The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 season, making it the third longest-running professional football league in North America after the Canadian Football League (CFL) and the National Football League (NFL) until the AFL closed in 2019.
The San Jose SaberCats were a professional arena football team based in San Jose, California. The SaberCats had been members of the Arena Football League (AFL) since 1995 ; and until 2015, they belonged to the AFL's National Conference. Over nineteen seasons of play, the SaberCats emerged as one of the Arena Football League's most successful franchises; at the conclusion of the 2015 season, the SaberCats boasted a lifetime regular season record of 198–98. Moreover, the SaberCats had won a total of four AFL Championships. Their lifetime postseason record stood at 19–12.
Aaron Garcia is a former professional American football quarterback who played 19 seasons in the Arena Football League (AFL), from 1995 to 2014. He played college football at Washington State University before transferring to California State University, Sacramento. After retiring from the AFL, Garcia was named the head coach of the Las Vegas Outlaws in September 2014, and was formally introduced as the head coach of the Outlaws on October 11, 2014. Garcia is married to Bryn Garcia and has five children, Gigi, Bella, Anthony, Christian, and Jaxon.
The 2007 Arena Football League season was the 21st season of the Arena Football League. The regular season began play on March 1, 2007 and concluded on June 25. The league broke its regular-season total attendance record of 1,887,054.
The 2008 Arena Football League season was the 22nd season of the Arena Football League and final season before the 2009 season cancellation and subsequent bankruptcy of the original AFL corporate entity. The regular season began play on February 29, 2008 and concluded on June 22. The playoffs began the following week, and ArenaBowl XXII was held in New Orleans, Louisiana on July 27 between the National Conference champion Philadelphia Soul and the American Conference champion San Jose SaberCats. This game was won by the Soul, 59–56.
The 2011 Arena Football League season was the 24th season in the history of the league. The regular season began on March 11, 2011 and ended on July 23, 2011. The Jacksonville Sharks, in their second year of existence, defeated the Arizona Rattlers 73–70 in ArenaBowl XXIV on August 12, 2011 to conclude the playoffs.
ArenaBowl XXV was the 25th edition of the championship in the Arena Football League. The National Conference champion, Arizona Rattlers, defeated the American Conference champion, Philadelphia Soul, 72–54. The game was played on August 10, 2012. It was the first ArenaBowl at a neutral site since ArenaBowl XXII in 2008, also played in New Orleans. ArenaBowl XXV was played at the New Orleans Arena in New Orleans, Louisiana, home of the New Orleans VooDoo.
The 2012 Arena Football League season was the 25th season in the history of the league. The regular season began on March 9, 2012 with a game between the Pittsburgh Power and the Orlando Predators and ended on July 22, 2012 with a game between the Utah Blaze and Philadelphia Soul. The Arizona Rattlers defeated the Philadelphia Soul by a 72–54 score in ArenaBowl XXV on August 10, 2012 to conclude the playoffs.
The 2013 Arena Football League season was the 26th season in the history of the league. The regular season began on March 23, 2013, with a five-game slate, the first of which to kick off being between the Utah Blaze and the Pittsburgh Power, and ended on July 27, 2013, with the Utah Blaze and Cleveland Gladiators as the last game to kick off. The Arizona Rattlers defeated the Philadelphia Soul by a 48–39 score in ArenaBowl XXVI to conclude the league's playoffs.
The 2013 Orlando Predators season was the 22nd season for the franchise in the Arena Football League. The team was coached by Doug Plank and played their home games at Amway Center. Despite losing their first five games, the Predators recovered enough to qualify for the playoffs. However, they were eliminated by the Philadelphia Soul by a score of 59–55 in the conference semifinals.
The 2013 New Orleans VooDoo season was the seventh season for the franchise in the Arena Football League. The team was coached by Pat O'Hara and played their first three home games at the New Orleans Arena. Due to the renovations to the arena that started immediately following the conclusion of the New Orleans Hornets season, the Voodoo played their remaining six home games at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. The VooDoo had a chance to clinch a playoff berth in their final game, but lost to finish the season with a 5–13 record.
The 2013 San Jose SaberCats season was the 17th season for the franchise Arena Football League (AFL). The team was coached by Darren Arbet and played their home games at the SAP Center at San Jose. The SaberCats qualified for the playoffs with a 13–5 record, but were eliminated by the top seeded Arizona Rattlers in the conference semifinals by a 59–49 score.
The 2014 Arena Football League season was the 27th season in the history of the league. The regular season began on March 14, 2014 and ended on July 26, 2014.
Antonio Narcisse is a former American football center. He played college football at Portland State. He has been a member of the New Orleans VooDoo, Cleveland Gladiators, Spokane Shock, Utah Blaze, Iowa Barnstormers, Portland Thunder, Pittsburgh Power, Jacksonville Sharks and San Jose SaberCats of the Arena Football League (AFL).
The Las Vegas Outlaws were a professional Arena Football League (AFL) team based in Las Vegas, Nevada. They played in the AFL's National Conference West Division in 2015. The franchise was recently owned by Vince Neil, lead singer for Mötley Crüe and former minority owner of the Jacksonville Sharks. On September 11, 2014, it was announced that Aaron Garcia was to be the team's first head coach.
The 2015 Las Vegas Outlaws season was the first and only season for the expansion franchise in the Arena Football League. The team was coached by Aaron Garcia and played their home games at Thomas & Mack Center. The Outlaws finished their inaugural season 5–12–1, with the tie being a cancelled home game against the VooDoo. Though they qualified for the playoffs, the league announced on August 9 that the Outlaws would cease operations effective immediately, and would therefore not participate in the playoffs.
The 2015 New Orleans VooDoo season was the ninth and final season and for the franchise in the Arena Football League (AFL). The team was coached by Dean Cokinos and played their home games at the Smoothie King Center. The team finished the regular season dead last in the league at 3–14-1, with one game cancelled and regarded officially as a tie, and failed to qualify for the playoffs for a third straight season. Following the season, the AFL, which had operated the team as owners since July 15, announced that the VooDoo would cease operations effective immediately.
The 2015 San Jose SaberCats season was the team's 19th in San Jose, California. The team was coached by Darren Arbet and played their home games at the SAP Center at San Jose. They finished first in the Pacific Division with a 17–1 regular season record and went on to defeat the Jacksonville Sharks 68–47 in ArenaBowl XXVIII.
Kimani Jones is a former American football offensive lineman. Prior to his Arena Football career, he played football at Arkansas State University; as a senior, Jones earned First Team All-Sun Belt Conference honors.
The 2016 Arena Football League season was the 29th season in the history of the Arena Football League. Prior to the start of the season, the league contracted to eight teams. The 16-game regular season then began on April 1, 2016 and ended on August 1, 2016. The league, however, kept its eight-team playoff format, which meant that every club qualified for the postseason.
