The Memphis Maniax were an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

team based in

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census, Memphis is the second-mos ...

. The team was part of the

XFL XFL may refer to: Sports * XFL (2001), a defunct American football league that played its only season in 2001 * XFL (2020), a professional American football league Vehicles * Bell XFL Airabonita, a 1940 U.S. Navy experimental interceptor aircra ...

begun by

Vince McMahon Vincent Kennedy McMahon (; born August 24, 1945) is an American media proprietor and retired professional wrestling promoter, executive, and performer. From 1982 to 2022, he served as the chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of WWE, the w ...

World Wrestling Entertainment World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and vario ...

and by

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...

, a major television network in the United States. Home games were played at

Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium (originally named Memphis Memorial Stadium, and later Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium) is a football stadium located at the former Mid-South Fairgrounds in the Midtown area of Memphis, Tennessee, United States. The st ...

History

The team's name and logo were designed to lead the team's fans into calling the team "The Ax", a shortened form of the word "maniacs". The Maniax Director of Player Personnel was

Steve Ortmayer Conrad Stephen Ortmayer (February 13, 1944 – March 9, 2021) was an American football player, coach, and executive who served as the general manager of the National Football League's San Diego Chargers and St. Louis Rams. Early life and playing ...

, who had become respected in the pro football world for helping to build the

Super Bowl XVIII Super Bowl XVIII was an American football game played on January 22, 1984, at Tampa Stadium between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion and defending Super Bowl XVII champion Washington Redskins and the American Football Conference ( ...

-champion

Los Angeles Raiders The Los Angeles Raiders were a professional American football team that played in Los Angeles from 1982 to 1994 before relocating back to Oakland, California, where the team played from its inaugural 1960 season to the 1981 season and then agai ...

. Steve Ehrhart, who had managed both the

Memphis Showboats The Memphis Showboats were an American football franchise in the United States Football League. They entered the league in its expansion in 1984 and made the 1985 playoffs, losing in the semifinal round to the Oakland Invaders. Perhaps the mo ...

and

Memphis Mad Dogs The Memphis Mad Dogs were a Canadian football team that played the 1995 season in the Canadian Football League. The Mad Dogs were part of a failed attempt to expand the CFL into the United States. They played at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium. ...

, returned as general manager for the Maniax. The head coach was

Kippy Brown Charles Henry "Kippy" Brown1993 Tennessee Volunteers Football Guide', UTSports.com, p. 26. Accessed November 1, 2015. (born March 6, 1955) is an American football former coach and former player who most recently was the wide receivers coach for ...

. At slightly over 20,000 fans per game, the Maniax were in the lower half of league average attendance; this figure was higher than the Mad Dogs had drawn, and comparable to that of the NFL's

Tennessee Oilers Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to the ...

during their lone season in Memphis, but lower than the Showboats. They were in the Western Division with the

Los Angeles Xtreme The Los Angeles Xtreme was a professional American football team based in Los Angeles, California. The team was a member of the XFL (2001), XFL, begun by Vince McMahon of World Wrestling Entertainment and by NBC, a major television network in the ...

San Francisco Demons The San Francisco Demons (originally named San Jose Demons) were a short-lived springtime American football team based in San Francisco, California. This team was part of the failed XFL begun by Vince McMahon of World Wrestling Entertainment and ...

, and Las Vegas Outlaws. They finished tied for second place at 5-5 with the Demons, but did not make the playoffs as the Demons had the better division record during the season. The Maniax were one of two teams to beat the eventual league champion Xtreme, and the only team to beat them twice, going 2-0 vs. their divisional rivals in the regular season; not coincidentally, they, along with the Xtreme and Demons, were the only three XFL teams to maintain the same starting quarterback through the entire season. NBC officials wanted to move the XFL games to afternoons after the first season (2001) due to dismal ratings, and when, somewhat to McMahon's surprise and disappointment the

United Paramount Network The United Paramount Network (UPN) was an American broadcast television network that launched on January 16, 1995. It was originally owned by Chris-Craft Industries' United Television. Viacom (through its Paramount Television unit, which pro ...

(

UPN The United Paramount Network (UPN) was an American broadcast television network that launched on January 16, 1995. It was originally owned by Chris-Craft Industries' United Television. Viacom (through its Paramount Television unit, which pr ...

) wanted to follow suit, the league was then folded and the team disbanded. Ehrhart would later claim that he was originally approached by the XFL to sell the intellectual property rights of the

United States Football League The United States Football League (USFL) was a professional American football league that played for three seasons, 1983 through 1985. The league played a spring/summer schedule in each of its active seasons. The 1986 season was scheduled to be ...

to them, but that he owned the rights to the league, received royalties from them, and refused to sell. (Ehrhart's claims are somewhat dubious as he never held any ownership stake in the league, the original XFL had an

Attitude Era The Attitude Era was a term used by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now known as World Wrestling Entertainment or WWE) to describe the company's programming from November 9, 1997 to May 6, 2002. It started during the Monday Night Wars, a pe ...

aesthetic which did not match the brands the USFL had, and the

United States Patent and Trademark Office The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is an agency in the U.S. Department of Commerce that serves as the national patent office and trademark registration authority for the United States. The USPTO's headquarters are in Alexa ...

has never recognized any claims from any vestige of the USFL, which dissolved in 1990, regarding the league's intellectual properties and has allowed other organizations to register the trademarks.)

Season by season

, - , 2001 , , 5 , , 5 , , 0 , , 3rd Western , , --

Schedule

Regular season

Standings

Team leaders

Rushing yards: 528 –

Rashaan Salaam Rashaan Iman Salaam (October 8, 1974 – December 5, 2016) was an American college and professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL) for four seasons during the 1990s. Salaam played college football ...

(1994

Heisman Trophy The Heisman Memorial Trophy (usually known colloquially as the Heisman Trophy or The Heisman) is awarded annually to the most outstanding player in college football. Winners epitomize great ability combined with diligence, perseverance, and hard ...

winner) Receiving yards: 823 – Charles Jordan Passing yards: 1,499 –

Jim Druckenmiller James David Druckenmiller, Jr. (born September 19, 1972) is a former American football quarterback. In his career, Druckenmiller played for the San Francisco 49ers, Miami Dolphins, and Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League, as well a ...

all-XFL has the complete team stats

References

{{Memphis Maniax Roster XFL (2001) teams 2001 establishments in Tennessee 2001 disestablishments in Tennessee American football teams in Tennessee American football teams established in 2001 American football teams disestablished in 2001