2012 UFL season
| 2012 United Football League season | |
|---|---|
| Regular season | |
| Duration | September 26, 2012 – October 19, 2012 |
| 2012 UFL Championship Game | |
| Date | |
| Site | |
| Champion | Las Vegas Locomotives |
| Runner-up | Omaha Nighthawks |
The 2012 UFL season was the fourth and final season of the United Football League. Four teams began what was originally scheduled to be an eight-game schedule beginning September 26, 2012. The league ceased operations on October 20, 2012, after four weeks, extensive financial problems and dismal attendance figures. At the time of the cessation, the Las Vegas Locomotives had compiled a perfect season to date, thus by default giving them their third UFL Championship.
The league originally stated it would resume the season some time in spring 2013, but the majority of two teams' players filed legal action against the league that winter to claim unpaid salaries, and the league did not set up the necessary agreements to continue by the time spring 2013 had come along. One of the four teams (the Virginia Destroyers) allowed its business license to lapse and folded; the assets of the other franchises were stored in a warehouse in Florida, with the league being left in limbo since the suspension.
The league, which had coerced the resignation of commissioner Michael Huyghue after the 2011 season, had closed all of its offices and remained completely silent throughout most of winter, spring and early summer 2012, raising doubt about a potential 2012 season or even if the league, which had suffered heavy financial losses throughout its existence, would continue at all. League management rested with two of its owners, Bill Mayer and William Hambrecht, while football operations were handled by Las Vegas team president, head coach and general manager Jim Fassel.
For the first time in league history, there was no expansion, contraction, or relocation of any UFL franchises, with all four teams and markets returning from the previous season. The Hartford Colonials, which had been officially "suspended" prior to the 2011 season, did not return and were removed from the league's Web site.
On September 5, 2012, an anonymous source tipped The Virginian-Pilot that the start of the 2012 season, originally slated for September 19 on the schedule released July 26, would be delayed one week. The league confirmed the news the next day, also indicating that the championship game would be delayed two weeks instead of one. Difficulties in securing workman's compensation insurance prompted the delay. Players began reporting for training camp the week of September 17, with the abbreviated camps running through the following weekend.
...
Wikipedia