North Michigan Muskies
North Michigan Muskies | |
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Established 2023 Play in Traverse City, Michigan at the Howe Ice Arena NorthMichiganMuskies.com | |
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League/conference affiliations | |
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Current uniform | |
Team colors | Moss Green, Sea Green, White |
Personnel | |
Owner(s) | Tom Lewis |
President | Drake Roach |
General manager | Tom Lewis |
Head coach | Tom Lewis |
Team history | |
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Championships | |
League championships (0) | |
Conference championships (0) | |
Division championships (0) | |
Home arena(s) | |
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The North Michigan Muskies are a professional indoor football team based in Traverse City, Michigan. They are current members of American Indoor Football. They were founded in 2023 as the expansion version of the RiverCity Rage. They were set to start in Council Bluffs, Iowa, and play at the Mid-America Center for 2024, however, relocated to Coralville, Iowa, and decided to rebrand as the Coralville Chaos for the 2025 season. Despite making it to the 2025 AIF Championship, they relocated to Traverse City and will begin playing their home games at the Howe Ice Arena starting in 2026.
History
[edit]Brief "RiverCity Rage" revival, then rebranding as the Coralville Chaos (2024)
[edit]
The franchise was initially going be to named the RiverCity Rage after a former indoor football franchise that played in several leagues between 2001 and 2009. This expansion version of the Rage would take the field in 2025 under new ownership of Dominic Montero (also owner of the Cedar Rapids River Kings) and were announced as one of the newest members of the relaunched American Indoor Football league. They initially announced that they would be playing at the Mid-America Center in Council Bluffs for 2024. However, due to careful analysis of the financial outlook of the team—and the Arena Football League's laying stake to Council Bluffs by establishing the Iowa Rampage there (a team that would ultimately never play there[1])—the Rage announced that they will play in the AIF starting in the 2025 season at the Xtream Arena in Coralville,[2] rebranding themselves the Coralville Chaos on March 26, 2024.[3] On March 28, the Chaos hired arena football veteran Frank Haege, two-time af2 champion with the original Quad City Steamwheelers, as the team's general manager.[4] The team initially announced former Washington Wolfpack special teams coach Curtis Williams as the team's first head coach, but was terminated following an arrest.
On Valentine's Day 2025, the Chaos made their debut on the road at the West Michigan Ironmen losing 75–7.[5] On that same weekend, the Chaos named Wisconsin Aviators owner/head coach Lawerance Peters as their new head coach. The Chaos made it to the 2025 AIF Championship Game against the Ironmen in their inaugural season played on May 3, 2025, only to lose to the Ironmen 76–24.
Move to Michigan and rebranding as the Muskies (2025–future)
[edit]On July 24, 2025, Chaos ownership announced on their website and Facebook that they were relocating their franchise to Traverse City, Michigan, and are rebranding themselves as the North Michigan Muskies after just one season in Coralville. Despite making it to the AIF Championship, they will begin playing their home games at the Howe Ice Arena at the Grand Traverse County Civic Center in Traverse City. The team also announced that Tom Lewis would become their new part-owner, general manager and head coach.[6]
Season-by-season
[edit]League champions | Conference champions | Division champions | Playoff berth | League leader |
Season | Team | League | Conference | Division | Regular season | Postseason results | ||
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Finish | Wins | Losses | ||||||
2023 | Dormant year | |||||||
2024 | Dormant year | |||||||
2025 | 2025 | AIF | 2nd | 3 | 2 | Lost 2025 AIF Championship to West Michigan | ||
Totals | 3 | 2 | All-time regular season record | |||||
0 | 1 | All-time postseason record | ||||||
3 | 3 | All-time regular season and postseason record |
Current roster
[edit]Quarterbacks
Running backs
Wide receivers
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Offensive linemen
Defensive linemen
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Linebackers
Defensive backs
Special teams
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Reserve lists
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Staff
[edit]
Front office
Head coaches
Offensive coaches
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Defensive coaches
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References
[edit]- ^ Glover, Maury (May 6, 2024). "Arena Football League questions arise after Iowa team leaves league". FOX 9. Retrieved May 9, 2024.
- ^ River City Rage Announces Relocation to Coralville IA for 2025 Indoor Football Season Archived 2010-07-18 at the Wayback Machine, AIF website, October 3, 2023
- ^ https://www.press-citizen.com/story/entertainment/2024/03/25/coralville-chaos-to-join-american-indoor-football-league-in-2025-aif/73094905007 Coralville Chaos to join the American Indoor Football League in 2025], Ryan Hansen, Iowa City Press-Citizen, March 26, 2024
- ^ Hansen, Ryan (March 28, 2024). "'A complete entertainment event': Coralville Chaos to debut at Xtream Arena in 2025". Iowa City Press-Citizen. Retrieved November 10, 2024.
- ^ "AIF Week 1 West Michigan Ironmen Vs Coralville Chaos (Part 2)". KLLB Media YouTube Channel. February 14, 2025. Retrieved March 27, 2025.
- ^ Football, American Indoor (July 24, 2025). "Coralville Chaos Relocates to Traverse City, Michigan — Rebranded as North Michigan Muskies". AIF | American Indoor Football. Retrieved July 24, 2025.