2012 UFL season

2012 United Football League season
Regular season
Duration	September 26, 2012 – October 19, 2012
2012 UFL Championship Game
Date
Site
Champion	Las Vegas Locomotives
Runner-up	Omaha Nighthawks
United Football League seasons  < 2011 2013 >

The 2012 UFL season was the fourth and final season of the United Football League. Four teams began what was originally scheduled to be an eight-game schedule beginning September 26, 2012.^[1][2] The league ceased operations on October 20, 2012, after four weeks, extensive financial problems and dismal attendance figures.^[3] At the time of the cessation, the Las Vegas Locomotives had compiled a perfect season to date, thus by default giving them their third UFL Championship.

The league originally stated it would resume the season some time in spring 2013, but the majority of two teams' players filed legal action against the league that winter to claim unpaid salaries, and the league did not set up the necessary agreements to continue by the time spring 2013 had come along.

Offseason developments

The league, which had coerced the resignation of commissioner Michael Huyghue after the 2011 season,^[4] had closed all of its offices and remained completely silent throughout most of winter, spring and early summer 2012, raising doubt about a potential 2012 season or even if the league, which has suffered heavy financial losses throughout its existence, would continue at all.^[5] League management will rest with two of its owners, Bill Mayer and William Hambrecht, while football operations will be handled by Las Vegas team president, head coach and general manager Jim Fassel.^[4]

For the first time in league history, there was no expansion, contraction, or relocation of any UFL franchises, with all four teams and markets returning from the previous season.^[1] The Hartford Colonials, which had been officially "suspended" prior to the 2011 season, did not return and were removed from the league's Web site.

On September 5, 2012, an anonymous source tipped The Virginian-Pilot that the start of the 2012 season, originally slated for September 19 on the schedule released July 26, would be delayed one week.^[6] The league confirmed the news the next day, also indicating that the championship game would be delayed two weeks instead of one. Difficulties in securing workman's compensation insurance prompted the delay.^[7] Players began reporting for training camp the week of September 17,^[8] with the abbreviated camps running through the following weekend.^[9]

By Week 2 of the regular season, the league began experiencing severe financial shortfalls, sparked in part by drastically reduced attendances at all three stadiums at which the league had played to that point (the Locomotives' Week 2 attendance at kickoff was only 601 fans), as well as the UFL's continued, systemic delays in payment stemming back to at least the 2010 season. The delayed payments (players were only paid $1,000 of the $7,000 owed to them after their first two games) prompted rumors of possible strike action or walkouts from the league's players beginning in Week 3.^[10][11][12] One agent who represented three UFL players went so far as to recommend that his clients not practice or play lest they risk injury.^[13] Virginia Destroyers owner and UFL president Bill Mayer and Sacramento owner Paul Pelosi in a joint on-air interview with CBS Sports Network on October 5, confirmed that the UFL had indeed not yet issued game checks to its players for 2012, but promised that the league would fulfill its wage obligations to its players and coaches.^[14] The Destroyers players again threatened to not play the week 4 contest without a personal guarantee of payment, which the ownership had not yet offered, and that the team's earlier promise of a payment by October 31 would not be sufficient.^[15] After the week 4 contests were held, and attendance continued to get even worse (the Virginia Destroyers' Week 4 home game was so poorly attended that the league refused to release an attendance total), the league suspended operations^[3] and arranged to pay for all of its players to return to their homes.^[16] As of November 3, 2012, the UFL still had not paid the players for their time; several players set a deadline for November 8 before pursuing legal action against the league.^[17]

Postseason litigation

On January 16, 2013, a coalition of approximately 70 players from the Nighthawks and Locomotives served papers to league owner William Hambrecht in order to file a class-action lawsuit to claim their pay.^[18] The Destroyers players also have not received any additional pay apart from the $1,000 they received during the season; player liaison Chris Greisen lost contact with Destroyers owner Bill Mayer shortly after the season ended. The Mountain Lions' players have been paid in full for their work.^[19] Hambrecht later demanded that the lawsuit be thrown out on a contract technicality that stated all pay disputes be resolved through a committee that, according to the players' attorney, does not even exist. A hearing on the lawsuit was scheduled for June 2013,^[20] at which point a Nevada judge turned the case over to a third-party arbiter.^[21] As of January 2014, no hearing has been scheduled.

A separate lawsuit involves four assistant coaches of the Las Vegas Locomotives, who are also suing for unpaid salary. That lawsuit was also filed in January and is being handled by the same attorneys.^[22]

Yet another lawsuit was filed in July 2013, this one against Paul Pelosi. The five litigants in that case include former Mountain Lions defensive coordinator Chuck Bresnahan, who says he was not paid $250,000.^[23]

Rule changes for 2012

Prior to the season, the UFL made two notable on-field rule changes: The league expanded each team's roster from 50 to 54 players, 4 of which are designated as practice squad players.^[8] The league also moved its kickoffs back up from the 30-yard-line to the 35-yard-line, consistent with changes made by the NFL (in 2011) and NCAA (also in 2012).

Stadium changes

The Sacramento Mountain Lions, on August 6, announced that they would be moving to Raley Field, a baseball park in West Sacramento, California. The Mountain Lions, 2011's attendance leader, played their previous two seasons at Hornet Stadium in Sacramento but chose not to extend their two-year lease on that stadium.^[24]

The Virginia Destroyers returned to the Virginia Beach Sportsplex^[1] while the Omaha Nighthawks again played in TD Ameritrade Park.^[25] The Las Vegas Locomotives (which had previously contemplated a move to Salt Lake City) remained in Las Vegas despite poor attendance for its lone home game in 2011;^[4] the team ultimately played its two home games at University of Nevada, Las Vegas's Sam Boyd Stadium in Whitney after discussion and negotiations with Cashman Field, a Triple-A baseball stadium currently home to the Las Vegas 51s.^[26] Only after the Locos paid back rent from the 2011 season did Sam Boyd Stadium agree to host the team for the 2012 season,^[8] but only for the first two games.^[27]

Coaching changes

Team	2012 Coach	2011 Coach	Reason for leaving	Story/Accomplishments
Omaha Nighthawks	Bart Andrus	Joe Moglia	Resigned	Moglia, who led the Nighthawks to a 1–4 (.200) record in his lone season as head coach (his first since leaving coaching to pursue a business career in the mid-1980s), left the league after the 2011 season to become head coach of the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers football team. Andrus, who was Moglia's offensive coordinator in 2011, had previously served as head coach of the Toronto Argonauts of the CFL in 2009 and the Amsterdam Admirals of NFL Europe from 2001 to 2007.
Sacramento Mountain Lions	Turk Schonert	Dennis Green	Contract dispute	Green, who coached the Mountain Lions from their founding as the California Redwoods in 2009 and accrued a record of 8–11 (.421) in those three seasons, planned on filing legal action against the league for breach of contract and lack of payment.[28] It was speculated that Green, who previously proposed using legal action to try and take control of the Minnesota Vikings in 1997, may have used the legal maneuver to wrest control of the team away from the Paul Pelosi-led consortium that owned it.[29] A judge ordered Pelosi to pay Green $1,000,000 in a February 2014 arbitration ruling; as of August 2014, the settlement remains unpaid.[30] This was Schonert's first ever head coaching position; his prior coaching positions have been almost exclusively at the level of quarterbacks coach.
Virginia Destroyers	Kurt Schottenheimer	Marty Schottenheimer	Contract dispute	In 2011, Marty Schottenheimer led the Destroyers to a 4–1 (.800) season and a UFL title, the only professional championship of his coaching career. Marty abruptly resigned shortly before the start of the 2012 season and handed the head coaching reins to his younger brother Kurt, who served as the team's defensive coordinator in 2011.[31] Marty was, at the time of his resignation, said to be on good terms with the team[32] but would, like Green, later file legal action against the league for failure to pay.[33] Kurt is in his first ever head coaching position, having spent most of his 30-year career as a defensive assistant. He agreed to work for the league for free in order to continue collecting his NFL pension.[34]

Media changes

In 2011, the UFL lacked national exposure for its games after two-year deals with Versus and HDNet expired, with the league relying instead on limited regional TV coverage. On July 26, 2012, the league announced a broadcast deal with CBS Sports Network that would see the network carry all of the league's games in 2012.^[35] Though the deal with CBSSN returned the UFL to national TV exposure (albeit generally on less widely distributed premium cable and satellite tiers than the regional sports networks that the UFL had utilized in 2011), the league received no rights fee from the network and in fact paid the network upfront for production costs (roughly $150,000 per telecast).^[13] An additional caveat of the CBSSN deal prevented live games from being simulcast online, in contrast to the previous three seasons where all televised games had been carried on the Internet (the league's Webmaster had left the league after 2011 as well, which may have also been a factor in the discontinuation of both the Webcasts and the league's centralized Web site).

Local radio broadcasts were abandoned in Virginia^[36] and Las Vegas for 2012; radio deals for Omaha and Sacramento continued, however, with Nighthawks games airing on KOZN and the Mountain Lions being split between KHTK^[37] and KTKZ.^[38]

Schedule

The eight-week 2012 UFL schedule (4 home and away games for each team) was originally announced on August 1, 2012.^[39] Due to the above mentioned delay, the league released a revised schedule (shown below) on September 6, essentially moving the original Week 1 games, which would have been played on September 19 and 21, to the end of the schedule (November 14 and 16).^[40] The Championship Game, which was originally scheduled for November 16, was also moved to December 1, skipping over the crowded Thanksgiving rivalry weekend (which the UFL had not done in 2009 or 2010) and allowing teams to have a two-week break between the end of the regular season and the title game, which would have been a first for the UFL. Two other firsts were also included in the schedule: no bye weeks were scheduled during the regular season, and each team was given an unbalanced schedule (3 games with two teams and 2 games with the third team).

Because of the suspension of the season on October 20, 2012, no games were played beyond that date. As of that date, each team had played every other team once and one team twice, with two home games and two away games. The October 17 game between the Locomotives and the Nighthawks would end up serving as the de facto UFL Championship Game for the 2012 season; had the Nighthawks won that game, they would have tied for the league's best record with Las Vegas.

Week	Date	Kickoff	Visitor	Home	Result	Site	Attendance	TV
1	Wednesday September 26	6:00 pm (PT)	Virginia Destroyers	Las Vegas Locomotives	VA 6, LV 19	Sam Boyd Stadium	2,500[41]	CBS Sports Network
	Friday September 28	8:00 pm (PT)	Omaha Nighthawks	Sacramento Mountain Lions	OMA 24, SAC 20	Raley Field	8,023[42]
2	Wednesday October 3	6:00 pm (PT)	Omaha Nighthawks	Las Vegas Locomotives	OMA 6, LV 41	Sam Boyd Stadium	601[43]
	Friday October 5	7:00 pm (ET)	Sacramento Mountain Lions	Virginia Destroyers	SAC 29, VA 37	Virginia Beach Sportsplex	5,316 [44]
3	Wednesday October 10	6:00 pm (PT)	Las Vegas Locomotives	Sacramento Mountain Lions	LV 20, SAC 9	Raley Field	5,210[45]
	Friday October 12	7:00 pm (CT)	Virginia Destroyers	Omaha Nighthawks	VA 10, OMA 38	TD Ameritrade Park	3,563[46]
4	Wednesday October 17	8:00 pm (CT)	Las Vegas Locomotives	Omaha Nighthawks	LV 38, OMA 23	TD Ameritrade Park	2,234[47]
	Friday October 19	9:00 pm (ET)	Sacramento Mountain Lions	Virginia Destroyers	SAC 20, VA 17	Virginia Beach Sportsplex	Not Released[48]

Had the season continued as scheduled, the remaining games would have been played as follows:

Week	Date	Kickoff	Visitor	Home	Site	TV
5	Tuesday October 23	8:00 pm (CT)	Sacramento Mountain Lions	Omaha Nighthawks	TD Ameritrade Park	CBS Sports Network
	Thursday October 25	6:00 pm (ET)	Las Vegas Locomotives	Virginia Destroyers	Virginia Beach Sportsplex
6	Wednesday October 31	6:00 pm (PT)	Omaha Nightawks	Las Vegas Locomotives	Sam Boyd Stadium
	Friday November 2	6:00 pm (PT)	Virginia Destroyers	Sacramento Mountain Lions	Raley Field
7	Wednesday November 7	6:00 pm (PT)	Las Vegas Locomotives	Sacramento Mountain Lions	Raley Field
	Friday November 9	9:30 pm (ET)	Omaha Nighthawks	Virginia Destroyers	Virginia Beach Sportsplex
8	Wednesday November 14	6:00 pm (PT)	Sacramento Mountain Lions	Las Vegas Locomotives	Sam Boyd Stadium
	Friday November 16	6:00 pm (CT)	Virginia Destroyers	Omaha Nighthawks	TD Ameritrade Park

The 2012 UFL Championship Game would have been played on December 1 at 9:00 p.m. Eastern Time. No venue had been chosen for the game at the time of the cessation.

Attendance figures are based on gate draw, not ticket sales. The Locomotives sold 5,277 tickets for their Week 1 game^[41] and 3,500 for Week 2.^[49]

Standings

United Football League
	W	L	T	PCT	PF	PA	STK
Las Vegas Locomotives	4	0	0	1.000	118	47	W4
Omaha Nighthawks	2	2	0	.500	94	109	L1
Virginia Destroyers	1	3	0	.250	70	106	L2
Sacramento Mountain Lions	1	3	0	.250	78	98	W1

References

1. Minium, Harry (July 26, 2012). Virginia Destroyers say they'll play games this fall. The Virginian-Pilot. Retrieved July 26, 2012.
2. 2012 UFL Schedule
3. Katzowitz, Josh (2008-06-11). "UFL suspends rest of 2012 season". CBS Sports. Retrieved 2012-10-20.
4. Carp, Steve (January 31, 2012). UFL commissioner Huyghue steps down. Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved January 31, 2012.
5. Pivovar, Steven (July 20, 2012). Report: Nighthawks plan return with UFL. Omaha World-Herald. Retrieved July 26, 2012.
6. Robinson, Tom (September 5, 2012). UFL pushing back start of season. The Virginian-Pilot. Retrieved September 5, 2012.
7. Pivovar, Steven (September 6, 2012). Nighthawks won't play first home game until October. Omaha World-Herald. Retrieved September 6, 2012.
8. Carp, Steve (September 18, 2012).Locos set to kick off next week after UFL finds insurance. Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved September 18, 2012.
9. 5 former Huskers on Omaha Nighthawks roster. Omaha World-Herald. Retrieved September 20, 2012.
10. Davidson, Joe (October 10, 2012). Unpaid player salaries add to uncertainty for Mountain Lions, UFL. Sacramento Bee. Retrieved October 10, 2012.
11. Fledgling UFL struggling to pay players. Sports Xchange via Lindy's Sports. Retrieved October 10, 2012.
12. Crandell, Jim (October 10, 2012). Mountain Lion’s Financial Problems Mount. KTXL. Retrieved October 10, 2012.
13. "Agent: Three UFL players haven't been paid yet," from The Virginian-Pilot, 10/3/2012
14. "UFL will pay coaches, players," from Omaha World-Herald, 10/6/2012
15. Andrews, Reed. Virginia Destroyers players say ‘No pay, we won’t play’. WTKR. Retrieved October 17, 2012.
16. Smith, Michael David (October 20, 2012). UFL calls off its season. ProFootballTalk.com. Retrieved October 22, 2012.
17. Florio, Mike (November 3, 2012). UFL players still waiting for payment. profootballtalk.com. Retrieved November 4, 2012.
18. Omaha Nighthawks players take legal action. KETV. Retrieved January 21, 2013.
19. Robinson, Tom (January 16, 2013). Players, fans still taking hit for collapse of UFL. The Virginian-Pilot. Retrieved January 30, 2013.
20. United Football League founder attorney wants lawsuit seeking back pay for players thrown out. Associated Press (May 6, 2013). Retrieved May 6, 2013.
21. Nevada judge orders UFL pay dispute to arbitration. Associated Press (June 4, 2013). Retrieved May 14, 2014.
22. Heitner, Darren (March 7, 2013). Seventy-eight football players file lawsuit against United Football League. Forbes. Retrieved June 10, 2013.
23. Garofoli, Joe (July 15, 2013). Employees of UFL Sacramento team sue Paul Pelosi. San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved July 15, 2013.
24. A sign of things to come: another team playing at Raley Field? KTXL. Retrieved July 22, 2012.
25. Nighthawks tickets not yet on sale: Omaha football team ironing out agreement with TD Ameritrade Park. KETV. Retrieved August 31, 2012.
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28. McMorris, Bill (August 16, 2012). Former NFL head coach Dennis Green sues husband of House minority leader for breach of contract. Washington Free Beacon. Retrieved August 16, 2012.
29. Florio, Mike (July 30, 2012). Dennis Green sues the UFL. ProFootballTalk.com. Retrieved August 1, 2012.
30. Nancy Pelosi's husband stiffs NFL legends. Washington Free Beacon. Retrieved October 24, 2014.
31. Frankenberry, Jamie (September 18, 2012). Schottenheimer's brother to coach Virginia Destroyers. The Virginian-Pilot. Retrieved September 19, 2012.
32. Robinson, Tom (September 20, 2012). Coach: I won't go 'deep into' reasons for leaving Destroyers. The Virginian-Pilot. Retrieved September 20, 2012.
33. Harris, Joe (October 18, 2012). Marty Schottenheimer Sues UFL Founder. Courthouse News Service. Retrieved October 18, 2012.
34. Robinson, Tom (October 24, 2012). Destroyers coach unsure league can continue. The Virginian-Pilot. Retrieved October 25, 2012.
35. Dougherty, Pete (July 26, 2012). CBS Sports Network to air UFL games. Times Union (Albany, NY). Retrieved July 26, 2012.
36. Robinson, Tom (September 26, 2012). Champion Virginia Destroyers open season tonight. The Virginian-Pilot. Retrieved September 26, 2012.
37. Source: Sacramento Mountain Lions
38. Brian Banks, UFL linebacker wrongly convicted in 2002, in Sacramento for game, news conference. Sacramento Bee. Retrieved October 10, 2012.
39. "UFL Sets 2012 Schedule," press release from UFL via OurSportsCentral, 8/1/2012
40. "UFL Announces Revised Schedule for 2012," press release from UFL via OurSportsCentral, 9/6/2012
41. Fast start lifts Locos in opener. Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved September 27, 2012.
42. Jones, Jason. It's take me out to the ballpark for football. Sacramento Bee. Retrieved September 30, 2012.
43. Dewey, Todd (October 4, 2012). Sparse crowd sees Las Vegas Locos roll over Omaha. Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved October 4, 2012.
44. Robinson, Tom (September 6, 2012). UFL defending champs win their first home game. The Virginian-Pilot. Retrieved October 6, 2012.
45. "Pair undaunted by missing game checks," from Sacramento Bee, 10/11/2012
46. Pivovar, Steven (October 13, 2012). Nighthawks dominate in front of 3,563. Omaha World-Herald. Retrieved October 13, 2012.
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49. "Locomotives steamroll Nighthawks," from Omaha World-Herald, 10/4/2012