Bay Area Panthers

Last updated

Bay Area Panthers
AmericanFootball current event.svg Current season
Established 2019
Play in San Jose, California
at the SAP Center
BayAreaPanthers.com
Bay Area Panthers Logo.svg
League/conference affiliations
Indoor Football League (2020–present)
  • Western Conference (2022-present)
Current uniform
Team colorsBlack, gold and white
   
Personnel
Owner(s) Marshawn Lynch and Roy Choi [1]
PresidentYosup Shim [1]
Head coach Rob Keefe [2]
Team history
  • Oakland Panthers (2020–2021)
  • Bay Area Panthers (2022–present)
Championships
League championships (1)
Conference championships (1)
Division championships (0)
Playoff appearances (2)
Home arena(s)

The Bay Area Panthers are a professional indoor football team based in San Jose, California. They are a member of the Indoor Football League (IFL) and were to begin play in 2020 at Oakland Arena as the Oakland Panthers. [3] Due the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Panthers' inaugural season was cancelled and then the team withdrew from the following 2021 season. Prior to the 2022 season, the Panthers announced they would instead play their home games at the SAP Center in San Jose and were renamed after the Bay Area.

Contents

The Panthers are co-owned by Oakland native and NFL All-Pro running back, Marshawn Lynch, and by Roy Choi, who also owns the IFL's Cedar Rapids River Kings and San Diego Strike Force. [1] The Panthers are the Bay Area's first arena/indoor football team since the San Jose SaberCats, who played in the Arena Football League from 1995 until 2008, and again from 2011 until 2015, winning four ArenaBowl championships.

History

Oakland Panthers original logo OaklandPanthers.png
Oakland Panthers original logo

With the scheduled departure of the National Football League's Oakland Raiders relocation to Las Vegas in 2020 and the Golden State Warriors move to San Francisco in the 2019–20 season, on April 17, 2019, it was first reported that Roy Choi was in talks to bring an expansion Indoor Football League (IFL) team to Oakland for the 2020 season. Choi had previously purchased the Cedar Rapids River Kings and launched the expansion San Diego Strike Force in the IFL. [4] The Panthers were officially announced as an IFL expansion team on September 10, 2019, along with their logo, color scheme, and coaching staff by co-owners Roy Choi and former NFL All-Pro running back Marshawn Lynch. The team planned to play out the Warriors' former home, the Oakland Arena. The Panthers' name references the indigenous Bay Area cougar, Oakland's involvement in the rise of the Black Panther Party in the 1960s, and the blockbuster Oscar-winning Marvel Studios movie Black Panther , directed by Oakland native Ryan Coogler. A team of the same name had originally been announced to play in the proposed Freedom Football League in December 2018, though no news had come from that league after the initial announcement. [5] Because of the rising cost of living in the Bay Area, the Panthers stated they would provide lodging and meals to their players in addition to their regular salary. [1] The team hired Kurt Bryan, best known for devising the A-11 offense, as their inaugural head coach.

However, the 2020 IFL season was curtailed in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic before the Panthers could play a game. After initially announcing it would return in 2021, [6] the team subsequently also withdrew from the 2021 season due to the on-going restrictions during the pandemic. [7] On August 16, 2021, the team held a press conference to announce it would not play in Oakland, instead relocating to the SAP Center in San Jose, California, as the Bay Area Panthers without ever playing a game in Oakland. [8]

The Panthers went 1-15 their inaugural season (2022), losing their last 15 games in a row. However in their second season on August 5, 2023, they beat the Sioux Falls Storm by a score of 51-41 to win their first IFL National Championship at the Dollar Loan Center. Quarterback Dalton Sneed of the Bay Area Panthers was named the game’s MVP.

Current roster

Bay Area Panthers roster

Quarterbacks

  •  6 Felix Harper
  •  2 DaQuan Neal

Running backs

  • 14 Benjamin Jones
  • 11 Shane Simpson

Wide receivers

  •  5 Dieuly Aristilde
  • 12 Jazeric Peterson
  • 15 Davius Prather
  •  8 J.T. Stokes
  •  4 Josh Tomas
  • 13 Pierre Williams


Offensive linemen
  • 75 Josue Castro
  • 74 Kyle Davis C
  • 55 Jair Joseph
  • 63 LaQuinston Sharp
  • 66 Josh Zacher


Defensive linemen

  •  9 Tevaughn Grant
  • 44 Datona Jackson
  • 23 Morris Joseph Jr.
  • 95 Suh Kamara
  • 56 Bryce Rodgers


Linebackers
  • 33 Wes Bowers
  • 20 Darin Hungerford
  •  0 B.J. Taufalele

Defensive backs

  •  3 Bill Atkins
  • 21 Tyrone Cromwell III
  •  7 Joe Foucha
  •  1 Antwon Kincade
  • 17 Kiante Northington
  • 24 Tyler Watson
  • 10 Desmond Williams

Kickers


Reserve list

Currently vacant

Rookies in italics
Roster updated July 4, 2024
32 Active, 0 Inactive

→ More rosters

Current staff

Bay Area Panthers staff
Front office
  • Co-owner – Marshawn Lynch
  • Co-owner – Roy Choi
  • President – Yosup Shim

President of Football Operations and Head coach

 

Assistant coaches

  • Offensive Coordinator: Dixie Wooten
  • Offensive Line Coach:Dixie Wooten III
  • Defensive Line Coach: Chuck Miller
  • Linebacker Coach/Analyst:. Jubenal Rodriguez
  • Personal Success Mentor: Jerry Buzzetta
  • Offensive Quality Control – Omari Carr
  • Defensive Quality Control - Michelle Farias

Season-by-season results

League championsConference championsPlayoff berthLeague leader
Season League Conference Regular season Postseason results
FinishWinsLosses
2020 IFL Season cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic
2021 IFL Dormant year
2022 IFL Western7th115
2023 IFL Western2nd105Won First Round (Tucson) 46–34
Won Western Conference Championship (Northern Arizona) 68–46
Won 2023 United Bowl (Sioux Falls) 51–41
2024 IFL Western1st133Lost First Round (San Diego Strike) 49-40
Totals2423All-time regular season record
31All-time postseason record
2724All-time regular season and postseason record

Broadcasting

On February 27, 2020, it was announced that the radio home of the team would be KNBR AM 1050 out of San Mateo. KPYX broadcasts all home games on television. Dave Lewis is the play by play voice on the television broadcasts with Steve Papin or Aaron Garcia on color commentary. Lewis also calls the games on radio. [9]

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Taylor Tappin is an American football offensive tackle. He played college football at Sacramento State University of the Big Sky Conference. He has also played for the Ottawa Redblacks of the Canadian Football League (CFL), the Oakland Panthers of the Indoor Football League (IFL), and the Aviators of The Spring League (TSL). While training and playing professional football, Tappin simultaneously applies his civil engineering degree working as a water resources engineering technician.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Oakland Panthers Join IFL". GoIFL.com. September 10, 2019. Archived from the original on January 13, 2020. Retrieved September 10, 2019.
  2. ↑ "Panthers announce return of Rob Keefe as Head Coach". Bay Area Panthers. October 15, 2023.
  3. ↑ Carroll, Charlotte (September 10, 2019). "Marshawn Lynch to Be Co-Owner of Oakland Arena Football Team". SI.com.
  4. ↑ Abraham, Zennie (April 17, 2019). "Oakland To Get Expansion Indoor Football League Team, Roy Choi Owner". Oakland News Now. Retrieved September 10, 2019.
  5. ↑ "Ex-NFL star Williams behind new Freedom Football League". Reuters. December 6, 2018. Archived from the original on December 9, 2018. Retrieved December 8, 2018.
  6. ↑ "OAKLAND PANTHERS TO RETURN IN 2021". Oakland Panthers. April 13, 2020.
  7. ↑ "OAKLAND PANTHERS TO GO DORMANT FOR THE 2021 SEASON". Oakland Panthers. September 18, 2020. Archived from the original on November 1, 2020. Retrieved September 18, 2020.
  8. ↑ "Oakland's indoor football team is moving to San Jose and becoming the Bay Area Panthers". Silicon Valley Business Journal . August 16, 2021.
  9. ↑ "Oakland Panthers to Partner with KBCW as Official Television and KNBR 1050 as Official Radio Homes". www.oakland-panthers.com. Retrieved February 28, 2020.
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