New York Sentinels

United Football League (2009)

Tombstone

Born: 2009 – UFL founding franchise
Moved: February 16, 2010 (Hartford Colonials)

First Game: October 10, 2009 (L 35-13 @ Florida Tuskers)
Last Game: November 20, 2009 (L 41-7 @ Las Vegas Locomotives)

UFL Championships: None

Stadia

Giants Stadium
Opened: 1976
Demolished: 2010

Rentschler Field
Opened: 2003

Shuart Stadium
Opened: 1963

Marketing

Team Colors:

Ownership

Owner: Bill Mayer

Background

An especially flaccid entry in the ill-conceived United Football League (2009-2012). The New York Sentinels went 0-6 in their only season of competition and never scored more than one touchdown in a game. The team only played one contest in the state of New York during their brief lifespan.

The Sentinels were coached by former New York Jets defensive coordinator Ted Cotrell. 4-time NFL All-Pro defensive end Simeon Rice was the Sentinels’ biggest name. But the team’s best name was leading receiver Craphonso Thorpe.

The UFL played a short 6-game schedule during their 2009 debut season. For whatever reason, the league and the Sentinels chose/were forced to schedule each of the team’s games in a different state. The Sentinel’s debut at Giants Stadium on October 29, 2009 drew announced crowd of 10,818 in the 76,000-seat oval. Game #2 on the campus of Hofstra University on Long Island drew 4,392. The Sentinels’ final “home” game was at Rentschler Field in Hartford, Connecticut before 5,201.

Move To Hartford & Aftermath

The Sentinels moved permanently to Hartford for the UFL’s second season in 2010 and were re-branded as the Hartford Colonials. The Colonials lasted one season before the franchise folded for good in July 2011.

The UFL ran out of money a year later and closed its doors midway through the 2012 season.