January 18, 2025 - 100 Games Today

Fans Have Spoken: Team Name is "Screaming Eagles"

June 7, 2016 - Indoor Football League (IFL)
Salt Lake Screaming Eagles News Release

Exactly 72 years after the United States Army's 101st Airborne Division, nicknamed the Screaming Eagles, conducted one of the most important military air assaults in world history, your new IFL team in Utah will honor those men.

In the early morning hours of D-Day, June 6, 1944, the Screaming Eagles began securing exit and entry paths for other infantry divisions along the English Channel, particularly at Utah Beach. The efforts of the pathfinders, paratroopers and other men in the 101st helped make Operation Overlord, the invasion of German-occupied France, a successful one. They also played a major role in the Battle of the Bulge and Operation Market Garden, the liberation of the Netherlands, and immediately became one of the most revered infantry divisions in world history.

Seven decades after the Screaming Eagles altered the course of history, it is with great pleasure that we announce the football fans of Utah have opted to name their new IFL team the Salt Lake Screaming Eagles.

The team name, proposed by fan Gordon Wright, was selected from a group of more than 300 fan-submitted names.

"My father and father-in-law were both World War II vets, however they were not part of D-Day," Wright said after his name was overwhelmingly chosen by fellow fans. "I liked the name for the World War II reference and the Utah Beach tie."

Nearly 6,000 votes were cast in the first round, which whittled the Goliath-sized field to ten options. Screaming Eagles dominated the final round, earning over 60 percent of the vote.

The Salt Lake Screaming Eagles are believed to be the only professional sports team in the world to be named after the 101st Airborne Division.

• Discuss this story on the Indoor Football League message board...

Indoor Football League Stories from June 7, 2016

Fans Have Spoken: Team Name is "Screaming Eagles" - Salt Lake Screaming Eagles

The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

Other Recent Salt Lake Screaming Eagles Stories