
Week 4: Sat., April 12 - Jacksonville Sharks, 6:05 p.m.
Week 5: Sat., April 19 - at Northern Arizona Wranglers, 6:05 p.m.
Week 6: Sun., April 27 - at San Diego Strike Force, 7:05 p.m.
MAY
Week 7: Sat., May 3 - Arizona Rattlers, 6:05 p.m.
Week 8: Sat., May 10 - Massachusetts Pirates, 6:05 p.m.
Week 9: Sun., May 18 - at Bay Area Panthers, 6:05 p.m.
Week 10: BYE
Week 11: Sat., May 31 - San Antonio Gunslingers, 6:05 p.m.
JUNE
Week 12: Sat., June 7 - San Diego Strike Force, 6:05 p.m.
Week 13: Sat., June 14 - at Arizona Rattlers, 6:05 p.m.
Week 14: Sat., June 21 - Northern Arizona Wranglers, 6:05 p.m.
Week 15: Sun., June 29 - Vegas Knight Hawks, 3:05 p.m.
JULY
Week 16: Sat., July 5 - at San Antonio Gunslingers, 4:05 p.m.
Week 17: Sat., July 12 - at Northern Arizona Wranglers, 6:05 p.m.
Week 18: Sat., July 19 - Bay Area Panthers, 6:05 p.m.
Week 19: Sat., July 26 - at Vegas Knight Hawks, 6:05 p.m.
IFL Team Venues
Arizona Rattlers - Desert Diamond Arena; Glendale, Arizona
Bay Area Panthers - SAP Center at San Jose; San Jose, California
Fishers Freight - Fishers Event Center; Fishers, Indiana
Green Bay Blizzard - Resch Center; Green Bay, Wisconsin
Iowa Barnstormers - Wells Fargo Center; Des Moines, Iowa
Jacksonville Sharks - VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena; Jacksonville, Florida
Massachusetts Pirates - Tsonga Center; Lowell, Massachusetts
Northern Arizona Wranglers - Findlay Toyota Center; Prescott Valley, Arizona
Quad City Steamwheelers - Vibrant Arena at The MARK; Moline, Illinois
San Antonio Gunslingers - Freeman Coliseum; San Antonio, Texas
San Diego Strike Force - Frontwave Arena; Oceanside, California
Tucson Sugar Skulls - Tucson Convention Center; Tucson, Arizona
Tulsa Oilers - BOK Center; Tulsa, Oklahoma
Vegas Knight Hawks - Lee’s Family Forum; Henderson, Nevada
IFL Geographical Team Map
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