Iowa Barnstormers

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
For the original Iowa Barnstormers franchise that relocated, see New York Dragons.
Iowa Barnstormers
Current season
Established 1995
Play in Wells Fargo Arena
in Des Moines, Iowa
TheIowaBarnstormers.com
League/conference affiliations
Arena Football League (1995–2000)

AF2 (2001, 2008–2009)

  • American Conference (2001, 2008–2009)
    • Midwest Division (2001, 2008–2009)

Arena Football League (2010–2014)

Indoor Football League (2015–present)

  • United Conference (2015–2017)
  • Eastern Conference (2022–present)
Current uniform
Team colorsBlack, gold, red, white, grey
         
CheerleadersStorm Chasers
Personnel
Owner(s)Jeff Lamberti
General managerJuli Pettit
Head coachDave Mogensen
Team history
  • First franchise
  • Second franchise
    • Iowa Barnstormers (2001, 2008–present)
Championships
League championships (1)
Conference championships (2)
Division championships (5)
Playoff appearances (10)
Home arena(s)

The Iowa Barnstormers are a professional

indoor football team based in Des Moines, Iowa, that competes in the Indoor Football League (IFL). They play their home games at Wells Fargo Arena
, known in indoor football circles as "The Well".

Several teams called the Iowa Barnstormers have played in different indoor football leagues since 1995. The original

Veterans Memorial Auditorium from 1995 to 2001, and subsequently relocated to Uniondale, New York, where they were known as the New York Dragons. Des Moines was awarded a franchise in the developmental AF2 league in 2001 that carried on the Barnstormers name and branding, but the team suspended operations after the end of the season. In 2008 a new Barnstormers team began play in the AF2, now based in the new Wells Fargo Arena; this team joined the new AFL in 2010 following the league's reorganization. For the 2015 season, the Barnstormers left the AFL and became members of the IFL.[1]

History

Original Barnstormers: 1995–2000

On April 25, 1994, the

Miami Hooters
at Veterans Memorial Auditorium, winning 41–29.

Behind the strength of AFL Coach of the Year John Gregory, the Barnstormers raced to a 3–0 start and secured the 5th seed for the playoffs. After upsetting defending ArenaBowl champion Arizona, 56–52, in their first playoff game, the Barnstormers fell, 56–49, to 6th-seeded Orlando in the semifinals.

After an 0–1 start to their second season, the Barnstormers won their first Central Division title on the strength of eight consecutive wins to close the season. After edging St. Louis and Albany in the first two rounds of the playoffs, the top-seeded Barnstormers lost a 42–38 heartbreaker at home to second-seeded Tampa Bay in ArenaBowl X.

In 1997, the Barnstormers repeated as Central Division champions with an 11–3 record, including a 61–38 road thrashing of the rival Storm to avenge the previous season's ArenaBowl defeat. With the 2nd seed in the playoffs, the Barnstormers avenged a regular season defeat against 7th-seeded San Jose, 68–59, before racing past 4th-seeded Orlando 52–34 to reach the franchise's second ArenaBowl in three seasons. However, in ArenaBowl XI, Arizona used a 42–13 scoring stretch over the 2nd and 3rd Quarters to roll past Iowa, 55–33.

Star offensive specialist

New Jersey, the Barnstormers improved, with a three-game winning streak sparked by Garcia and rookie sensation Kevin Swayne
, putting the Barnstormers in playoff contention late in the year. But, in the end, they faltered, finishing 5–9, their worst season of their years in Iowa.

In 1999, the Barnstomer resurgence under Garcia continued, with Iowa winning nine of their last ten regular season games (following a 2–2 start) to capture their third Central Division title in four seasons and secure the 2nd seed in the playoffs. A thrashing of division rival Milwaukee in the quarterfinals paired with 8th-seeded Orlando's 41–19 shocker at Tampa Bay set Iowa up at home against the 6th-seeded Predators with a chance to advance to another home ArenaBowl. However, Orlando continued its shocking run to ArenaBowl XIII with a 56–49 upset of the Barnstormers.

The 2000 Barnstormers put up startling offensive numbers, as Garcia threw for 92 touchdowns against just 8 interceptions, with 46 of the touchdowns going to Mike Horacek. Despite this prolific offense, Iowa started slowly, losing three of their first four games. However, a five-game winning streak return the Barnstormers to the thick of the playoff hunt. Iowa went on to win their fourth Central Division crown in six seasons of play, earning the 3rd seed in the newly expanded playoffs. However, Iowa's playoff run came to a quick end on a Sunday afternoon in the quarterfinals, as the 6th-seeded Nashville scored the final 14 points to defeat Iowa, 49–42. Historically, the Barnstormers have ranked high in home paid attendance. In the Arena Football League, they finished 7th in 1995, 8th in 1996, 9th in 1997, 8th in 1998, 9th in 1999, and 9th in 2000.

Veterans Memorial Auditorium
, where the Barnstormers played from 1995 to 2001.

AF2 years: 2001, 2008–2009

The need for a more modern venue as well as the league's desire for a larger market led to the move to New York City despite two failed past attempts in the city, the New York Knights (1988) and the New York CityHawks (1997–1998), both of which played at Madison Square Garden in Manhattan. The team was purchased by Charles Wang, who is also the Islanders' majority owner, and renamed the New York Dragons.[2]

Aside from the league's desire to re-enter the New York market, another major reason cited for the team's relocation was the inadequacy of their Des Moines venue, the

high school
sports venues. The Barnstormers organization constantly lobbied for the construction of a better facility during their time in Des Moines to no avail.

The arena Football organization awarded an AF2 franchise to Iowa for the 2001 season, which continued the Barnstormer name.[3] However, low attendance (less than half of the average of the AFL franchise) and a relatively poor season (a five-game winning streak to close the season wasn't able to turn a 4–7 start into a playoff berth) would lead to that franchise suspending operations following their first season.

On September 20, 2007, the AF2 announced that they had approved the inactive franchise's new ownership, meaning that the Barnstormers resumed play in 2008 at the

Veterans Memorial Auditorium, and they inherited the tradition of the original Barnstormers. The team adopted the original unique uniforms, which in keeping with the aviation theme included the depiction of goggles on the helmets, wings on the shoulders of the jerseys, and propellers on the pants legs. The mascot, a dog named Ace, is featured in this helmet, along with the uniform jersey and pants.[4]

After being on hiatus for six seasons, the Barnstormers played their first regular season game of 2008, falling at the

Arena Football League and AF2. In both 2008 and 2009, Iowa ranked second in AF2 attendance to the Spokane Shock
, with attendances of 9,341 and 9,520, respectively.

Return to the AFL (2010–2014)

The Barnstormers playing against the Tampa Bay Storm during the 2013 season.

On September 28, 2009, the Barnstormers announced their status as a charter member of the new

Arena Football League, marking their return to playing top-notch arena football after almost a decade of lower levels and inactivity.[5] A franchise-record 12,184 fans attended the 2010 opener; however, Iowa's first play from scrimmage resulted in an interception return for a touchdown by the Chicago Rush
, an ominous harbinger of an eventual 7–9 season.

Indoor Football League (2015–present)

On July 27, 2014, Barnstormers president Jeff Lamberti told

WHO-TV in Des Moines that the franchise will explore "all options" in the off-season of their continuance to play, including leaving the AFL and going to the Indoor Football League for 2015. The Barnstormers had not had a winning season since their revival as a top-level arena football team, mainly because of the difficulty in attracting top-ticket free agents to the AFL's smallest market.[6]

On August 27, 2014, Lamberti announced that the Iowa Barnstormers had officially become members of the IFL and named former Barnstormers quarterback Joe Brannen to replace

Arkansas Twisters, Tri-Cities Fever, and Green Bay Blizzard
were former af2 teams which jumped to the IFL.

"We are excited to bring the Barnstormers to the IFL", said Lamberti. "The chance to sign more local players, see more fans at road games, and create friendly rivalries with other teams of the Midwest are just a few of the opportunities that we look forward to." [7]

AFL commissioner Jerry Kurz released a statement regarding the Barnstormers departure from the AFL: "We wish the Iowa Barnstormers all the best in their new endeavor. Their organization has been a part of the rich history of Arena Football for years now and will always be thought of fondly by those who love our sport." It was also noted that players currently under contract with the team were not obligated to remain with the club, essentially making them free agents.[8]

IFL commissioner Mike Allshouse commented: "This is a monumental day in the history of the Indoor Football League. These are exciting times for the IFL as we continue to improve and expand our business model."[9]

To adjust to their new league, the Barnstormers removed the word "arena" from their logo as they are no longer with the Arena Football League, yet will retain the history of their time with the AFL. They did use the rebound nets they owned from their AFL days in 2015, but under IFL rules, any ball that hits the netting is a dead ball. The rebound nets were taken down in 2016 and replaced by the standard indoor football goalposts with netting surrounding each end zone.

On July 11, 2016, Brannen was fired as the Barnstormers head coach. On August 24, 2016, Brannen was replaced by Dixie Wooten.

Cedar Rapids Titans. In his second year as head coach, Wooten led the Barnstormers to their first championship on July 7, 2018, over the Sioux Falls Storm 42–38 in the United Bowl. Wooten led the team to a 12–2 record in 2019, but again lost to Sioux Falls in the semifinals. After the season, he was hired away by the 2019 expansion team Tucson Sugar Skulls.[11] Wooten was replaced by Ameer Ismail, the former head coach of the Massachusetts Pirates.[12] However, he would not coach a game for the team as the 2020 season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic
.

Longtime general manager John Pettit died in December 2020 after complications from COVID-19[13] and his daughter Juli was named the team's new general manager. The Barnstormers hired former Jacksonville Sharks head coach Les Moss for the 2021 season.[14] Moss then brought former Albany Empire head coach Rob Keefe to Iowa after serving as Keefe's assistant in Albany.[15] The Barnstormers finished 6–6 and were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs. Moss was released in September 2021.[16]

The Barnstormers then hired former Albany Empire assistant general manager Dave Mogensen as its head coach for the 2022 season. The team made the playoffs yet again under his leadership. [17] The 2023 season will be remembered as one of the worst in franchise history. The team only won four games and struggled on offense.

Logos and uniforms

When the Barnstormers began playing in 1995, the team's logo consisted of a circular logo, which depicted a barnstorming airplane over the city of Des Moines. The logo was surrounded by a circular script reading, "Arena Football Club". The word "Arena" was removed when the team moved to the IFL. The circle logo also has wings on each side, with the words "Iowa" and "Barnstormers" on two lines above the circle logo. Below the logo was the words, "Des Moines." The team's colors consisted of black, gold and cardinal. The three colors are a combination of the Iowa Hawkeyes black and gold, and the Iowa State Cyclones cardinal and gold.

Uniforms

Erick McIntosh wearing the Barnstormers' 2013 all black home uniform.

The

Yahoo! article, the Barnstormers' helmet was ranked as the 8th best helmet in pro football history.[18]
Until 2012, the helmet was gold with black goggles; this was reversed beginning in the 2013 season.

The Barnstormers' original uniform designed consisted of a gold helmet, and either black or white jerseys with gold numbers on the black jerseys and black numbers on the white jersey with pilots' wings on the front of both. Gold pants were used with both jerseys. A side stripe on the pants was in the design of a propeller blade. Upon the club's return through until 2023, the wings were removed from the jersey. Beginning in 2013, the team switched to black pants.[19]

In 2024, the Barnstormers returned to their original jerseys from the Kurt Warner days.

Notable players

Current roster

Iowa Barnstormers roster
Quarterbacks
  •  4 Brandon Alt
  •  7 Daniel Smith

Running backs

  • 11 Robert Washington

Wide receivers

  • 23 Sinquae Grant
  • 19 CJ Tate
  •  1 Keshaun Taylor
  • 88 Vaughn Van Dame
  •  3 Quian Williams
  •  8 Darren Wilson

Offensive linemen

  • 54 Joe Bastante
  • 79 Tyrone Chambers
  • 52 Breyon Gaddy
  • 78 Kristopher Stroughter

Defensive linemen

  • 93 Chuckwumeka Manning
  • 32 Krystapher Oakley
  • 33 Arthur Randall
  • 99 Akeem Smith
  • 18 Ty Tate

Linebackers

  •  5 Ian McBorrough

Defensive backs

  • 12 Jefferson Fritz
  • 15 J'Von France
  •  6 Cincere Mason
  •  9 Jalaan Owens
  • 21 Malcolm Washington

Kickers

  • 10 Gabriel Rui
 Reserve lists
  • Currently vacant

Rookies in italics
Roster updated June 26, 2024
25 active, 0 Inactive

→ More rosters

Retired uniform numbers

Iowa Barnstormers retired numbers
No. Player Position Seasons Ref.
13 Kurt Warner QB 1995–1997 [20]

Arena Football League Hall of Famers

Iowa Barnstormers Hall of Famers
No. Name Year Inducted Position(s) Years w/ Barnstormers
--
Jim Foster
 1998 Owner 1995–2001
-- Jon Roehlk 1999
DL
 1995–1996
-- Mike Hohensee 2012
Head Coach/Coach
 2012-2014
13 Kurt Warner 2002 QB 1995–1997

Indoor Football League Hall of Famers

Iowa Barnstormers Hall of Famers
No. Name Year Inducted Position(s) Years w/ Barnstormers
23 Javicz Jones 2019 LB 2015–2017
4 Bryan Pray 2019 WR 2017
-- John Pettit 2021 GM/VP 2008–2020

All-Arena players

The following Barnstormers players have been named to All-Arena Teams:

All-IFL players

The following Barnstormers players have been named to All-IFL Teams:

  • QB Travis Partridge, Drew Powell, Daquan Neal
  • WR Brady Roland (4), Bryan Pray,
    Ryan Balentine
  • OL D'Angelo McCray, Brandon Haskin, Demarious Loving,
  • DL Ra'Shawde Myers
  • LB Javicz Jones (2), Zachary Allen, Treyvon Williams
  • DB Jamie Bender, Bryce Enyard, Jourdan Wickliffe, Tyrell Pearson


Individual awards

Staff

Iowa Barnstormers staff
Front office
  • Principal Owner – Jeff Lamberti
  • President/General Manager/COO – Juli Pettit
  • Owner – Don Lamberti
  • Honorary owner – Ben Silverstein
  • Owner – David Silverstein
  • Owner – Scott Thurber
  • Owner – Dave Knau
  • Owner – Jim Gocke
  • Owner – Dan Stanbrough
  • Owner – Jeff Lipman
  • Owner – Tom Nelson
  • Owner – Dan Ochylski
  • Owner – Brian Chittenden
  

Head coach – Dave Mogensen -- > Assistant coaches

  • Defensive coordinator – Jermaine Hampton

Statistics and records

Season-by-season records

Main article: List of Iowa Barnstormers seasons

Head coaching records

Note: Statistics are correct through the end of the 2021 Indoor Football League season.

Name Term Regular season Playoffs Achievements
W L T Win% W L
John Gregory 1995–2000
2008–2011[25]		 82 57 0 .590 7 6
Art Haege 2001[25] 2 4 0 .333 — —
Earle Bruce 2001[25] 7 3 0 .700 0 0
J. T. Smith 2011[25] 3 6 0 .200 0 0
Mike Hohensee 2012–2014 19 35 0 .352 0 0
Joe Brannen 2015–2016 10 20 0 .333 0 0
Dixie Wooten 2017–2019 36 8 0 .818 2 1 Coach of the Year (2017)
Les Moss 2021 6 6 0 .500 0 1
Dave Mogensen 2022 9 7 0 .563 0 1

References

  1. ^ Barnstormers Join Indoor Football League, Hire Head Coach, Iowa Barnstormers website, August 27, 2014
  2. ^ Richard Sandomir (May 1, 2001). "PRO FOOTBALL; To Live Another Day in the Arena League". The New York Times. Retrieved July 1, 2013.
  3. ^ "Barnstormers back in Des Moines". www.oursportscentral.com. OurSports Central. November 20, 2000. Retrieved July 19, 2017.
  4. ^ Witosky, Tom (September 20, 2007). "Barnstormers revived as af2 team". The Des Moines Register.
  5. ^ Official Team Press Release: Barnstormers Back Where We Belong!
  6. ^ Barnstormers May Leave AFL, Join Different League, John Sears, WHO-TV website, July 27, 2014
  7. ^ Iowa Barnstormers Announce Future Plans, Barnstormers Join Indoor Football League, Hire Head Coach Archived 2014-12-22 at the Wayback Machine, Iowa Barnstormers website, August 27, 2014
  8. ^ AFL Issues Statement on Iowa Barnstormers Franchise[usurped], AFL website, August 27, 2014
  9. ^ Iowa Barnstormers Make Move to the IFL Archived 2014-09-04 at the Wayback Machine, IFL website, August 27, 2014
  10. ^ "Barnstormers Name New Head Coach". www.theiowabarnstormers.com. Iowa Barnstormers. August 24, 2016. Retrieved August 24, 2016.
  11. ^ "Sugar Skulls Hire Championship Coach". OurSports Central. September 18, 2019.
  12. ^ "Barnstormers Name New Head Coach". Iowa Barnstormers. September 26, 2019.
  13. ^ "Iowa Barnstormers vice president, COO John Pettit dies from complications related to COVID-19". Des Moines Register. December 31, 2020.
  14. ^ "Barnstormers Name Les Moss as Head Coach". OurSports Central. April 5, 2021.
  15. ^ "Barnstormers Name Rob Keefe as Assistant Head Coach". OurSports Central. April 13, 2021.
  16. ^ "Iowa Barnstormers Part Ways with Head Coach". OurSports Central. September 17, 2021.
  17. ^ "Iowa Barnstormers Name Dave Mogensen as Head Coach". OurSports Central. October 18, 2021.
  18. ^ MJD (May 28, 2008). "8th Coolest Helmet in History: Iowa Barnstormers, '95-Present". www.sports.yahoo.com. Yahoo!. Retrieved July 1, 2013.
  19. ^ "NEW LOOK: Barnstormers Reveal New Uniforms". www.whotv.com. NBC. February 26, 2013. Retrieved July 1, 2013.
  20. ^ Sean Leahy (May 17, 2010). "Kurt Warner's jersey to be retired ... by the AFL's Iowa Barnstormers". www.usatoday.com. USA Today. Retrieved June 28, 2013.
  21. ^ a b "IFL Annnounces [sic] 2018 All-IFL Teams - Indoor Football League". Archived from the original on July 3, 2018.
  22. ^ "Drew Powell, Iowa Barnstormers, 2018 IFL MVP - Indoor Football League". Archived from the original on September 26, 2018.
  23. ^ "IFL MVP & Coach of the Year Announced - Indoor Football League". Archived from the original on July 8, 2019.
  24. ^ "Dixie Wooten. Iowa Barnstormers, Coach of the Year - Indoor Football League". Archived from the original on September 26, 2018.
  25. ^ a b c d "John Gregory Iowa Barnstormers profile". Iowa Barnstormers. Archived from the original on April 1, 2009. Retrieved June 27, 2009.
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