SUMMER OFF-SEASON NEWS HEATS UP: RAPTORS PLAYERS FILE FOR CHANGE OF MANAGEMENT/CHANGE OF NAME

MISSOULA – With the off-season less than a month old, the first big off-season announcement has been made.

The Missoula Raptor players have taken over management of the Missoula Raptors… which is most unusual as the Raptors were a player-run organization in the first place.

44 current Missoula Raptor players, including all-stars James Decotau, Shane Jurasek, Gavin Johnson and Brian Smith have asked the RMFL via petition (second page petition)for a name and color change, recognized management change… and the retention of the Raptors’ franchise rights.

On Tuesday, August 08, 2006, RMFL Commissioner, Jared Neumeier, officially recognized the “new” organization, under the name the Missoula Phoenix, and subsequently the Phoenix will replace the Raptors in the RMFL and will compete in Montana for another state title in 2007.

“The ‘Raptors’ management team of Paul Ryan and Rajiem Seabrook will still be able to maintain a ‘Missoula Raptor’ team,” Neumeier said, “however, if they were going to compete in the RMFL in 2007, that organization may have to petition as a ‘new team’.” Neumeier went on to say that he could forsee a circumstance where the RMFL Managing Board would accept a Ryan/Seabrook team as a ‘returning team’ given that the Raptors competed and finished their only two RMFL seasons in good standing. “From the standpoint of the RMFL,” Neumeier said, “they did everything they were asked to do these past two seasons.”

The Phoenix, however, have already established a board of directors and hope to reach an agreement to play their home games at Grizzly Stadium in Missoula.

“The new management seems very focused and well-directed,” Neumeier commented, “they have been in touch with me for some time and I am glad that they did wait until after the season to really get organized. These guys showed a lot of class the way they competed to the end. This change is really nothing more than a name change; as I mentioned, the Raptors were set up as a player-run team in the first place; now they will just be run by other players. The team is not changing owners, just changing managers.”

The managing team of Ryan and Seabrook had fallen out of favor for some time with the majority of the Raptor players; particularly mentioned by some of the players was that they refused to disclose the financial statements to some of the players that had requested them. There was believed to be a significant amount of unaccounted for monies in the Raptor coiffeurs. According to Paul Ryan, however, players were diverted to request that information from Brandy Lumpkin, who Ryan listed as the teams bookkeeper.

According to player rep. Shane Jursaek, however, the financial questions were just “one of a number of problems”.

The RMFL and the Missoula Phoenix expect to not only advance the great progress made establishing football in Missoula over the past two seasons, but actually expect to “take it to the next level”.

The Raptor renamed to Phoenix organization will have the following management in place:

General Manager - Chip Bush  

Director of Football Operations - Todd Mackey 

Legal  Representative -  John Velk

Controller - Michael Carrier

Media -  Chris Boehm 

Game Day PR  - Brando Reep

Medical Personal - Mike Johnson

Merchandise - Craig Puccinelle

Player contacts:

James Jacobson

Shane Jurasek 

Names still working with Board of Directors

Susan Crammer

John Monahan

OTHER NEWS: Although the Salt Lake Nemesis have officially folded; a new management group has announced they will be starting up based primarily with ex-Nemesis players and expects to petition as a new team in the AA division of the RMFL for the 2007 season. Watch this site for more news as it becomes available.