The franchise was announced by the ownership group led by
Kevin and Cathy Guy at a press conference held on August 23, 2018, at the Tucson Convention Center. As
Kevin Guy was also the head coach of the
Arizona Rattlers, Cathy was named the majority owner of the Tucson team to oversee primary operations along with Mike Feder and Ali Farhang. The team announced
Marcus Coleman as its first head coach on September 12, 2018. The team name was revealed on September 20, 2018, after a name-the-team contest originating from the local tradition of creating
sugar skulls for
Día de Muertos (
Day of the Dead) and the
Roman Catholic holiday of
All Souls Day. The team qualified for the playoffs in their first season with a 7–7 record. They lost to the eventual league champion
Sioux Falls Storm 50–47 in the first round. After the season, the Sugar Skulls hired two-time IFL coach of the year Dixie Wooten away from the
Iowa Barnstormers as head coach and general manager for the 2020 season. However, the season was cancelled due to the
COVID-19 pandemic before the Sugar Skulls played any games. In
October 2025, the Tucson Sugar Skulls indoor football franchise was acquired by a group of Tucson investors led by community leader-businessman Edmund Marquez, and attorney-sports booster Ali Farhang. The sale — approved by the Indoor Football League (IFL) — became effective on
October 13, 2025. Under the new ownership, Marquez serves as team president and holds a 25% ownership stake. Farhang, who had been a minority owner and the team’s general counsel since its founding, increased his stake to 20%. Other minority investors — including former majority owners Kevin Guy and Cathy Guy — now each hold smaller minority shares (approximately 5% each). As part of the reorganization, the team offices were relocated from the Kino Sports Complex to a building at 2719 N. Campbell Avenue owned by Marquez. ==Statistics==