Lincoln Capitols
Encyclopedia
The Lincoln Capitols were a professional indoor football team that played their home games at Pershing Auditorium
in Lincoln, Nebraska
, United States. They originally planned on becoming the Nebraska Knockout, but the name was scrapped. From 1999 to 2000, they were the Lincoln Lightning of the Indoor Football League
before the IFL was bought out. The Lightning then played in the Arena Football's
farm league during the 2001 season, before leaving the league and joining the NIFL
as the Capitols. During their four-year run, the franchise's most prominent player was a former Nebraska Cornhusker
running back named Damon Benning and the franchise's owner was Andrew Cheesman.
This team in Lincoln has been a pushover for most of the team's history, despite being successful in the regular season. They are the only team to lose in two shutouts, a rarity in the NIFL
The league, hoping to kill off their APFL competition and make the Capitols better, talked with the St. Joseph Storm of the APFL
and interested them in merging with the Lincoln Capitols and becoming the St. Joseph Storm. The team was still bad and was later bought by the league and made a traveling team. The end result was prospective owners saw NIFL as a league to avoid which was a major factor in the league's problems in 2007.
| colspan="6" align="center" | Lincoln Lightning (IFL)
|-
|1999 || 7 || 5 || 0 || 1st Southern || Lost Semifinal (Green Bay
)
|-
|2000 || 10 || 4 || 0 || 2nd Southern || Lost Round 1 (Sioux City
)
|-
| colspan="6" align="center" | Lincoln Lightning (af2)
|-
|2001 || 6 || 10 || 0 || 7th NC Midwestern || --
|-
| colspan="6" align="center" | Lincoln Capitols (NIFL)
|-
|2002 || 10 || 4 || 0 || 1st Pacific Northern || Lost Round 1 || Billings
54, Lincoln 51
|-
|2003 || 9 || 5 || 0 || 2nd Pacific Northern || --
|-
|2004 || 3 || 11 || 0 || 4th Pacific Northern || --
|-
|2005 || 1 || 13 || 0 || 5th Pacific Western || --
|-
| colspan="6" align="center" | Lincoln Capitols/St. Joseph Cyclones
|-
|2006 || 0 || 14 || 0 || 3rd Pacific Western || --
|-
!Totals || 46 || 69 || 0
|colspan="2"| (including playoffs)
Pershing Center
The Pershing Center is a 4,526-seat multi-purpose arena, in Lincoln, Nebraska, USA.It is home to the Lincoln Capitols NIFL indoor football team and the Lincoln Thunder ABA basketball team....
in Lincoln, Nebraska
Lincoln, Nebraska
The City of Lincoln is the capital and the second-most populous city of the US state of Nebraska. Lincoln is also the county seat of Lancaster County and the home of the University of Nebraska. Lincoln's 2010 Census population was 258,379....
, United States. They originally planned on becoming the Nebraska Knockout, but the name was scrapped. From 1999 to 2000, they were the Lincoln Lightning of the Indoor Football League
Indoor Football League
The Indoor Football League began in 1999 as an offshoot of the troubled Professional Indoor Football League. Keary Ecklund, the owner of the Green Bay Bombers and Madison Mad Dogs, left the PIFL after its first, financially-troubled, season to start his own league. Unlike the PIFL, the IFL was an...
before the IFL was bought out. The Lightning then played in the Arena Football's
Af2
AF2 was the name of the Arena Football League's developmental league; it was founded in 1999 and played its first season in 2000. Like parent AFL, the AF2 played using the same arena football rules and style of play. League seasons ran from April through July with the postseason and ArenaCup...
farm league during the 2001 season, before leaving the league and joining the NIFL
National Indoor Football League
National Indoor Football League was a professional indoor football league in the United States. For their first six years, the league had teams in markets not covered by either the Arena Football League or its developmental league, af2, however, that changed briefly with their expansion into AFL...
as the Capitols. During their four-year run, the franchise's most prominent player was a former Nebraska Cornhusker
Nebraska Cornhuskers
The Nebraska Cornhuskers is the name given to several sports teams of the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. The university is a member of the Big Ten Conference...
running back named Damon Benning and the franchise's owner was Andrew Cheesman.
This team in Lincoln has been a pushover for most of the team's history, despite being successful in the regular season. They are the only team to lose in two shutouts, a rarity in the NIFL
The league, hoping to kill off their APFL competition and make the Capitols better, talked with the St. Joseph Storm of the APFL
American Professional Football League
The American Professional Football League is a Midwestern United States-based indoor football league founded in 2003. The league consists of professional and semi-professional teams, with a few core teams that play a full 10 game schedule and other teams that play partial schedules. At the end of...
and interested them in merging with the Lincoln Capitols and becoming the St. Joseph Storm. The team was still bad and was later bought by the league and made a traveling team. The end result was prospective owners saw NIFL as a league to avoid which was a major factor in the league's problems in 2007.
Season-By-Season
|-| colspan="6" align="center" | Lincoln Lightning (IFL)
|-
|1999 || 7 || 5 || 0 || 1st Southern || Lost Semifinal (Green Bay
Green Bay Bombers
The Green Bay Bombers was an indoor football team that played in the Professional Indoor Football League in 1998, and in the Indoor Football League in 1999 & 2000. The Bombers franchise was owned by Keary Ecklund. The team office was based in Neenah, Wisconsin, and played their games at the Brown...
)
|-
|2000 || 10 || 4 || 0 || 2nd Southern || Lost Round 1 (Sioux City
Sioux City Bandits
The Sioux City Bandits are a professional indoor football team, currently a member of the American Professional Football League. They play their home games at the Tyson Events Center....
)
|-
| colspan="6" align="center" | Lincoln Lightning (af2)
|-
|2001 || 6 || 10 || 0 || 7th NC Midwestern || --
|-
| colspan="6" align="center" | Lincoln Capitols (NIFL)
|-
|2002 || 10 || 4 || 0 || 1st Pacific Northern || Lost Round 1 || Billings
Billings Outlaws
The Billings Outlaws were a professional league indoor football team. They were a member of the Indoor Football League, of which they are the current champions. They played their home games at Rimrock Auto Arena at MetraPark...
54, Lincoln 51
|-
|2003 || 9 || 5 || 0 || 2nd Pacific Northern || --
|-
|2004 || 3 || 11 || 0 || 4th Pacific Northern || --
|-
|2005 || 1 || 13 || 0 || 5th Pacific Western || --
|-
| colspan="6" align="center" | Lincoln Capitols/St. Joseph Cyclones
|-
|2006 || 0 || 14 || 0 || 3rd Pacific Western || --
|-
!Totals || 46 || 69 || 0
|colspan="2"| (including playoffs)