  | |
| Founded | 2009 |
|---|---|
| Folded | 2012 |
| Based in | Sacramento, California |
| Home stadium |
|
| Colors | Dark Metallic Gold, Sac Black, Sac Tan, Sac Dark Gold |
| Personnel | |
| Owner | Paul Pelosi (majority) |
| Uniform | |
 | |
TheSacramento Mountain Lions were a professionalAmerican football team based inSacramento, California, that played in theUnited Football League. The franchise originated as theCalifornia Redwoods, and played its home games inSan Francisco andSan Jose before relocating toHornet Stadium in Sacramento in 2010, then toRaley Field in West Sacramento in 2012. The team was coached byDennis Green for three of its four years of existence. Amid financial problems, the UFL folded in the middle of the 2012 season.
The team began play as theCalifornia Redwoods in October 2009. (Early trademark filings had suggested the UFL would name the team the "San Francisco Rockfish," a name that was dumped before any public announcement.)[1] In the league's2009 season, the Redwoods played were originally slated to play all of its home games atAT&T Park inSan Francisco, including the first-ever UFL game. Due to a conflict with theSan Francisco Giants, the UFL's first game was instead played in Las Vegas. Poor attendance in San Francisco led to the league relocating one of the Redwoods' home games toSpartan Stadium in San Jose.
Former NFL head coachDennis Green was hired as the Redwoods' head coach prior to the season. He led the team to a 2–4 record in its first season, finishing in third place.
| Week | Date | Kickoff | Opponent | Results | Game site | Attendance | TV | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Final score | Team record | |||||||
| 1 | Thursday, October 8 | 9:00 p.m.ET | atLas Vegas Locomotives | L 17–30 | 0–1 | Sam Boyd Stadium | 18,187 | Versus |
| 2 | Saturday, October 17 | 9:00 p.m. ET | New York Sentinels | W 24–7 | 1–1 | AT&T Park | 6,341 | HDNet |
| 3 | Thursday, October 22 | 7:00 p.m. ET | atFlorida Tuskers | L 7–34 | 1–2 | Citrus Bowl | 12,021 | Versus |
| 4 | Thursday, October 29 | 7:00 p.m. ET | at New York Sentinels | W 20–13 | 2–2 | Giants Stadium | 10,818 | Versus |
| 5 | Bye | |||||||
| 6 | Saturday, November 14 | 9:00 p.m. ET | Las Vegas Locomotives | L 10–16 | 2–3 | Spartan Stadium | 4,312 | HDNet |
| 7 | Thursday, November 19 | 9:00 p.m. ET | Florida Tuskers | L 27–34 | 2–4 | AT&T Park | 6,837 | Versus |
League commissionerMichael Huyghue announced shortly after the end of the 2009 regular season that the team would "likely" move permanently to San Jose for the 2010 season.[2] On March 3, 2010, the league declared that the team would permanently relocate instead toHornet Stadium inSacramento, California for 2010, as part of a deal withSacramento State University that saw the UFL provide a newartificial turf for the facility.
Despite the "California Redwoods" name still being valid (as the team remained the only UFL team in the state), league officials also announced that the California Redwoods branding would be abandoned. A new name was decided through a fan vote, though the name "Redwoods" remained a possible choice.[3] On April 6, 2010, the league announced that the franchise would be known as the Sacramento Mountain Lions.[4]
Additionally, head coach Dennis Green added the title of general manager following the season; he replaced league-wide general managerRick Mueller, who handled the duties in2009.
On September 25, the team won their first game inSacramento, 24-20, becoming the first team to defeat theFlorida Tuskers in the regular season, in front of a reported crowd of over 20,000.
| Week | Date | Kickoff | Opponent | Results | Game site | Attendance | TV | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Final score | Team record | |||||||
| 1 | Saturday, September 18 | 11:30 a.m.PT | atHartford Colonials | L 10–27 | 0–1 | Rentschler Field | 14,384 | NESN |
| 2 | Saturday, September 25 | 8:00 p.m. PT | Florida Tuskers | W 24–20 | 1–1 | Hornet Stadium | 20,000 | Versus |
| 3 | Saturday, October 2 | 5:30 p.m. PT | atOmaha Nighthawks | L 17–20 | 1–2 | Rosenblatt Stadium | 23,416 | HDNet |
| 4 | Bye | |||||||
| 5 | Friday, October 15 | 8:00 p.m. PT | Las Vegas Locomotives | L 3–26 | 1–3 | Hornet Stadium | 19,000 | HDNet |
| 6 | Thursday, October 21 | 4:00 p.m. PT | at Florida Tuskers | W 21–17 | 2–3 | Citrus Bowl | 10,066 | HDNet |
| 7 | Saturday, October 30 | 8:00 p.m. PT | Hartford Colonials | L 26–27 | 2–4 | Hornet Stadium | 13,500 | Versus |
| 8 | Saturday, November 6 | 8:00 p.m. PT | at Las Vegas Locomotives | W 27–24 | 3–4 | Sam Boyd Stadium | 13,622 | Versus |
| 9 | Saturday, November 13 | 8:00 p.m. PT | Omaha Nighthawks | W 41–3 | 4–4 | Hornet Stadium | 20,000 | Versus |
| 10 | Bye | |||||||
| Week | Date | Kickoff * | Opponent | Results | Game site | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Final score | Team record | |||||
| 1 | Saturday, September 17 | 7:30 p.m. | Las Vegas Locomotives | L 17–23 | 0–1 | Hornet Stadium |
| 2 | Bye | |||||
| 3 | Saturday, October 1 | 4:00 p.m. | Omaha Nighthawks | L 30–33 | 0–2 | Hornet Stadium |
| 4 | Friday, October 7 | 4:00 p.m. | atVirginia Destroyers | L 6–28 | 0–3 | Virginia Beach Sportsplex |
| 5 | Saturday, October 15 | 4:00 p.m. | Virginia Destroyers | W 27–20(OT) | 1–3 | Hornet Stadium |
| 6 | Friday, October 21† | 6:00 p.m. | at Omaha Nighthawks | W 25–19 | 2–3 | TD Ameritrade Park Omaha |
| * All times arePacific Time. † Postseason Consolation Game. | ||||||
Head coach Dennis Green left the team after the 2011 season amid dispute and legal action; he was replaced byTurk Schonert. The team also leftHornet Stadium, its home stadium of 2010 and 2011, without attempting to negotiate a lease renewal. Instead, the team signed a deal withRaley Field, a predominantly baseball-oriented park built for theSacramento River Cats of thePacific Coast League, for the team's four 2012 home games.
The UFL's financial woes, a new venue, less prominent coach, and continued on-field shortcomings hurt the Mountain Lions' attendance figures in 2012, although not nearly to the same extent as the other three UFL markets. Reports of players and staff not getting paid, as well as the 2011 season getting cut short, tested the devotion of fans, as many considered the UFL a dead product. The UFL abruptly halted the season again after four games and pledged to continue its season in 2013, a promise that never came to fruition because of lawsuits against the league.
| Team | Season | W | L | T | Avg. | Finish | Post Season | Awards | Avg. attendance |
| California Redwoods | 2009 | 2 | 4 | 0 | .333 | 3rd | 5,830 | ||
| Sacramento Mountain Lions | 2010 | 4 | 4 | 0 | .500 | 3rd | 18,125 | ||
| Sacramento Mountain Lions | 2011 | 1 | 3 | 0 | .250 | 4th | 18,775 | ||
| Sacramento Mountain Lions | 2012 | 1 | 3 | 0 | .250 | 4th | |||
| Totals | 8 | 14 | 0 | .350 | – | – | – | 14,171 |
This includes postseason games.
| Team | Record | Percent |
|---|---|---|
| Hartford Colonials | 2-2 | .500 |
| Las Vegas Locomotives | 1–4 | .200 |
| Florida Tuskers/Virginia Destroyers | 3–4 | .429 |
| Omaha Nighthawks | 1–3 | .250 |
| Location | Record | Percent |
|---|---|---|
| Home | 3–7 | .300 |
| Away | 4–6 | .400 |
| Neutral | 0-0 | .000 |