TUCSON, ARIZONA – The Tucson Sugar Skulls have come to terms with two-time Indoor Football League Coach of the Year and winner of the 2018 IFL Championship, Dixie Wooten, on a two-year agreement to remain head coach and general manager of the team for the 2021 and 2022 seasons.
“We are happy and excited to have Dixie back as our Head Coach and General Manager for the 2021 and 2022 seasons,” said Sugar Skulls Team Owner Cathy Guy. “Dixie’s commitment to our organization, his winning track record, and his ability to put a great product on the field is very fortuitous for our organization.”
Prior to joining Tucson at the end of the 2019 season, Wooten had a 36-8 regular-season record in three seasons as head coach of the Iowa Barnstormers. His teams reached the playoffs all three years, winning the 2018 United Bowl championship. It was the first league championship in Barnstormers franchise history. Wooten was named IFL Coach of the Year in the 2017 and 2018 seasons.
“I’m excited to return back to Tucson. This is the season the Sugar Skulls will be in the running to win it all. Tucson will be an organization that’s a household name and we will work hard as can be to make that a reality,” Wooten said. “We have strong ownership, a great front office, a great coaching staff, and we will have great players. Our motto is ‘Championship or wasted season.”
Under Wooten’s leadership the Barnstormers finished the 2019 regular season second place in the IFL with a 12-2 record, before being defeated by the eventual league champion Sioux Falls Storm in the semifinals of the IFL playoffs. Iowa defeated the Sugar Skulls, 61-58, on a last-minute touchdown in the teams’ only meeting last season at the Tucson Arena. The Barnstormers had the league’s MVP, quarterback Daquan Neal, and put three players on the All-IFL first-team and three on the All-IFL second-team.
“Dixie has a history of building a culture of leadership,” Guy said. “We are committed to our Tucson community and we look forward to seeing our rabid fan base at the Boneyard.”
The Sugar Skulls finished the 2019 regular season with a 7-7 record and were the first expansion franchise in IFL history to qualify for the postseason. Tucson clinched the playoff berth with a thrilling 55-50 victory over the Quad City Steamwheelers in the last game of the regular season at Tucson Arena. Wooten aims to bring this same type of excitement to the Tucson community.
The Sugar Skulls finished the 2019 regular season with a 7-7 record and were the first expansion franchise in IFL history to qualify for the postseason. Tucson clinched the playoff berth with a thrilling 55-50 victory over the Quad City Steamwheelers in the last game of the regular season at Tucson Arena. Wooten aims to bring this same type of excitement to the Tucson community.
“We are all about our community,” Wooten said. “Our success is nothing without Tucson, so we will be visiting our youth and elders in the Tucson community. We are Tucson Tuff.”
Press Release courtesy of the Tucson Sugar Skulls
