Ingolstadt_Dukes Knowpia

Ingolstadt Dukes
Founded	2007
League	German Football League
Based in	Ingolstadt
Colors	White and Black
Owner	TV 1861 Ingolstadt
President	Bettina Ritter
Head coach	Eugen Haaf
Website	in-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 edit

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 edit

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 edit

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

Recent seasons edit

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	GFL2 (South)	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	0	6	387	340	Lost QF: Potsdam Royals (0–54)

PR = Promotion round.
QF = Quarter finals.

Players edit

The current kicker and punter for the Dukes is Zane Davis, from Charlotte, North Carolina.^[5] He is currently attending UNC Chapel Hill.

References edit

^ History (in German) Ingolstadt Dukes website, accessed: 15 April 2015
^ ^a ^b Historic American football tables and results from Germany (in German) football-history.de, accessed: 15 April 2015
^ Das Logo der Ingolstadt Dukes (in German) Ingolstadt Dukes website, accessed: 19 April 2015
^ 3. Liga Süd 2014 tables and results football-aktuell.de, accessed: 19 April 2015
^ "US-Quintett für die Ingolstadt Dukes". football-aktuell. Retrieved 2023-05-21.