South Division (AFL)

Last updated
South
Conference American Conference
League Arena Football League
Sport Arena football
Founded 1992 (as the Southern Division, as a member of the National Conference)
Championships
Most recent South champion(s) Orlando Predators (7th title)
Most South titles Orlando Predators (7 titles)

The American Conference - South Division was a division of the Arena Football League's American Conference.

Arena Football League

The Arena Football League (AFL) is a professional indoor American football league in the United States. It was founded in 1987 by Jim Foster, making it the third longest-running professional football league in North America, after the Canadian Football League (CFL) and the National Football League (NFL). The AFL plays a proprietary code known as arena football, a form of indoor American football played on a 66-by-28 yard field, with rules encouraging offensive performance, resulting in a faster-paced and higher-scoring game. The sport was invented in the early 1980s and patented by Foster, a former executive of the United States Football League (USFL) and the NFL.

The Southern Division was formed in 1992 when the AFL first split into three divisions. The League used only conferences in 1993 and 1994, but returned to division play in 1995. The Southern Division has produced 10 ArenaBowl teams and 5 champions, with the most recent during the 2011 Arena Football League season by the Sharks. Rivalries such as the Tampa Bay Storm and Orlando Predators, known as the "War on I-4," used to define this division, but the Georgia Force had risen to the top and dominated in recent years before their folding.

ArenaBowl

The ArenaBowl is the Arena Football League's championship game. From 1987 to 2004, the ArenaBowl was hosted by either the team with the better regular-season record or the higher seeding in the playoffs. From ArenaBowl XIX in 2005 until ArenaBowl XXII in 2008, the game was played at a neutral site. When the AFL returned from a bankruptcy-induced hiatus in 2010, the original format was used for this and the next season; for 2012 and 2013, the game returned to being played at a neutral site. In 2014, it was announced that the ArenaBowl would return to the format in which the higher-seeded team would host the game. However, in 2018, the game will now be hosted at the site of the participating team with highest average attendance during the regular season.

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.

War on I-4 (arena football)

The War on I–4 was a rivalry between the Tampa Bay Storm and the Orlando Predators in the Arena Football League. The teams met at least twice and up to four times a season starting in 1991, and both were consistently at the top of the league standings. The rivalry has been compared to the Yankees – Red Sox rivalry in Major League Baseball.

Division lineups

1992

Charlotte Rage

The Charlotte Rage were a professional arena football team based out of Charlotte, North Carolina. They were members of the Arena Football League from 1992 to 1996. They played their home games at the Charlotte Coliseum from 1992 to 1994 and then again in 1996 and the Independence Arena in 1995. They were owned by Allen J. Schwalb, Joanne Faruggia and former National Football League and United States Football League quarterback Cliff Stoudt.

New Orleans Night

The New Orleans Night were an Arena Football League (AFL) team that competed in the 1991 and 1992 AFL seasons and were based in New Orleans, Louisiana. The team was officially announced at a press conference on March 18, 1991. On April 9, the name Night was unveiled as was Eddie Khayat, former head coach of the Nashville Kats, as head coach.

Orlando Predators

The Orlando Predators were a professional arena football team based in Orlando, Florida and member of the Arena Football League (AFL). The team was most recently owned by Orlando Predators LLC, a company owned by David A. Siegel, and played its home games at Amway Center.

Creation of the Southern Division. Charlotte Rage enfranchised. In 1993, New Orleans Night folded upon suspension of the Southern Division while the league has been realigned into the American/National conference structure.

1995

The Southern Division returns, now part of the National Conference. Three of the National Conference teams, Miami, Orlando, and Tampa Bay reformed this division.

1996

Florida Bobcats

The Florida Bobcats were an Arena Football League (AFL) team based in Sunrise, Florida. They were previously known as the Sacramento Attack and the Miami Hooters, and played in the AFL for a total of ten seasons, the last seven in West Palm Beach and Sunrise in the Miami metropolitan area.

Houston Thunderbears

The Houston ThunderBears was a professional arena football team based in Houston, Texas. The team finished the 2001 season as a member of the Western Division of the American Conference of the Arena Football League (AFL). The team joined the AFL in 1996 as the expansion Texas Terror. After their first two years of existence, the franchise changed their name to the Houston ThunderBears. Plagued with attendance problems through the majority of their existence, the team folded in 2001. Home games were played at the Compaq Center.

Miami Hooters renamed Florida Bobcats. Texas Terror enfranchised.

1997

Texas Terror moved to the American Conference's Central Division.

1998–1999

Nashville Kats

The Nashville Kats were an Arena Football League team, located in Nashville, Tennessee. They were last coached by Pat Sperduto, who coached the team's original incarnation to two ArenaBowl appearances prior to the original franchise's move to Atlanta in 2002. Sperduto also coached the second incarnation of the Nashville Kats following their return to the Arena Football League as an expansion team in 2005.

Nashville moved in from the National Conference's Eastern Division.

2000

Carolina Cobras

The Carolina Cobras were an expansion franchise in the Arena Football League. The team was formed prior to the 2000 season, which endured a player strike.

Carolina Cobras enfranchised.

2001

Carolina moved to Eastern Division.

2002–2003

Carolina moved back from Eastern Division. Florida Bobcats folded. Nashville moved to Atlanta as Georgia Force.

2004–2005

Austin Wranglers and New Orleans VooDoo enfranchised. Carolina moved back to Eastern Division.

2006

Kansas City Brigade enfranchised. New Orleans VooDoo suspended due to Hurricane Katrina.

2007

Kansas City moved to Central Division. New Orleans reactivated.

2008

Austin Wranglers moved to af2. In 2009, the AFL has been put on a one-year hiatus while Georgia Force and New Orleans are suspended.

2010

The Southern Division moved to the American Conference. Alabama moved in from af2. Jacksonville Sharks enfranchised.

2011–2012

Alabama moved to Duluth as Georgia Force. New Orleans reactivated.

2013–2014

Georgia Force folded.

2015

New Orleans VooDoo moved to East Division.

Divisions were discontinued after the 2015 season.

Division Champions

Related Research Articles

Georgia Force

The Georgia Force were an Arena Football League (AFL) team based in Gwinnett County, Georgia, United States that played in the South Division of the American Conference. The team was owned by Doug MacGregor and Donn Jennings.

New Orleans VooDoo

The New Orleans VooDoo were a professional arena football team based in New Orleans, Louisiana. The VooDoo was a member of the East Division of the American Conference of the Arena Football League (AFL). They played their home games in Smoothie King Center. The VooDoo were unrelated to an earlier AFL team, the New Orleans Night, who had competed in the 1991 and 1992 AFL seasons in the Louisiana Superdome.

The East Division was a division of the Arena Football League's American Conference. It was first formed in 1995 as part of the National Conference when expansion brought up the current divisions.

Damon Mason is a former American football defensive back.

The 2011 Tampa Bay Storm season is the 24th season for the franchise, their 20th in the Tampa Bay region. The team is coached by Dave Ewart and plays home games at the St. Pete Times Forum on the Amalie Motor Oil Field, sponsored by the Amalie Oil Company.

The 2011 Orlando Predators season was the 20th season for the franchise in the Arena Football League. The team was coached by Pat O'Hara. This was the Predators' first season at Amway Center. The Predators finished the regular season 11–7, qualifying for the playoffs for the 19th consecutive season. As the 4th seed in the American Conference, they lost to the Jacksonville Sharks in the conference semifinals, 48–63.

The 2011 New Orleans VooDoo season was the fifth season for the franchise in the Arena Football League. The team was coached by Derek Stingley until his firing on June 26. Jon Norris, who coached the Bossier–Shreveport Battle Wings in 2010, stepped down from his General Manager position with New Orleans to become the team's interim head coach. The VooDoo played their home games at New Orleans Arena. This was the first season for the VooDoo since 2008, after the league went on hiatus in 2009 and the franchise was not active in 2010. The VooDoo went 3–15, missing the playoffs, and finishing with the worst record in the league.

The 2011 Jacksonville Sharks season was the second season for the franchise in the Arena Football League. The team was coached by Les Moss and played their home games at Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena. In the regular season, the Sharks went 14–4, qualifying for the playoffs as the top seed in the American Conference. After defeating the Orlando Predators in the conference semifinals, they beat the Georgia Force in the American Conference championship. Advancing to ArenaBowl XXIV, the Sharks triumphed over the Arizona Rattlers on a last-second game-winning touchdown pass to win their first ArenaBowl championship.

The 2011 Georgia Force season was the eighth season for the franchise in the Arena Football League. The team was coached by Dean Cokinos and played their home games at the Arena at Gwinnett Center. This was the first season for the Force since 2008, after the league went on hiatus in 2009 and the franchise was not active in 2010. In the regular season, the Force went 11–7, qualifying for the playoffs as the 3rd seed in the American Conference. They defeated the Cleveland Gladiators 50–41 in the conference semifinals, but lost 55–64 to the Jacksonville Sharks in the conference championship.

The 2012 Orlando Predators season was the 21st season for the franchise in the Arena Football League. The team was coached by Bret Munsey and played their home games at Amway Center. Finishing with a 4–14 record, the Predators missed the playoffs for the first time since their inaugural season in 1991, snapping a streak of 19 consecutive playoff appearances.

The 2012 New Orleans VooDoo season was the sixth season for the franchise in the Arena Football League. The team was coached by Pat O'Hara and played their home games at New Orleans Arena. The VooDoo finished the regular season with a record of 8–10, qualifying for the playoffs for the first time since their inaugural season in 2004. The VooDoo however, were defeated in the conference semifinals by the Philadelphia Soul, 53–66.

The 2005 Tampa Bay Storm season was the 19th season for the franchise in the Arena Football League, and the 15th in the Tampa Bay area. The team was coached by Tim Marcum and played their home games at the St. Pete Times Forum.

The 2013 Tampa Bay Storm season was the 26th season for the franchise in the Arena Football League, and their 22nd in the Tampa Bay area. The team was coached by Dave Ewart and played their home games at the Tampa Bay Times Forum. The Storm lost their last seven regular season games but were still able to qualify for the playoffs. However, they were eliminated in the conference semifinals by the Jacksonville Sharks by a score of 69–62.

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 2014 Tampa Bay Storm season was the 27th season for the franchise in the Arena Football League, and their 23rd in the Tampa Bay area. The team was coached by Lawrence Samuels, following his promotion from offensive coordinator. They played their home games at the Tampa Bay Times Forum. Finishing the regular season with an 8–10 record, the Storm failed to reach the playoffs for the third time in four seasons.

The 2014 Orlando Predators season was the 23rd season for the franchise in the Arena Football League. The team was coached by Rob Keefe, who was in his first season with the team. They played their home games at CFE Arena, located on the campus of the University of Central Florida, after Amway Center informed the team that they had defaulted on their lease with the arena for failing to meet attendance requirements.

The 2014 New Orleans VooDoo season was the eighth season for the franchise in the Arena Football League. The team was coached by Pat O'Hara and played their home games at the Smoothie King Center. The VooDoo finished the season 3-15 in a three way tie to be last in the league and failed to make the playoffs for a second straight season.

The 2015 Orlando Predators season was the twenty-fourth season for the franchise in the Arena Football League. The team was coached by Rob Keefe and played their home games at the Amway Center. The Predators improved to a 12-6 record and won the South division for the second straight year.

The 2015 Tampa Bay Storm season was the twenty-seventh season for the franchise in the Arena Football League. The team was coached by Lawrence Samuels and played their home games at the Amalie Arena. The Storm finished the regular season 7–11, and for the second consecutive season, failed to reach the playoffs.

Cortez Stubbs

Cortez Stubbs is an American football defensive back who is currently a free agent. He played college football at the Concordia College Alabama and attended Huffman High School in Birmingham, Alabama. Stubbs has been a member of the Columbus Lions, Jacksonville Sharks, Alabama Hammers, Orlando Predators, New Orleans VooDoo and Tampa Bay Storm.