St. Louis Battlehawks facts for kids

Quick facts for kids St. Louis Battlehawks
Current season
Established December 5, 2018; 5 years ago (2018-12-05) Play in The Dome at America's Center (St. Louis, Missouri)
League/conference affiliations
XFL (2020–2023) East Division (2020) North Division (2023) United Football League (2024–present) XFL Conference (2024–present)
Current uniform
Team colors	Royal blue, silver
Personnel
Owner(s)	Fox Corporation (50%), Dany Garcia, Dwayne Johnson, RedBird Capital Partners (50%)
Head coach	Anthony Becht
Team history
St. Louis Battlehawks (2020–present)
Championships
League championships (0)
Conference championships (0)
Division championships (0)
Home stadium(s)
The Dome at America's Center (2020, 2023–present)

The St. Louis Battlehawks are a professional American football team based in St. Louis, Missouri. The Battlehawks compete in the United Football League (UFL) as a founding member of the XFL Conference. The team was founded by Vince McMahon’s Alpha Entertainment and are owned-and-operated by Dwayne Johnson's Alpha Acquico and Fox Corporation. The Battlehawks play their home games at The Dome at America's Center. The Battlehawks have a franchise regular season record of 10–5 (.667), the third highest win percentage among UFL teams as of its 2024 season.

History

Logo from 2020 season, retained with minor adjustments for 2023

McMahon era (2020)

On December 5, 2018, St. Louis was announced as one of eight cities that would join the newly reformed XFL, as well as Seattle, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, DC, Tampa Bay, and Dallas. On April 18, 2019, the team hired Jonathan Hayes, who most recently was tight ends coach for the Cincinnati Bengals, as their first head coach. Hayes is an alumnus of the University of Iowa. The team name and logo were revealed on August 21, 2019, as well as the team’s uniforms on December 3, 2019.

On October 15, 2019, The BattleHawks announced their first player in team history, being assigned former Ole Miss Rebels Quarterback Jordan Ta'amu.

The BattleHawks won their first game in team history on February 8, 2020, defeating the Dallas Renegades 15-9. On March 12, 2020, The XFL announced that the remainder of the 2020 XFL season had been cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The team finished with a 3–2 record. On April 10, 2020, The XFL suspended operations, with all employees, players and staff terminated.

Johnson and Garcia era (2023–present)

Steven Mitchell carries the ball for the BattleHawks during a 2023 game against the DC Defenders

On August 3, 2020, it was reported that a consortium led by Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, Dany Garcia, and Gerry Cardinale (through Cardinale's fund RedBird Capital Partners) purchased the XFL for $15 million just hours before an auction could take place; the purchase received court approval on August 7, 2020. The XFL hired Anthony Becht as a Head Coach on April 13, 2022, with the expectation that he would be coaching the St. Louis team. On July 24, 2022, the return of a St. Louis XFL franchise was confirmed, as well as the hiring of Anthony Becht. On October 31, 2022, the XFL officially announced that the BattleHawks name would be returning, with the logo having slight alterations.

The Battlehawks finished tied for second place in their division in the 2023 regular season with the Seattle Sea Dragons with a 7–3 record. The Sea Dragons were granted the playoff position after several rounds of tiebreakers (and the lack of any wild card, at-large or crossover process, which ensured the eventual champion Arlington Renegades, three games behind St. Louis in overall league standings, got into the playoffs instead). In an offseason showcase in St. Louis, league president Russ Brandon indicated that the Battlehawks would continue in St. Louis "obviously(...)for the very long haul." United States Football League president Daryl Johnston noted that St. Louis would be an ideal team to keep in a merger with the league he presided over, not only for its strong fan support (which he noted was far above and beyond any in the USFL) but because of its central location, making travel expenses affordable.

In September 2023, Axios reported that the XFL was in advanced talks with the USFL to merge the two leagues prior to the start of their 2024 seasons. On September 28, 2023, the XFL and USFL announced their intent to merge with details surrounding the merger to be announced at a later date. The merger would also require regulatory approval. In October 2023 the XFL filed a trademark application for the name "United Football League". On November 30, 2023, Garcia announced via her Instagram page that the leagues had received regulatory approval for the merger and were finalizing plans for a "combined season" to begin March 30, 2024. The merger was made official on December 31, 2023.

Current roster

Players

Staff

Player history

Current NFL players

Notable players

XFL Special Teams Player of the Year award winners

Coach history

Head coach history

Offensive coordinator history

Defensive coordinator history

Rivalries

Vegas Vipers

The Battlehawks' main rival was the Tampa Bay and Vegas Vipers. This rivalry ostensibly ended in 2024 when the Vegas Vipers franchise was discontinued. The Battlehawks finished the rivalry with a 2–0 record against the Vipers.

DC Defenders

The Battlehawks also have a rivalry against the DC Defenders. Although the Defenders have won all three matchups between the two teams, every game has been decided by one possession and has determined who is the top team in the division at that point in the season.

At the end of their first meeting of the 2023 season, three players were ejected after a brawl broke out. A week later, the Battlehawks' quarterback, A. J. McCarron, called their competition the "first XFL rivalry."

Overall regular-season record vs. opponents

Records