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 | |
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| League/conference affiliations | |
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Current uniform | |
| Team colors | Light blue, Yellow, Pink |
| Mascot | Wacky Woo Loo |
| Cheerleaders | Woo Girls |
| Personnel | |
| Owner(s) | Jeff Holmes Julia Stone |
| General manager | Amanda McCormick |
| Head coach | Mook Zimmerman |
| Team history | |
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| Championships | |
| League championships (0) | |
| Conference championships (0) | |
| Division championships (0) | |
| Home arena(s) | |
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History
editOn 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
editOn 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.
Roster
editThe 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
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Reserve lists
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Staff
editFront office
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Head coaches
Offensive coaches
Defensive coaches
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Management
editOn 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- ^ Brown, Chelsie (4 May 2023). "The Arena League bringing a professional football team to Waterloo in inaugural season". KCRG. Retrieved 5 May 2023.
- ^ "Students help name Waterloo Woo mascot". KWWL. 6 May 2024. Retrieved 7 May 2024.
- ^ a b Glidden, Gabe (28 June 2023). "The new Waterloo football team officially has a name". K92.3. Retrieved 28 June 2023.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "Waterloo Arena League football team name unveiled". KWWL. 28 June 2023. Retrieved 28 June 2023.
- ^ a b "New owners and name announced for Waterloo's arena football league". KWWL. 19 October 2023. Retrieved 20 October 2023.
- ^ Glidden, Gabe (16 November 2023). "Want to Play Professional Football? Iowa Woo is Hosting Tryouts". K92.3. Retrieved 18 November 2023.
- ^ Milone, Andy (1 March 2024). "Iowa Woo head football coach confident heading into season one". Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier. Retrieved 2 March 2024.