Roster
| New Haven Ninjas roster | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Quarterbacks
Fullbacks/Linebackers
Wide receivers/Defensive backs
| Offensive/Defensive linemen
| Wide Receivers/Linebackers
Defensive specialists
Kickers
| Reserve lists
Rookies in itlatics | |||
| New Haven Ninjas | |
|---|---|
| Established 2001 Folded 2002 Played in New Haven Coliseum in New Haven, Connecticut | |
| League/conference affiliations | |
af2 (2002)
| |
Current uniform | |
| Team colors | Black, orange-red, yellow, white |
| Personnel | |
| Owner(s) | Charles Wang |
| Head coach | Rick Buffington [1] |
| Team history | |
| |
| Championships | |
| League championships (0) | |
| Conference championships (0) | |
| Division championships (0) | |
| Home arena(s) | |
| |
The New Haven Ninjas were an indoor American football team based in New Haven, Connecticut. They were an expansion team in the af2 for the 2002 season. [2] On October 24, 2001, it was announced that Ninjas had won the name-the-team contest over Cyclones, Gladiators, Hawkeyes and ShoreDawgs. [3] Along with the Ninjas, New Haven was joined by the Albany Conquest, Bakersfield Blitz, Cape Fear Wildcats, Fresno Frenzy, Hawaiian Islanders, Mobile Wizards, Mohegan Wolves, San Diego Riptide & the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Pioneers. New Haven played in the American Conference of the Northeast Division. In 2002, the Ninjas finished 6–10, third in the Northeast Division. Still, that wasn't enough to play football in August. After the 2002 season, the Ninjas folded because the New Haven Coliseum closed, and the experiment for arena football in New Haven was done.
| New Haven Ninjas roster | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Quarterbacks
Fullbacks/Linebackers
Wide receivers/Defensive backs
| Offensive/Defensive linemen
| Wide Receivers/Linebackers
Defensive specialists
Kickers
| Reserve lists
Rookies in itlatics | |||
| Season | W | L | T | Finish | Playoff results |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | 6 | 10 | 0 | 4th AC Northeast | -- |
The Hawaiian Islanders were a minor league team of the Arena Football League's developmental league, the AF2. Based in Honolulu, Hawaii, the Hawaiian Islanders home field was at the Neal S. Blaisdell Center Arena. It competed in the AF2 National Conference West. They were owned by Charles Wang, who also owned the New York Islanders and the AFL's New York Dragons. The Islanders were an affiliate of the Dragons, along with the short-lived New Haven Ninjas. The team existed from 2002 to 2004.
The Manchester Wolves were a professional arena football team, based at the Verizon Wireless Arena in Manchester, New Hampshire, which folded at the end of the 2009 season along with the rest of the league. They played in the East Division of the American Conference of the AF2 league, which was the minor league of the Arena Football League.
The Mohegan Sun Arena is a 10,000 seat multi-purpose arena in the Uncasville area of Montville, Connecticut located inside the Mohegan Sun casino resort. The arena facility features 30,000 square feet (2,800 m2) of configurable exhibition space and a 400-foot (120 m) clear span. It was built by the Perini Building Company, and opened in October 2001.
The South Georgia Wildcats were a professional arena football team based in Albany, Georgia. They were member of the South Division of the American Conference of Arenafootball2 (AF2).
The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Pioneers were a minor league arena football team that played in the AF2. The team was part of the East Division in the American conference. The Pioneers were an expansion team for the league's 2002 season, and were the runners-up in ArenaCup VIII and ArenaCup X.
The Quad City Steamwheelers were a professional arena football team. They were a charter member of the AF2 and played their home games at iWireless Center in Moline, Illinois.
The Lincoln Capitols were a professional indoor football team that played their home games at Pershing Auditorium in Lincoln, Nebraska, United States. They originally planned on becoming the Nebraska Knockout, but the name was scrapped. From 1999 to 2000, they were the Lincoln Lightning of the original Indoor Football League before the IFL was bought out. The Lightning then played in the Arena Football's farm league during the 2001 season, before leaving the league and joining the National Indoor Football League as the Capitols. During their four-year run, the franchise's most prominent player was a former Nebraska Cornhusker running back named Damon Benning and the franchise's owner was Andrew Cheesman. In 2005 through 2006 they had 3 standout players, Nate Jacks from Atlanta, Ga, a graduate from Clinton High School, Mike Carrawell from St. Louis, MO and Brian Guthrie from National City,CA The trio with Coach Chris Simpson, brought the key players in to play many roles. Brian Guthrie came in as a DB/LB/RB and later played for the Wyoming Cavalry (2007-2008). Mike was an All-American slot receiver from Quincy University and Nate was a shutdown corner back from KU.
The Tri-Cities Fever were a professional indoor football franchise based in Kennewick, Washington. The Fever joined National Indoor Football League (NIFL) in 2005 as an expansion team. The Fever were owned by Teri Carr. From 2005 to 2016, the Fever played their home games at the Toyota Center in Kennewick, Washington. On June 30, 2016, the team announced it would go dormant for the 2017 season and beyond.
The Mobile Wizards were an af2 arena football team that played their home games in Mobile, Alabama at the Mobile Civic Center.
Clay Rush is a former American football kicker who played in the Arena Football League (AFL) from 1999 to the original league's folding in 2008.
The Fresno Frenzy were an expansion af2 team for the 2002 season. Fresno was joined by the Albany Conquest, Bakersfield Blitz, Cape Fear Wildcats, Hawaiian Islanders, Mobile Wizards, Mohegan Wolves, New Haven Ninjas, San Diego Riptide & the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Pioneers. In 2002, they played their home games in Selland Arena, in which they finished 4–12, dead last in the Western Division of the National Conference. Despite going an even 4–4 in Fresno, they bombshelled on the road, going 0-8 that season. After the 2002 season, they folded after one year in Fresno. Arena football would return later to Fresno in 2004, when the original Bakersfield Blitz moved to Fresno, and called themselves the Central Valley Coyotes.
The Richmond Speed were one of the original 15 teams to join the inaugural 2000 AF2 season. They started off in the American Conference in 2000, before going over to the Northeast Division in 2001, then to the Atlantic Division from 2002–2003.
The Cincinnati Swarm was a professional arena football franchise based in Cincinnati, Ohio. They were members of the Midwest Division of the National Conference of the af2. The Swarm joined the af2 as an expansion franchise in 2003 along with the Green Bay Blizzard. In 2003, the Swarm went 7–9, second in the Midwest Division. Despite their modest record, and finishing second in their division, they failed to make the playoffs. Cincinnati's attempt at arena football failed, and the Swarm folded after one year due to poor attendance. Ten years earlier, Cincinnati was home to the Cincinnati Rockers from 1992 to 1993, and like the Swarm, they folded shortly after their inception. Despite the Swarm's failure, the city of Cincinnati would get another af2 franchise in the form of the now-defunct Cincinnati Jungle Kats, who suffered the same fate as the Swarm.
The Rochester Brigade was a professional arena football team based in Rochester, New York. The team was a member of af2, the minor league of the Arena Football League, and played their home games at the Blue Cross Arena. The Brigade began play in 2001 and ceased operations following the 2003 season.
The Fort Wayne Fusion was a 2007 af2 expansion team in the Midwest Division of the American Conference. They played their home games at the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum in Fort Wayne, Indiana, which was the former home of the defunct National Indoor Football League/United Indoor Football franchise, the Fort Wayne Freedom.
The 2001 AF2 season was the second season of the AF2. The league champions were the Quad City Steamwheelers, who defended their title with a victory over the Richmond Speed in ArenaCup II. This is the first time that both conferences contained two divisions each, like the Arena Football League.
The Austin Turfcats were a professional indoor football team based in Austin, Texas. The Turfcats were a member of the Indoor Football League (IFL) during the 2010 season, after being a charter member of the Southern Indoor Football League (SIFL) during their inaugural 2009 season. The Turfcats played their home games at Luedecke Arena at the Travis County Exposition Center. This was Austin's fourth attempt at an indoor football team; the prior three were the Indoor Professional Football League's Texas Terminators (1999), the National Indoor Football League's Austin Knights/Rockers (2002–2003), and the Arena Football League Austin Wranglers (2004–2008).
Derrick L. Shepard is a former American arena and indoor football defensive lineman. Shepard grew up in Dayton, Ohio, and attended Meadowdale High School. His football ability earned him a scholarship to Georgia Tech, where he participated in football for four years.
Christopher Wallace is an American football quarterback for the Atlanta Havoc of the American Arena League (AAL). He played as a quarterback for the University of Toledo. He was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Orlando Predators in 2001.
Tracy J. Belton is an American football defensive back who is currently a free agent. He played college football at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and attended Largo High School in Upper Marlboro, Maryland. He has also been a member of the Arkansas Twisters, Green Bay Blizzard, Milwaukee Iron, Georgia Force, Jacksonville Sharks, Orlando Predators, New Orleans VooDoo and the Philadelphia Soul.
