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The 2011 UFL season was the third season of the United Football League. The season, which was affected by franchise shifts and schedule delays due in part to the UFL's lingering financial issues (as well as a failure to capitalize on the National Football League's player lockout),〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Financial problems force UFL to delay start of season )〕〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Letter from Commissioner Huyghue )〕〔Smith, Michael David (July 20, 2011). (Jim Fassel: UFL misread the NFL lockout ). ''Pro Football Talk''. Retrieved July 20, 2011〕 began on September 15, 2011 and would have run through October 28, with a championship game set for the following weekend. The regular season was abandoned after the games of October 15 (with two weeks remaining), and the Championship Game moved up to October 21,〔(Source: UFL press release from 10/17/2011 )〕 when the Virginia Destroyers claimed their first UFL title by defeating the two-time defending champion Las Vegas Locomotives 17-3 at Virginia Beach Sportsplex.〔Robinson, Tom (October 22, 2011). (Virginia Destroyers capture UFL title in 17-3 victory ). ''Virginian-Pilot''. Retrieved October 22, 2011.〕 ==Pre-season planning and changes== Though it hoped for as many as six teams in place for the 2010 season, the UFL entered the 2011 season with only four, including having a presence in a new market, the Hampton Roads area of Virginia, which was granted an expansion franchise in August 2010, the Virginia Destroyers. The Destroyers' first off-season was marked with front office and coaching upheaval: Jim Speros had been named owner of the Destroyers before relinquishing control back to the league, who would assign control to former Hartford Colonials owner Bill Mayer in August 2011. The Destroyers off-season would see two coaches leave (see "Coaching Changes" below) as well as a general manager, Doug Williams, who resigned in February 2011 to accept the head football coaching position at his alma mater, Grambling State University. The UFL went back from six to five teams on January 12, 2011, when the league announced it was "ceasing operations" of its Florida Tuskers franchise and moving the Tuskers' coaching staff and list of protected players to Virginia to serve in the same roles with the Destroyers in lieu of an expansion draft. The relocated coaching staff included Tuskers head coach Jay Gruden, who replaced original Destroyers coach Joe Moglia (who was reassigned to the open head coaching position in Omaha) but later accepted a coordinator position with Cincinnati in the NFL. Prior to shuttering the Tuskers franchise (a move the UFL made citing decreased attendance and stadium issues in the Orlando area),〔("Omaha Nighthawks name Joe Moglia new coach" ), from omaha.com, 1/12/2011〕 the league had been aiming for as many as eight franchises for 2011; the league was "pretty committed" to a team in the Los Angeles area (a market it has explored in the past to various degrees), and plans were almost in place for a team in Portland, Oregon.〔("UFL chief pleased by league growth, Mountain Lions," ) from ''Sacramento Bee'', 11/27/2010〕 Though "encouraging conversations" with franchise investors for a sixth team did take place, the UFL announced in February 2011 that new expansion plans would not be made in time for the start of the 2011 season, and that the league would remain at five teams.〔("Source: No 6th Team for 2011 Season," ) from uflaccess.com, 2/9/2011〕〔(Source: UFL press release via oursportscentral.com from 2/10/2011 )〕 In March 2011, however, a report surfaced that a group in Chattanooga, Tennessee, led by Jim Bates and Jeremy Bates, was interested in pursuing a UFL team for that city.〔Mortensen, Chris (2011-03-21). "Another UFL headline on hold or in works - 6th franchise in Chattanooga w a Jim/Jeremy Bates father & son reunion as coaches. A maybe." MortReport (Twitter). Retrieved 2011-03-21.〕〔Carp, Steve (2011-04-21). "UFL commish Michael Huygue insists 2011 season's a go, lockout or not. May add a 6th team for this yr. Portland, Salt Lake or Chattanooga. Before you dismiss Chattanooga, look what Omaha did at turnstiles in inaugural UFL season. Led league in attendance." ''Twitter''. SteveCarpRJ (Twitter). Retrieved 2011-04-21.〕 League officials acknowledged that Chattanooga was in the mix, but only for a 2012 expansion and that the 2011 season was fixed at five teams.〔Paschall, David (2011-03-23). (UFL confirms future Chattanooga interest ). ''Times Free Press''. Retrieved 2011-03-23.〕 The UFL's franchise lineup would encounter further instability when, in late July 2011, it was revealed that the UFL was considering further contraction, with the Hartford Colonials a rumored victim.〔(UFL Won't Admit Hartford Colonials Ship Has Sunk ... Yet ). ''Hartford Courant''. Retrieved July 27, 2011.〕 The league would confirm on August 10 that the Colonials would indeed be shuttered,〔(Source: UFL press release from 8/10/2011 )〕 with Colonials owner Bill Mayer given controlling ownership of the Virginia Destroyers.〔("New owner's decision saved UFL destroyers," ) from ''The Virginian-Pilot'', 9/8/2011〕 The UFL, realizing it could not afford to operate five teams at the moment, chose to contract the Colonials due to a high cost to operate out of Rentschler Field, where the team played its 2010 home schedule.〔("Struggling UFL shuts down Hartford team," ) from Associated Press via Bloomberg Businessweek, 8/11/2011〕 The 2011 UFL Draft was held May 2, 2011, with an additional dispersal draft of Hartford Colonials players conducted on August 15 after the Colonials were shuttered.〔("United Football League Teams Select 24 Former Hartford Colonials Players In Reallocation Draft," ) from ufl-football.com, posted and accessed 8/16/2011〕 The UFL had also indicated that it would aggressively pursue the undrafted free agents that, because of the NFL's ongoing labor stoppage, could not be signed to NFL teams until said stoppage was lifted; the May 2 draft was in part designed to gain access to the undrafted free agent market.〔(Prospects such as Burney and Herzlich must make decision ). NFL.com. Retrieved 2011-05-02.〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「2011 UFL season」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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