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