The Cincinnati Commandos have decided to suspend operations and play for the 2013 season. As a result of industry analysis and growth projections, the decision to forgo the season and re-organize was an obvious choice.

Due to instability with our leagues the last few seasons and throughout the industry, the Commandos organization needs to re-organize for our future success. It is paramount to increase ticket sales and fan base as well as marketing initiatives and corporate partnerships for the Commandos to move forward in 2014 and beyond.

General Manager Jason Buckley commented on the situation; “While we are disappointed we will not be able to play in 2013, we would like to thank all of our fans who supported the Commandos through our THREE-consecutive championship runs!!!”

We look forward to playing and seeing you in 2014.  Go COMMANDO

The cost for the workout is $50.  If you make our roster, we will return that $50 to you.  We have 32 positions to sign, so be in shape and prepared to perform.

We will provide T-shirts for all participants.  You must bring your own running shoes, cleats, gloves and tape.

You must pre-register in order to participate in this workout.

For more information contact LaVar Glover (Director of Player Personnel) at 937-694-2064 or email at lavar.glover@cincinnaticommandos.com  (Preferred)

The 3-time championship coach of the Cincinnati Commandos Indoor Football team has decided to explore his coaching options and leave the Commandos.  Billy Back has told the Commandos organization that he will soon be deciding on a coaching position that is considered at higher level of professional football.   To take over, the Commandos organization has named J.C. Baker as the new head coach effective immediately.

J.C. Baker has been an assistant coach for the past two seasons with the Commandos and has served as the wide receivers coach.  Baker helped coach the Commandos high-octane offense that was the highest ranked in the Continental Indoor Football League (CIFL) during the 2011 season and second this past season in the United Indoor Football League (UIFL).  During his playing days, Baker was a 4-year starting wide receiver for the University of Cincinnati and is still among the top 10 in career receptions for the Bearcats.  Following his collegiate career, Baker played for two seasons in the Arena Football League for Buffalo and Columbus.

Billy Back had been the only head coach of the Commandos, guiding the team to three consecutive championships; winning the CIFL title in 2010 and 2011 and the UIFL championship in 2012.  Back expects to announce his decision as to where he will coach soon.  Everyone with the Commandos organization wishes Coach Back the best of luck as he looks to broaden his coaching horizon and thanks him for his outstanding leadership, which produced unprecedented three-consecutive Cincinnati professional football championships.

On the heels of three straight titles, plans are underway for the 2013 season for the Commandos, as the team returns to the CIFL.  Ticket information, a schedule and player try-out information will be released soon.

“The Cincinnati Commandos organization would like to thank Jim O’Brien and the rest of the CIFL for giving us the opportunity to rejoin the league and compete for another title,” said owner Dennis Whitman, “I was personally very impressed with Mr. O’Brien and his outlook on how a successful league should be structured and function as a “team.”  I look forward to working with everyone involved in the CIFL and hopefully the Commandos can live up to the standard expected from us by our fans and all of our sponsors.”

The Commandos will play their home contests at the Cincinnati Gardens when the season begins in February of 2013.

Estero, Florida

The Commandos were led for the second straight game by wide-receiver turned quarterback Nez Mincy, due to an ankle injury to starting quarterback Tyler Sheehan.  Mincy was 10-13 for 155 yards and threw five first half touchdowns and ran for another in staking Cincinnati to a 42-29 lead at halftime.  Phillip Barnett and Brandon Boehm were on the receiving end for two scoring passes each, while Mack Ogletree also caught a touchdown pass.  Mincy added three touchdown passes in the second half to secure the third consecutive championship for the Commandos in their third year of existence.

Not only did the Commandos go on the road to win the championship, they had to overcome a nightmare trip to Southwest Florida.  After leaving on a bus late Friday night, the charter experienced not one, but four breakdowns en-route.  After 27 hours, the Commandos finally arrived at their hotel in Estero, Florida early Sunday morning.

The win caps a 10-2 season for the Commandos.  Florida finishes the season at 11-1.

The Commandos advanced to the championship game with a 62-40 win over the Erie Explosion in the UIFL North Division Finals and improved to 9-2 on the season.  The Florida Tarpons will enter the game with an unbeaten record at 12-0, after capturing the South Division Finals with a 60-29 victory over the Lakeland Raiders.  This will be the first-ever meeting between the two teams.

The Commandos will be playing for their third consecutive league championship.  Cincinnati won the 2010 and the 2011 championship while playing in the Continental Indoor Football League.  The 2012 season, was the first season playing in the UIFL for both the Commandos and Tarpons.

Cincinnati
The Commandos are led offensively by quarterback Tyler Sheehan, who led the entire UIFL with 59 touchdown passes and finished a very close second with 253.7 average passing yards per game.  However, the status of Sheehan for the championship game is unknown, as he was unable to play in the North Division Finals because of an undisclosed injury.  Wide receiver Nez Mincy, a former four-year starting high school quarterback at Cincinnati’s Jacob High School, filled in as if he were still a full-time quarterback, throwing for five touchdowns and running for an additional three scores, in the Commandos win.

Should Mincy not be called into duty as a thrower, his receiving skills are part of a very deep wide receiver corp.  Former Middletown Middie, Phillip Barnett led the UIFL in catches per game at 7.7 and led the Commandos in receiving yards per game at 98 and in receiving touchdowns with 22.  Mincy and Brandon Boehm chipped in with 14 and 13 touchdown catches respectively.

In all, the Commandos offense ranked number two in the UIFL in total offense, scoring offense and passing offense.

Defensively, the Commandos boasted lineman James Spikes as the UIFL North Division Defensive Player of the Year.  Spike led a defensive front wall that was ranked number one in the league in rushing defense, as the opposing offense generated negative yardage rushing against Cincinnati.  Spikes was tied for first in the UIFL with 16.5 tackles for loss and third in the league with 12 sacks.  James Frazier added 10 quarterback sacks for the Commandos.  Defensive back Corey Stewart led the stingy Commandos secondary with 14 interceptions including returning one for a score.  Darren Barnett and E.J. Underwood also ran two interception returns for touchdowns.  Barnett had seven picks, while Underwood had six.  The Commandos led the UIFL in team interceptions with 38.

Florida
The Tarpons quarterback is an arena football legend and has an Ohio tie-in as well.  Chris Wallace is a native of Springfield, Ohio and played collegiately at the University of Toledo.  According to the Florida Tarpons website, Wallace played eight seasons with in the af2 team in Ft. Meyers, Florida and passed for more than 22,000 yards.  In 2008, Wallace broke the all-time league record for touchdown passes (484) and became af2’s all-time yardage leader in 2009. In 2012, Wallace threw for 58 touchdown, second only to Sheehan and was fourth in average passing yards/game at 205.

The main receiving targets for Wallace are Carlos Singleton and Donald Fusilier.  Singleton average just over 80 yards receiving per game, which led the team and had 24 touchdowns, while Fusilier led Florida with 27 touchdown catches on 65 yards receiving per game.

The Tarpons were fourth in the UIFL in total offense per game and third in passing and scoring offense.

On the defensive side of the ball, Florida allowed the fewest points per game in the league, at just over 24.  Their total defense of yards per game was the second lowest in the UIFL at 116 a game, as was their rushing (1.4/game) and passing defense (114.6/game).  Like the Commandos in the North Division, Florida has the Defensive Player of the Year in the South Division in defensive back Terrence Jones.  Despite playing in the secondary, Jones was second on the team in tackles with 44 and topped the team with 9 interceptions, which was fourth best in the UIFL.

The Commandos advanced to the championship game with a 62-40 win over the Erie Explosion in the UIFL North Division Finals on Saturday, June 23, while the Tarpons continued their unbeaten season on Monday, June 25, by capturing the South Division Finals with a 60-29 victory over the Lakeland Raiders.

The Commandos will take a 9-2 record into the UIFL Championship game, while Florida will bring a perfect 12-0 mark into the league finals.

The Commandos will be playing for their third consecutive league championship.  Cincinnati won the 2010 and the 2011 championship while playing in the Continental Indoor Football League.  The 2012 season, was the first season playing in the UIFL for both the Commandos and Tarpons.

The Cincinnati Commandos Indoor Football Team will travel to play the Florida Tarpons for the championship of the United Indoor Football League.  The title game will be played on Monday, July 2 at the Germain Arena in Estero, Florida.

The Commandos advanced to the championship game with a 62-40 win over the Erie Explosion in the UIFL North Division Finals on Saturday, while the Tarpons continued their unbeaten season on Monday night, by capturing the South Division Finals with a 60-29 victory over the Lakeland Raiders. 

The Commandos will take a 9-2 record into the UIFL Championship game, while Florida will bring a perfect 12-0 mark into the league finals.

The Commandos will be playing for their third consecutive league championship.  Cincinnati won the 2010 and the 2011 championship while playing in the Continental Indoor Football League.  The 2012 season, was the first season playing in the UIFL for both the Commandos and Tarpons. 

Despite playing without their two-year starting quarterback Tyler Sheehan because of injury, the Commandos were able to overcome that absence.  Nez Mincy, normally a wide receiver, filled in admirably for the injured Sheehan, throwing five touchdown passes and running for three more.  Defensively, Corry Stewart came away with three interceptions from the Erie quarterback A.J. McKenna.

The Commandos advance to play the winner of the Monday night UIFL South Division Championship playoff game in Ft. Myers, Florida, between the Florida Tarpons and the Lakeland Raiders. The date and location of the UIFL Championship game, depends on the result of the South Division Championship.

With the win, the Commandos look to extend their streak of back-to-back league championships.  The Commandos won the 2010 and the 2011 championship in the Continental Indoor Football League.  The 2012 season, was the Commandos first season playing in the UIFL.

Erie got a come from behind playoff win over the Marion Blue Racers on Saturday, June 16 to advance to the North Division finals. The Commandos won the UIFL North Division regular season and had a first round playoff bye. The Commandos and Explosion split their two regular season games, with the road team capturing the win in those games. The Commandos won at Erie 55-34 on April 21, while the Explosion handed the Commandos their one-and-only home loss, ever, with a convincing 59-41 win at the Cincinnati Gardens on May 26.

Tickets for the UIFL North Division Playoff Finals are available at the Cincinnati Gardens Box Office and Ticketmaster locations. Don’t forget about $1 happy hour beer and FREE PARKING!

The Cincinnati Commandos are the UIFL North Division Champions for 2012.  The Commandos earned the title, completing their regular season with a win on June 2, compiling a record of 8-2.  The Commandos then had to wait and watch as the Marion Blue Racers defeated the Erie Explosion 65-64 in overtime on Saturday night, June 9.

By virtue of capturing the North Division, the Commandos will await yet another Marion-Erie game, as those two teams will meet in the opening round of UIFL North Division playoffs on Saturday, June 16 at Erie.  The winner of that game will travel to play the Commandos at the Cincinnati Gardens on Saturday, June 23 at 7:30 pm.

Tickets are available at the Cincinnati Gardens Box Office, at all Ticketmaster Outlets including select Kroger stores, charge by phone at 800-745-3000 or online at www.ticketmaster.com.

The Cincinnati Commandos are the longest-tenured professional indoor football team in the city of Cincinnati. All seven home games are played at the historic Cincinnati Gardens. Tickets are currently on sale via Ticketmaster or via the Cincinnati Gardens box office, calling (513) 631-7793 or visiting in person at 2250 Seymour Avenue, Cincinnati, OH 45212.