Ingolstadt Dukes

Ingolstadt Dukes
Founded2007
LeagueGerman Football League
Based inIngolstadt
ColorsWhite and Black
   
OwnerTV 1861 Ingolstadt
PresidentBettina Ritter
Head coachEugen Haaf
Websitein-dukes.de

The Ingolstadt Dukes are a German American football team from Ingolstadt, Bavaria.

The club, formed in 2007, experienced its greatest success in 2016 when it won promotion to the German Football League, the top tier of league football in Germany.

History

The Ingolstadt Dukes were formed on 8 October 2007 at the club house of TV 1861 Ingolstadt, which became the parent organisation for the American football club. The early seasons of the new club were spent in nearby Manching as the Dukes were unable to secure a permanent home in Ingolstadt.[1]

The Dukes first season, in 2008, was spent in the tier eight Aufbauliga Bayern where it finished fourth and last in its division. It spent the following year in the Landesliga Bayern where it finished first and remained unbeaten all season. The club rose to the Verbandsliga for 2010, won this league, too, and played in the Bayernliga in 2011. After another league title there the Dukes entered the tier three Regionalliga Süd from 2012. Three seasons at this level followed in which the club improved season by season.[2]

In 2014, the Dukes won the Regionalliga, remaining unbeaten throughout and earned promotion to the German Football League 2 for the first time after a play-off victory over Regionalliga Mitte runners-up Langen Knights. The team finished second in the southern division of the GFL2 in 2015.[2]

In 2016, the Dukes made their step to the German Football League.

At the end of their first season, 2017, the Dukes ranked 4th. In the playoff-quarterfinal the Dukes lost against Braunschweig Lions.

Logo and name

The club's logo results from the cities car number plates which start with In. The club's name, the Dukes, comes from the fact that Ingolstadt was once the capital of the Duchy of Bavaria-Ingolstadt.[3]

Honours

  • GFL
    • Play-off qualification: 2017, 2023
    • League membership: 2017–2019, 2023
  • GFL2
    • Champions: 2016, 2022
  • Regionalliga Süd
    • Champions: 2014, 2021
  • Bayernliga
    • Champions: 2011
  • Verbandsliga Bayern-Süd
    • Champions: 2010
  • Landesliga Bayern
    • Champions: 2009

Recent seasons

Recent seasons of the Dukes:[4]

Year Division Finish Points Pct. Games W D L PF PA Postseason
2012 Regionalliga Süd 3rd 10–10 0.500 10 5 0 5 307 176 —
2013 2nd 16–4 0.800 10 8 0 2 366 114 Lost PR: Holzgerlingen Twister (6–6 & 23–24)
2014 1st 24–0 1.000 12 12 0 0 521 195 Won PR: Langen Knights (42–25 & 53–7)
2015 GFL2 (South) 2nd 22–6 0.786 14 11 0 3 476 182 —
2016 1st 28–0 1.000 14 14 0 0 565 169 Won PR: Rhein-Neckar Bandits (41–6 & 60–0)
2017 GFL (South) 4th 14–14 0.500 14 7 0 7 399 406 Lost QF: New Yorker Lions (6–47)
2018 6th 9–19 0.321 14 4 1 9 350 401 —
2019 5th 10–18 0.357 14 5 0 9 298 433 —
2020 No season played because of the COVID-19 pandemic
2021 Regionalliga Süd 1st 12–0 1.000 6 6 0 0 282 119 Won PR: Gießen Golden Dragons (35–22)
Won PR: Pforzheim Wilddogs (48–0)
2022 GFL2 (South) 1st 20–0 1.000 10 10 0 0 445 147 Won PR: Frankfurt Universe (withdrew)
2023 GFL (South) 4th 12–12 0.500 12 6 – 6 387 340 Lost QF: Potsdam Royals (0–54)
2024[5] Landesliga Bayern (5th)
  • PR = Promotion round.
  • QF = Quarter finals.

Players

The current kicker and punter for the Dukes is Zane Davis, from Charlotte, North Carolina.[6] He is currently attending UNC Chapel Hill.

References

  1. ^ History Archived 2015-02-25 at the Wayback Machine (in German) Ingolstadt Dukes website, accessed: 15 April 2015
  2. ^ a b Historic American football tables and results from Germany Archived 2017-09-28 at the Wayback Machine (in German) football-history.de, accessed: 15 April 2015
  3. ^ Das Logo der Ingolstadt Dukes (in German) Ingolstadt Dukes website, accessed: 19 April 2015
  4. ^ 3. Liga Süd 2014 tables and results football-aktuell.de, accessed: 19 April 2015
  5. ^ "Ingolstadt Dukes informieren über Rückzugspläne" (in German). GFL. Retrieved 2024-08-26.
  6. ^ "US-Quintett für die Ingolstadt Dukes". football-aktuell. Retrieved 2023-05-21.