Green Bay Blizzard
The Green Bay Blizzard is a professional indoor football team based in Ashwaubenon, Wisconsin, founded in 2003. The Blizzard began play in the Indoor Football League in 2010, after having played the previous seven seasons in af2, the now-defunct minor league of the Arena Football League. They play their home games at the Resch Center in Ashwaubenon, Wisconsin. The team's logo represents Bruiser, the team mascot.
| Green Bay Blizzard | ||
|---|---|---|
 Current season | ||
| Established 2003 Play in Resch Center in Ashwaubenon, Wisconsin GreenBayBlizzard.com | ||
| ||
| League/conference affiliations | ||
af2 (2003–2009)
Indoor Football League (2010–present)
| ||
| Team colors | Forest green, white, silver | |
| Mascot | Bruiser the Yeti, Blizz and Bling – Bruiser's Yeti Cousins | |
| Personnel | ||
| Owner(s) | Larry & Kathy Treankler | |
| Head coach | Corey Roberson | |
| Team history | ||
| ||
| Championships | ||
| League championships (0) | ||
Conference championships (1)
| ||
Division championships (4)
| ||
| Playoff appearances (9) | ||
| ||
| Home arena(s) | ||
| ||
History
af2: 2003–2009
The Blizzard started out as an af2 expansion team in 2003 with Jose Jefferson as the team's head coach. The team finished 2–14, last in the National Conference Midwest Division. They only averaged 2,957 fans a game.
At the beginning of the 2004 season, the Blizzard replaced Jose Jefferson with former Green Bay Packers linebacker Brian Noble. Despite the team improving during the 2004 season, the Blizzard finished 6–10.
In 2005, the team moved from the National Conference to the American Conference of AF2. The Blizzard became a member of the American Conference's East division. The team also replaced Noble with veteran Arena Football League Bob Landsee. The team continued their trend of improvement in 2005 finishing 9–7, good for 3rd in the East Division, and reaching the postseason for the first time. They fell in the first round to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.
Blizzard head coach Bob Landsee became the first coach in team history to return for their second season. The Blizzard also came under new ownership as former coach Brian Noble lead an investment group that purchased the team. Noble became the new President of the four-year-old franchise and began a complete revitalization of the organization, drastically lowering ticket prices in an attempt to boost their average game attendance. The team set a new single game attendance record of 7,184 in the season finale against Louisville. The team experienced an improvement on the field as well, going into the final game of the 2006 regular season tied with the Louisville Fire for first in the East Division at 9–6. This set up a showdown between the two teams at the Resch Center for the East Division title, which the Blizzard won 54–53. The Blizzard earned a first round bye before facing the 2005 ArenaCup Champion Memphis Xplorers in the Blizzard's inaugural home playoff game, which they won 67–50. This victory sent them to the American Conference Championship Game against the Florida Firecats, which they won 60–47, capturing the conference title and advancing to ArenaCup VII, where they lost to the Spokane Shock 54–37.
Coach Bob Landsee had difficulties resulting from surgery and was forced to take a leave of absence for the 2007 season. He was replaced by defensive coordinator Doug Lytle, who led the Blizzard to a 9–7 season, remaining undefeated at home yet losing all but one road game. The Blizzard made the playoffs for the third consecutive year and surprised their rival and Midwest Division Champion Quad City Steamwheelers 39–34 in the first-round game. The Blizzard carried over their success at home from the regular season by defeating Louisville in the second round 37–27, but lost to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Pioneers in their second consecutive American Conference championship game, 46–43.[1]
Head coach Bob Landsee returned in 2008 and led the Blizzard to an 11–5 record and a Midwest Division title. The Blizzard set a single game record for attendance against Lexington with 7,258 and had the largest average attendance in team history with an average of 6,125 fans per game. In the first round of the playoffs the Blizzard defeated Lexington 65–37 after having lost twice to them in the regular season. The Blizzard then hosted Manchester in a second-round game, losing 55–54 on a last minute Manchester two-point conversion.
After beginning the season by defeating the defending ArenaCup Champion Tennessee Valley Vipers. The Blizzard failed to capture a consecutive Midwest Division title and finished the season 10–6, earning the #6 seed in the 2009 af2 playoffs. The Blizzard advanced to their third American Conference Championship, losing to #1 seed Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Pioneers 72–67.
Indoor Football League: 2010–present
In October 2009, the team announced that unless the team found additional investors that they would be forced to cease operations. The Blizzard found new investors in an ownership group named Titletown Football Group, LLC, led by Green Bay Bullfrogs president Jeff Royle, who purchased the team in late October. In November 2009, the team announced that they would play the 2010 season in the Indoor Football League (IFL) due to AF2 filing for bankruptcy. At a team open house on November 17, 2009, the Blizzard announced their new head coach would be Rik Richards.
On December 5, 2009, the Blizzard announced a name-the-team contest. The Blizzard name and intellectual property was held by the then-defunct Arena Football League (AFL), which was the parent of the Blizzard's former league, af2. The assets of the former AFL were purchased by the newly formed Arena Football 1.[2] The team ownership group was still attempting to purchase the rights to the Blizzard name and had decided to continue with the contest in case the Blizzard name was not able to be purchased, but the owners were able to acquire the Blizzard name and imagery.
Early success
On December 15, 2009, the IFL announced the divisional alignment and schedule for the 2010 season. The Blizzard competed in the United Conference, Central North Division with the La Crosse Spartans, Chicago Slaughter and Bloomington Extreme. The Blizzard won the Central North Division, but lost their first round playoff game against the Chicago Slaughter.
For the 2011 season, the Blizzard competed in the United Conference, Great Lakes Division, which was a renamed Central North Division (the Spartans, Slaughter, and Extreme, along with the Blizzard). The Blizzard won the division title again and improved to 11–3 record. They defeated the Reading Express in their first round playoff game, but lost the United Conference Championship game to the eventual champions, the Sioux Falls Storm.
Because of various teams leaving the IFL, either to join other leagues or cease operations altogether, the league played the 2012 season format in two conferences with no divisions. While the Spartans had ceased operations, the Blizzard's divisional rivals, the Slaughter and the newly renamed Bloomington Edge joined in the single-table United Conference along with the Reading Express, Sioux Falls Storm, Cedar Rapids Titans, Lehigh Valley Steelhawks and Omaha Beef. The Blizzard finished 11–3 again, for second place in the conference and three games behind the undefeated Storm. The Blizzard defeated the Edge in the first round, but again lost to the Storm for the United Conference Championship.
Playoff drought
With the Beef, Edge, and Steelhawks leaving the IFL for other leagues and the Express suspending operations, the United Conference was reduced to five teams for the 2013 season, with the Blizzard, Slaughter, Titans, and Storm all returning and the newly renamed Texas Revolution (formerly the Allen Wranglers) moving from the Intense Conference. Junior Aumavae, a nose tackle who spent the 2012 season playing for the Blizzard, was signed by the New York Jets in late March 2013.[3] After compiling a 1–5 record in the season's first six games, head coach Robert Fuller was replaced by defensive coordinator Chad Baldwin.
After the 2013 season, the Chicago Slaughter moved to the Continental Indoor Football League, but the United Conference continued to have five teams with the expansion Bemidji Axemen. In September 2013, Titletown Football Group, LLC sold their majority ownership stake in the team to Larry and Kathy Treankler.[4] The Blizzard began the 2014 season under head coach Chad Baldwin.[5] After the team began the season 0–6, Baldwin was replaced by offensive coordinator Tommie Williams for the remainder of the season.[6] The Blizzard introduced their new logo during this season.
Tommie Williams had his interim tag removed and was named the head coach of the Blizzard. The Blizzard brought back veteran quarterback Donovan Porterie and traded for Carl Sims. The Blizzard won as many games as they had the previous two seasons combined, but their 6–8 record was not enough to qualify for the playoffs.
On November 3, 2015, Williams and the Blizzard agreed to part ways.[7] On December 7, 2015, Chris Williams was hired as the head coach of the Blizzard.[8]
To open the 2018 season, the Blizzard started out 0–5 after a bad showing with the I-Formation. Coach Chris Williams was relieved of his duties following the week 6 bye and was replaced by Corey Roberson as interim head coach. The Blizzard finished the season with two total wins.
2019 season
Corey Roberson was named head coach for the 2019 season. Under Roberson, the Blizzard earned their first playoff berth since 2012 with a 9–5 regular season record.
Statistics and records
Season-by-season results
| League champions | Conference champions | Division champions | Playoff berth | League leader |
| Season | Team | League | Conference | Division | Regular season | Postseason results | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Finish | Wins | Losses | Ties | ||||||
| 2003 | 2003 | af2 | National | Midwest | 5th | 2 | 14 | 0 | |
| 2004 | 2004 | af2 | National | Midwest | 4th | 6 | 10 | 0 | |
| 2005 | 2005 | af2 | American | East | 3rd | 9 | 7 | 0 | Lost Wild Card round (Wilkes-Barre/Scranton) 41–48 |
| 2006 | 2006 | af2 | American | East | 1st | 10 | 6 | 0 | Won Conference Semifinal (Memphis) 67–50 Won Conference Championship (Florida) 60–47 Lost ArenaCup VII (Spokane) 34–57 |
| 2007 | 2007 | af2 | American | Midwest | 2nd | 9 | 7 | 0 | Won Conference Round 1 (Quad City) 39–34 Won Conference Semifinal (Louisville) 37–27 Lost Conference Championship (Wilkes-Barre/Scranton) 43–46 |
| 2008 | 2008 | af2 | American | Midwest | 1st | 11 | 5 | 0 | Won Conference Round 1 (Lexington) 65–37 Lost Conference Semifinal (Manchester) 54–55 |
| 2009 | 2009 | af2 | American | Midwest | 2nd | 10 | 6 | 0 | Won Conference Round 1 (Tennessee Valley) 60–56 Won Conference Semifinal (Iowa) 51–46 Lost Conference Championship (Wilkes-Barre/Scranton) 67–72 |
| 2010 | 2010 | IFL | United | Central North | 1st | 10 | 4 | 0 | Lost Conference Quarterfinal (Chicago) 39–46 |
| 2011 | 2011 | IFL | United | Great Lakes | 1st | 11 | 3 | 0 | Won Conference Semifinal (Reading) 68–51 Lost Conference Championship (Sioux Falls) 12–52 |
| 2012 | 2012 | IFL | United | 2nd | 11 | 3 | 0 | Won Conference Semifinal (Bloomington) 51–30 Lost Conference Championship (Sioux Falls) 42–61 | |
| 2013 | 2013 | IFL | United | 5th | 4 | 10 | 0 | ||
| 2014 | 2014 | IFL | United | 5th | 2 | 12 | 0 | ||
| 2015 | 2015 | IFL | United | 3rd | 6 | 8 | 0 | ||
| 2016 | 2016 | IFL | United | 4th | 5 | 11 | 0 | ||
| 2017 | 2017 | IFL | United | 4th | 3 | 13 | 0 | ||
| 2018 | 2018 | IFL | 6th | 2 | 12 | 0 | |||
| 2019 | IFL | 4th | 9 | 5 | 0 | Lost First Round (Nebraska) 40–45 | |||
| 2020 | IFL | Season cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic | |||||||
| Totals | 120 | 136 | 0 | All-time regular season record (2003–2020) | |||||
| 9 | 9 | — | All-time postseason record (2003–2020) | ||||||
| 129 | 145 | 0 | All-time regular season and postseason record (2003–2020) | ||||||
Head coach records
Note: Statistics are correct through the 2019 Indoor Football League season
| Name | Term | Regular season | Playoffs | Awards | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | T | Win% | W | L | |||
| Jose Jefferson | 2003 | 2 | 14 | 0 | .125 | 0 | 0 | |
| Brian Noble | 2004 | 6 | 10 | 0 | .375 | 0 | 0 | |
| Bob Landsee | 2005–2006 2008–2009 | 40 | 24 | 0 | .625 | 5 | 4 | |
| Doug Lytle | 2007 | 9 | 7 | 0 | .563 | 2 | 1 | |
| Rik Richards | 2010–2011 | 21 | 7 | 0 | .750 | 1 | 2 | |
| Robert Fuller | 2012–2013 | 12 | 8 | 0 | .600 | 1 | 1 | IFL Coach of the Year (2012) |
| Chad Baldwin | 2013–2014 | 3 | 11 | 0 | .214 | 0 | 0 | |
| Tommie Williams | 2014–2015 | 8 | 14 | 0 | .364 | 0 | 0 | |
| Chris Williams | 2016–2018 | 8 | 29 | 0 | .216 | 0 | 0 | |
| Corey Roberson | 2018–present | 11 | 17 | 0 | .393 | 0 | 1 | IFL Coach of the Year (2019) |
Season-by-season average attendance
| Year | Average attendance[9] | League |
|---|---|---|
| 2003 | 2,957 | af2 |
| 2004 | 3,683 | af2 |
| 2005 | 3,532 | af2 |
| 2006 | 5,836 | af2 |
| 2007 | 5,629 | af2 |
| 2008 | 6,125[lower-alpha 1] | af2 |
| 2009 | 6,093 | af2 |
| 2010 | 3,778 | IFL |
| 2011 | 3,084 | IFL |
| 2012 | 3,384 | IFL |
| 2013 | 3,811 | IFL |
| 2014 | No data | IFL |
| 2015 | 3,588 | IFL |
| 2016 | 3,359 | IFL |
| 2017 | 3,609 | IFL |
| Average | 4,176 | Overall |
| Average | 4,836 | af2 |
| Average | 3,516 | IFL |
- Excludes one playoff game with missing data
Notable players
Current roster
| Green Bay Blizzard roster | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Quarterbacks
Running backs
Wide receivers
|
Offensive linemen
Defensive linemen
|
Linebackers
Defensive backs
Special teams
|
Reserve lists
| |||
Individual awards
The following is a list of all Blizzard players who have won league awards:
Current staff
Front office
Head coach / general manager
|
Assistant coaches
| |||||
References
- "2007 Green Bay Blizzard". www.arenafan.com. ArenaFan. Retrieved March 28, 2014.
- "Arena Football One Announces AFL Asset Bid". www.oursportscentral.com. OurSports Central. November 11, 2009. Retrieved March 28, 2014.
- Schroeder, Dave (March 31, 2013). "From the Blizzard to the NFL". Green Bay, WI: WBAY-TV. Archived from the original on April 1, 2013. Retrieved March 31, 2013.
- "Indoor football: Blizzard announces new principal owners". www.greenbaypressgazette.com. Gannett. September 19, 2013. Retrieved September 20, 2013.
- "Indoor football: Baldwin returning to the Blizzard". Green Bay Press-Gazette. Green Bay, WI: Gannett Company. October 9, 2013. Retrieved January 17, 2014.
- "Blizzard fires coach Baldwin after 0-6 start". Green Bay Press-Gazette. Green Bay, WI: Gannett Company. April 15, 2014. Retrieved April 17, 2014.
- "Blizzard Part Ways with Coach Williams". www.oursportscentral.com. OurSports Central. November 3, 2015. Retrieved November 3, 2015.
- "Green Bay Blizzard Hired New Head Coach". OurSports Central. December 7, 2015. Retrieved December 7, 2015.
- "Green Bay Blizzard Team History". www.arenafan.com. ArenaFan. Retrieved March 28, 2014.
