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    Iowa Woo

    From Wikipedia - Reading time: 7 min

    Iowa Woo
    Current season
    Established 2023
    Play in The Hippodrome
    in Waterloo, Iowa
    IowaWoo.com
    League/conference affiliations
    • The Arena League (2024–present)
    Current uniform
    Team colorsLight blue, Yellow, Pink
         
    MascotWacky Woo Loo
    CheerleadersWoo Girls
    Personnel
    Owner(s)Jeff Holmes
    Julia Stone
    General managerVacant
    Head coachVictor Mann
    Team history
    • Waterloo Woo (2023)
    • Iowa Woo (2024–present)
    Championships
    League championships (0)
    Conference championships (0)
    Division championships (0)
    Home arena(s)
    • The Hippodrome (2024–present)

    The Iowa Woo are a professional indoor football team based in Waterloo, Iowa. They are currently members of The Arena League (The AL or TAL). They play their home games at The Hippodrome at the National Cattle Congress.

    History

    [edit]

    On May 4, 2023, Waterloo was announced as the third city of the Arena League.[1]

    The Woo had North Cedar Elementary School in Cedar Falls take part in helping name the team's mascot. The top three names from each class were selected and fan voting took place to name the mascot.[2] The winning mascot name was Wacky Woo Loo, nicknamed Wacky.

    Team logo and name

    [edit]

    On June 28, 2023, the team name and logos were announced. Woo was selected for multiple reasons as it pertains to trains and wrestler Ric Flair's legendary "Wooooooo!".[3] Waterloo is home to the Dan Gable Museum, a wrestling museum operated by the National Wrestling Hall of Fame. Waterloo also has a historical tie to the railroad industry. "Woo" is a callback to blaring train whistles.[4]

    The primary logo depicts a robed, blonde haired wolf wearing sunglasses holding a football in one arm while striking the Heisman pose. The secondary logo shows the mascot wearing yellow boots. The logos were designed by Ryan Foose.[4]

    Iowa's General Manager, Bailey McRae, stated that many submissions consisted of variations of "woo" and "loo".[5]

    On October 19, 2023, the team changed their name from the Waterloo Woo to the Iowa Woo.[6]

    On March 15, 2024, the team released an updated logo. The new logo depicts a white-haired wolf wearing sunglasses, a cowboy hat, and a Hawaiian shirt holding a football in one arm while striking the Heisman pose.

    Original Ric Flair-inspired logo

    Changes

    [edit]

    On January 14, 2025, head coach Mook Zimmerman had announced his resignation as head coach of the Woo. Mere days later, on January 23, they introduced Victor Mann as their new head coach.

    Roster

    [edit]

    The Woo hosted the team's first tryout on December 9, 2023.[7] The team's second tryout was on March 2, 2024.

    On February 23, 2024 the Woo signed their franchise's first player, Ellis Lankster.

    Iowa Woo roster
    Players
    • 0 Myles Goulbourne WR
    • 1 Jamal Couch WR
    • 4 Derrick Wilson DB
    • 5 Marcus Pierce RB
    • 6 Chris Herring DB
    • 7 Darren Lake DE
    • 8 Justice Olibrice QB
    • 9 Adrian Tolbert WR
    • 10 Harding
    • 10 Mustafa Mageed DB
    • 11 Oscar Scott OL
    • 12 Vincent Espinoza
    • 14 Justin Brown WR
    • 16 -
    • 20 Lamar Sayles, Jr. LB
    • 21 Bealeay
    		 Reserve lists
    • 2 Rogria Lewis DB
    • 3 James Jones WR
    • 32 KJ McMillian
    • - Ellis Lankster DB
    • - Jaylen Becton LB
    • - Emmanuel Akingbulu OL
    • - Chris Boudreaux WR
    • - Bob Chase QB
    • - Liam Stone G
    • - Quentin Chaplin WR
    • - Tyalen Shaw QB
    • - Everitt Cunningham LB
    • - Marcus Green DB
    • - J.J. Jones III WR
    • Rookies in italics
    • updated June 24, 2024
    • 16 Active, 13 Inactive

    Staff

    [edit]

    Head coaches

    [edit]
    Name Years Won Lost Ties Winning % Postseason
    Mook Zimmerman 2024 1 7 0 .125 Lost ArenaMania I
    Vacant 2025 — — — — —
    Total 1 7 0 .125

    Current staff

    [edit]
    Iowa Woo staff
    Front office
    • Owner – Jeff Holmes
    • Owner – Julia Stone
    • General manager – Vacant
    • Director of operations – Dylan Petersen
    • Director of customer experience – Tanner Blaylock
    		   Head coaches
    • Head coach – Vacant
    • Assistant coach – Frank Coston

    Offensive coaches

    • Offensive coordinator – TBA

    Defensive coaches

    • Defensive coordinator – TBA
    		  

    Management

    [edit]

    On June 28, 2023, Bailey McRae was publicly addressed as the general manager of the team.[3] Amanda McCormick was hired as the general manager for the 2025 season; however, on November 13, 2024 resigned of the title.

    On October 19, 2023, Jeff Holmes and Julia Stone were announced as the team owners.[6] They also own two recycling companies, Push Resource Recovery and A-Line Iron & Metals.

    On February 29, 2024, the Woo announced Mook Zimmerman as the inaugural head coach.[8]

    References

    [edit]
    1. ^ Brown, Chelsie (May 4, 2023). "The Arena League bringing a professional football team to Waterloo in inaugural season". KCRG. Retrieved May 5, 2023.
    2. ^ "Students help name Waterloo Woo mascot". KWWL. May 6, 2024. Retrieved May 7, 2024.
    3. ^ a b Glidden, Gabe (June 28, 2023). "The new Waterloo football team officially has a name". K92.3. Retrieved June 28, 2023.
    4. ^ a b Petrik, Ethan. "Arena Football: Waterloo arena football franchise name, logo unveiled". No. 28 June 2023. Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier. Retrieved June 29, 2023.
    5. ^ "Waterloo Arena League football team name unveiled". KWWL. June 28, 2023. Retrieved June 28, 2023.
    6. ^ a b "New owners and name announced for Waterloo's arena football league". KWWL. October 19, 2023. Retrieved October 20, 2023.
    7. ^ Glidden, Gabe (November 16, 2023). "Want to Play Professional Football? Iowa Woo is Hosting Tryouts". K92.3. Retrieved November 18, 2023.
    8. ^ Milone, Andy (March 1, 2024). "Iowa Woo head football coach confident heading into season one". Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier. Retrieved March 2, 2024.
    [edit]
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    Original source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iowa Woo
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