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Below is a synopsis of the Racine Raiders from our FAQ's page. Please visit the Raiders' website for more in-depth details.
What, exactly, is minor league football?
Minor league football, sometimes called semi-pro football, is a sport organized like any other, made up of players who love to play football (as they did in high school and/or college), but who otherwise are unable or disinterested in playing at the professional level. A few players use the minor league system North American Football League Logoto condition themselves to rise to another level, mainly Arena Football.
Scores of minor league football leagues exist in the United States and Canada, some of which are made up of hundreds of teams. The Raiders belong to the North American Football League (NAFL), which boasts 114 teams in 23 divisions in eight regions in four conferences. The Raiders belong to the Western Lakes Division of the Great Lakes Region in the Northern Conference. There they keep company with the Kane County Eagles, McHenry County Gladiators, Indianapolis Tornados, and the Milwaukee Marauders.
Each league has its own year end championships and title games. In the Raiders' 52-year history, they have won seven national titles.
Who owns the Raiders?
Like the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League (NFL), the Racine Raiders are owned and operated by a Board of Directors. It wasn't always that way. Years ago, the team was privately owned by an individual or individuals. In 1986, though, after the privately-owned, for-profit Gladiators fell on hard times, longtime Raider staffers Bob Milkie and Joe Mooney set out to make the Raiders a non-profit group governed by a board. With some help from the Bank of Elmwood and others, including a team in Detroit that went belly-up and was only too glad to sell us their uniforms, the newest installment of the "Racine Raiders" was born.
Racine Raider veteran linebacker Brian Forston
How old are the Raiders?
Well, Brian Forston is nearing 40...Just kidding. He is but we don't think that's the point of your question. While minor league football in Racine has roots dating back to the late-19th century, the Raiders, as we know them today, have been around since 1953 - again, first as the Raiders, then as the Gladiators, then as the Raiders again. (A source close to the team asks why the next logical name of the team wasn't "The Radiators.") So, that makes the team 52 years old.
Do the players get paid?
Believe it or not, no. In fact, no one affiliated with the Raiders gets paid, except for the officials and security personnel on game nights. Everyone else, 55 players, nine coaches, a General Manager, a dozen board members and more than 150 staff do this for the love of the game. Some minor league teams do, indeed, pay their players a nominal amount, usually in an effort to attract better talent, but not the Raiders. In fact, some minor league teams actually require their players to pay to play!
Raider players do get meal money on some road games and certain players (those who travel long distances) get gas/mileage reimbursement for practices and home games. Other than that, no, the players don't get paid.
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