Iowa Woo
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The Iowa Woo are a professional indoor football team based in Waterloo, Iowa. They are currently members of The Arena League (The AL or TAL). They play their home games at The Hippodrome at the National Cattle Congress.
History
On May 4, 2023, Waterloo was announced as the third city of the Arena League.
The Woo had North Cedar Elementary School in Cedar Falls take part in helping name the team's mascot. The top three names from each class were selected and fan voting took place to name the mascot. The winning mascot name was Wacky Woo Loo, nicknamed Wacky.
Team logo and name
On June 28, 2023, the team name and logos were announced. Woo was selected for multiple reasons as it pertains to trains and wrestler Ric Flair's legendary "Wooooooo!". Waterloo is home to the Dan Gable Museum, a wrestling museum operated by the National Wrestling Hall of Fame. Waterloo also has a historical tie to the railroad industry. "Woo" is a callback to blaring train whistles.
The primary logo depicts a robed, blonde haired wolf wearing sunglasses holding a football in one arm while striking the Heisman pose. The secondary logo shows the mascot wearing yellow boots. The logos were designed by Ryan Foose.
Iowa's General Manager, Bailey McRae, stated that many submissions consisted of variations of "woo" and "loo".
On October 19, 2023, the team changed their name from the Waterloo Woo to the Iowa Woo.
On March 15, 2024, the team released an updated logo. The new logo depicts a white-haired wolf wearing sunglasses, a cowboy hat, and a Hawaiian shirt holding a football in one arm while striking the Heisman pose.
Changes
On January 14, 2025, head coach Mook Zimmerman had announced his resignation as head coach of the Woo. Mere days later, on January 23, they introduced Victor Mann as their new head coach.
Roster
The Woo hosted the team's first tryout on December 9, 2023. The team's second tryout was on March 2, 2024.
On February 23, 2024 the Woo signed their franchise's first player, Ellis Lankster.
| Iowa Woo roster | ||
|---|---|---|
| Players 0 Myles Goulbourne WR 1 Jamal Couch WR 4 Derrick Wilson DB 5 Marcus Pierce RB 6 Chris Herring DB 7 Darren Lake DE 8 Justice Olibrice QB 9 Adrian Tolbert WR 10 Harding 10 Mustafa Mageed DB 11 Oscar Scott OL 12 Vincent Espinoza 14 Justin Brown WR 16 - 20 Lamar Sayles, Jr. LB 21 Bealeay | Reserve lists 2 Rogria Lewis DB 3 James Jones WR 32 KJ McMillian - Ellis Lankster DB - Jaylen Becton LB - Emmanuel Akingbulu OL - Chris Boudreaux WR - Bob Chase QB - Liam Stone G - Quentin Chaplin WR - Tyalen Shaw QB - Everitt Cunningham LB - Marcus Green DB - J.J. Jones III WR Rookies in italicsupdated June 24, 202416 Active, 13 Inactive |
Staff
Head coaches
| Name | Years | Won | Lost | Ties | Winning % | Postseason |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mook Zimmerman | 2024 | 1 | 7 | 0 | .125 | Lost ArenaMania I |
| Vacant | 2025 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Total | 1 | 7 | 0 | .125 |
Current staff
| Front office Owner – Jeff Holmes Owner – Julia Stone General manager – Vacant Director of operations – Dylan Petersen Director of customer experience – Tanner Blaylock | Head coaches Head coach – Vacant Assistant coach – Frank Coston Offensive coaches Offensive coordinator – TBA Defensive coaches Defensive coordinator – TBA |
Management
On June 28, 2023, Bailey McRae was publicly addressed as the general manager of the team. Amanda McCormick was hired as the general manager for the 2025 season; however, on November 13, 2024 resigned of the title.
On October 19, 2023, Jeff Holmes and Julia Stone were announced as the team owners. They also own two recycling companies, Push Resource Recovery and A-Line Iron & Metals.
On February 29, 2024, the Woo announced Mook Zimmerman as the inaugural head coach.