 | |
| Founded | 2009 |
|---|---|
| Folded | 2011 |
| Based in | Hartford, Connecticut |
| Home stadium |
|
| Owner(s) | Bill Mayer |
| Colors | Blue, Metallic Gold |
The Hartford Colonials, originally the New York Sentinels, were a professional American football team that played in the United Football League in its 2009 and 2010 seasons. A charter member of the UFL, the Sentinels began play in 2009 nominally representing New York City but playing its home games in three stadiums, none of which were in the city proper: Pratt & Whitney Stadium at Rentschler Field in East Hartford, Connecticut; Shuart Stadium in Hempstead, New York (on Long Island); and the now-demolished Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (The Sentinels had scheduled a game for Citi Field in Queens but relocated that game to Long Island.) As the Colonials, the team played all of its home games at Rentschler Field in East Hartford, representing the adjacent city of Hartford. League-wide financial problems and the high rate of rent at Rentschler Field led to the league suspending the Colonials' operations in August 2011, a month before it would have begun play in its third season. The league had stated that the Colonials could be brought back for the 2012 UFL season, if it were to be played, but the announcement of the 2012 season removed Hartford's logo (which had remained on the site in 2011, with indication it had been suspended) from the UFL Web site and did not include the team in the league's 2012 schedule.
The Colonials and Sentinels were historically the worst of the UFL's five teams, having a combined record of 3–11 (.214) and finishing in last place in both seasons. They hold the dubious distinction of accumulating the league's only winless record in 2009.
The team had three head coaches in its history. Ted Cottrell coached the Sentinels in 2009 and was fired after that season. Chris Palmer coached the 2010 season, before he was hired by the Tennessee Titans as their offensive coordinator in 2011. Former NFL head coach Jerry Glanville was named as his replacement for 2011 but the team folded before he coached a game.[1]
- ^ Glanville, Jerry (2011-03-21). "Jerry Glanville Named Hartford Colonials Head Coach and General Manager". United Football League. Archived from the original on 2011-03-22. Retrieved 2011-03-21.