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

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

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

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
  • 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
  • - 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
Iowa Woo staff
Front office
  • Owner – Jeff Holmes
  • Owner – Julia Stone
  • General manager – Amanda McCormick
  • Director of operations – Dylan Petersen
  • Director of customer experience – Tanner Blaylock
  Head coaches

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]

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