| Dakota Bucks | |
|---|---|
| Established 2016 Play inBismarck Event Center inBismarck, North Dakota DakotaBucks.com | |
 | |
| League/conference affiliations | |
| |
Current uniform | |
| Team colors | Orange, dark blue, black and gold |
| Mascot | TAG |
| Personnel | |
| Owner(s) | BEK Communications[1] |
| General manager | Gregory Schuh |
| Head coach | Rod Miller |
| Team history | |
| |
| Championships | |
| League championships (0) | |
| Conference championships (0) | |
| Division championships (0) | |
| Playoff appearances (3) | |
| Home arena(s) | |
| |
TheBismarck Bucks were anindoor American football team based inBismarck, North Dakota. The Bucks joinedChampions Indoor Football (CIF) as anexpansion team in 2016, and began play for the 2017 season.[2] The team moved to theIndoor Football League (IFL) beginning with the2019 season.[3] The team played its home games at theBismarck Event Center in Bismarck. The team suspended operations in 2022; the team's owners indicated it would attempt to return in 2025 under a new brand, theDakota Bucks, once the regulatory issues that prevented the team from playing in 2023 were resolved. The issues, as of November 2024, remain unresolved, and the IFL left the team off its 2025 schedule.
The Bucks were the third indoor football team to play in Bismarck, following theBismarck Blaze who played in the originalIndoor Football League for its second and final season of 2000, as well as theBismarck Roughriders who played in theNational Indoor Football League from2002 until2003.
On September 28, 2016, it was announced that Bismarck had been granted a team in the CIF to begin play for the 2017 season and owned by the Sallberg family under the corporate name Dakota Pro Football LLC.[1] Richard Davis was announced as the team's first head coach and general manager, with formerUniversity of Mary wide receiver Elby Pope signed as the team's first player.[4]
Following a name-the-team contest, the Bismarck Bucks name, logo and colors were announced on the November 1 episode ofKXMB-TV news/talk programGood Day Dakota.[5]
During the Bucks' second season, head coach and general manager Richard Davis was relieved of duties after several workplace grievances had been filed against him and his wife Judy Davis, another Bucks' employee. He was replaced by formerWichita Force and Bucks' offensive coordinator Paco Martinez on an interim basis.[6]
On October 5, 2018, the Bucks announced that they had joined theIndoor Football League for the 2019 season, following theQuad City Steamwheelers from the CIF.[3] At the beginning of the2019 season, the majority ownership of Dakota Pro Football LLC was sold to BEK Communications by the Sallberg family.[1]
The Bucks were inactive for the2023 season in the IFL. The team will be collaborating with the North Dakota Workforce Safety Insurance (WSI) to determine the scope of services needed to support the franchise.[7] The team' proposed a relocation toFargo, planning to play its games inScheels Arena there, with one game at Rough Rider Center inWatford City; to this effect, the team hosted a "Fargo IFL Gridiron Classic" between the Sioux Falls Storm and Massachusetts Pirates on April 27.[8] To accommodate the change, the team announced a name change to the "Dakota Bucks." The Bucks looked to compete in the 2025 season; this did not come to pass, and on October 31, 2024, the IFL released its 2025 schedule, which did not include the Bucks.[9]
| League champions | Conference champions | Division champions | Playoff berth | League leader |
| Season | League | Conference | Division | Regular season | Postseason results | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Finish | Wins | Losses | Ties | |||||
| 2017 | CIF | North | 4th | 5 | 7 | 0 | Lost Conference Semifinal (Sioux City) 43–82 | |
| 2018 | CIF | North | 4th | 5 | 7 | 0 | Lost Conference Semifinal (Salina) 51–81 | |
| 2019 | IFL | 8th | 2 | 12 | 0 | |||
| 2020 | IFL | — | 0 | 1 | 0 | Season cancelled due toCOVID-19 pandemic | ||
| 2021 | IFL | 7th | 7 | 8 | 0 | Lost First round (Massachusetts) 19–44 | ||
| 2022 | IFL | Eastern | 6th | 3 | 13 | 0 | ||
| 2023 | IFL | Dormant year | ||||||
| 2024 | IFL | Dormant year | ||||||
| Totals | 22 | 48 | 0 | All-time regular season record (2017–2022) | ||||
| 0 | 3 | — | All-time postseason record (2017–2022) | |||||
| 22 | 51 | 0 | All-time regular season and postseason record (2017–2022) | |||||
Sports teams based in theDakotas | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baseball |   | ||||||
| Basketball | |||||||
| Hockey | |||||||
| Roller derby | |||||||
| Soccer | |||||||
| College athletics |
| ||||||