Tri-Cities Fever

Tri-Cities Fever
Established 2005 Folded 2016 Played in Toyota Center in Kennewick, Washington TriCitiesFever.com
League/conference affiliations
National Indoor Football League (2005–2006) Pacific Conference (2005–2006) Western (2005) Northern (2006) AF2 (2007–2009) American (2007) National (2008–2009) West (2007–2009) Indoor Football League (2010–2016) Intense Conference (2010–2016) Pacific North (2010) Pacific (2011)
Current uniform
Team colors	Navy, Vegas Gold, white
Mascot	Clutch
Cheerleaders	Fever Girls
Personnel
Owner(s)	Teri Carr
President	Teri Carr
General manager	Teri Carr
Team history
Tri-Cities Fever (2005–2016)
Championships
League championships (1) 2005
Conference championships (3) 2005, 2011, 2012
Division championships (1) 2012
Playoff appearances (7)
2005, 2006, 2007, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015
Home arena(s)
Toyota Center (2005–2016)

The Tri-Cities Fever was 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. ^[1] On June 30, 2016, the team announced it would go dormant for the 2017 season and beyond. ^[2]

The Fever won one division title and three conference championships. They appeared in two United Bowls, most recently the 2012 United Bowl where they were defeated by the Sioux Falls Storm 59–32.

History

Original Primary Logo 2007-2015

National Indoor Football League (NIFL)

The Fever were founded and accepted into the National Indoor Football League (NIFL) September 2004. ^[3] Craig Beverlin was tabbed as the team's first ever head coach. After an 0–2 start, Beverlin resigned as the head coach of the Fever, and starting quarterback Scott Mitchell quit the team. The team promoted Special Teams Coach, Dan Whitsett to head coach, and signed quarterback Doug Coleman to lead the team. ^[4] The Fever rallied to a 9–5 regular season record, finishing 3rd in the Pacific West division. The Fever earned a berth in Indoor Bowl V on July 30, 2005, where they defeated the Rome Renegades 47–31 in Kennewick. ^[5]

Move to af2

After the 2006 season, the Fever announced they were leaving the NIFL. On September 4, it was confirmed that they were moving to United Indoor Football, along with the Billings Outlaws and River City Rage. ^[6] The league was expected to make an official announcement at a press conference sometime on the weekend of September 11, and was also hoping to add the Rapid City Flying Aces and Wyoming Cavalry soon. However, Tri-Cities instead joined the af2 which had in-state rival Spokane. ^[7]

New ownership, new logo

Failed logo

The new ownership had introduced a new logo, with team colors and uniforms that were reminiscent of the Miami Dolphins on December 13, 2006 (left), but because of general fan dislike, the team announced on January 9, 2007, that they would be switching back to their old color scheme and logo. ^[8]

Back to the Carrs, on to the IFL

There had been speculation that the Fever would fold after the 2009 season, however, on September 6, it was announced that J. R. and Teri Carr had bought back the team from Texas af2 holdings, ensuring the Fever would return for the 2010 season. ^[9] Later that month, it was announced that the af2 was shutting down and the new Arena Football 1 (AF1) was taking its place, including the Fever as a charter team. The Fever would drop out of the AF1 however on November 19 as the Tier 2 division, which the Fever were slated to be in, was scrapped by the league due to a lack of teams. ^[10] So the Fever joined the Indoor Football League based in Richmond, Virginia. The Fever joined former rival (NIFL) and defending IFL champion the Billings Outlaws and new in-state rival the Kent Predators.

On June 30, 2016, after seven years in the IFL, the Fever announced the franchise would go into dormancy but remain in good standing with the IFL for the 2017 season and beyond. ^[11] However, former owner Teri Carr has no intentions on bringing the team back.

Players of note

Final roster

Tri-Cities Fever roster
Quarterbacks  4 Patrick McCain 10 Will Tudmon Running backs  7 Rob Brown Wide receivers  8 Akeem Foster 17 Sheldon Galloway  1 Chris Gant 24 Dejuan Miller 23 Roston Tatum 11 Jerrell Young		Offensive linemen 50 William Harris 60 Jarad Martin 59 Jairus Spain Defensive linemen 96 Omoniyi Adebayo 14 Austin Alber 91 Roosevelt Holiday 13 Dame Ndiaye 93 Brandon Rankin		Linebackers 34 Marcell Coke 27 Ricardo Thompson Defensive backs 21 Boubacar Cissoko  6 Ronald Fields  3 Stephen Godbolt 29 Trayon Maxie  2 Bradley Njoku 26 Tre Watson Kickers 12 Daniel Zeidman		Injured reserve 20 Dee Maggitt DB 22 Brandon Wilson LB Refused to report currently vacant Transfer list currently vacant rookies in italics Roster updated June 21, 2016 26 Active, 2 Inactive

Awards and honors

The following is a list of all Fever players who have won league Awards

Season	Player	Position	Award
2013	Lionell Singleton	DB	Adam Pringle
2015	Steven Whitehead	WR	Offensive Player of the Year
2015	Brady Beeson	K	Adam Pringle

All-IFL players

The following Fever players have been named to All-IFL Teams:

• QB Houston Lillard (2)
• RB Keithon Flemming (1), Andrew Pierce (1)
• WR Thyron Lewis (1), Joey Hew Len (1), Steven Whitehead (2)
• OL William Falakiseni (1)
• DL Jake Killeen (2)
• DB Dennis Rogan (1), Lionell Singleton (3), Rudell Crim (1). Donyae Coleman (1), Troy Sanders (1), Boubacar Cissoko (1), Dee Maggitt (1)

Front office and coaching staff

Coaching staff

Tri-Cities Fever staff
	Front office Owner/General Manager – Teri Carr Director of operations and corporate sales – Travis Vance Director of ticketing – Donna Crisp Group Sales and Graphic Design - Shawna Fisher			Head coach Head coach – Ryan Lingenfelder Assistant coaches Offensive coordinator – Brian Schmidt Defensive Backs & Special Teams – Shon King Strength and Conditioning - Steven Whitehead

Head coaches

Craig Beverlin was the initial head coach for the Fever, but after a 0–2 start, Beverlin was fired, and the details of his dismissal were never shared publicly. ^[12] Beverlin was replaced by Special Teams coach, Dan Whitsett. ^[13] On July 8, 2006, Whitsett resigned from his coaching position, just days before the Fever were to start the playoffs. ^[14] On April 26, 2009 Head coach Richard Davis was fired after an 0–5 start to the season. ^[15] On April 27, Pat O'Hara, Head coach of the Arena Football League's Los Angeles Avengers was named Head coach of the Fever while the AFL was suspended. ^[16] O'Hara was going to remain Fever coach for the 2010 season in the IFL until he was offered head coaching job of the Orlando Predators of the af1. He was replaced by former Spokane Shock head coach Adam Shackleford. Shackleford coached the Fever to a record 50 wins in 6 seasons as the head coach. He has since returned to the Shock. ^[17] On September 1, 2015, the Fever hired Ryan Lingenfelder as their next head coach. ^[18]

Name	Term	Regular season				Playoffs		Awards
		W	L	T	Win%	W	L
Craig Beverlin	2005	0	2	0	.000	0	0
Dan Whitsett	2005–2006	18	8	0	.692	4	0
Ed Simmons	2006	0	0	0	–	1	1
Tony Wells	2007	8	8	0	.500	0	1
Cedric Walker	2008	4	12	0	.250	0	0
Richard Davis	2009	0	5	0	.000	0	0
Pat O'Hara	2009	3	8	0	.273	0	0
Adam Shackleford	2010–2015	50	33	0	.602	5	4
Ryan Lingenfelder	2016	3	13	0	.188	0	0

Season-by-season results

League Champions

Conference Champions

Division Champions

Wild Card Berth

League Leader

Season	Team	League	Conference	Division	Regular season				Postseason results
					Finish	Wins	Losses	Ties
2005	2005	NIFL	Pacific	Western	3rd	9	5	0	Won Wildcard (Wyoming) 35–31 Won Pacific Conference Semifinals (Everett) 55–53 Won Pacific Conference Championship (Odessa) 41–39 Won Indoor Bowl V (Rome) 47–31
2006	2006	NIFL	Pacific	Northern	2nd	9	5	0	Won Wildcard (Wyoming) 45–20 Lost Pacific Conference Semifinals (Billings) 21–48
2007	2007	AF2	American	West	3rd	8	8	0	Lost First Round (Wilkes-Barre/Scranton) 54–57
2008	2008	AF2	National	West	5th	4	12	0
2009	2009	AF2	National	West	5th	3	13	0
2010	2010	IFL	Intense	Pacific North	3rd [19]	7	7	0	Lost First Round (Billings) 45–54
2011	2011	IFL	Intense	Pacific	2nd	10	4	0	Won First Round (West Texas) 61–49 Won Intense Conference Semifinals (Colorado) 45–42 Won Intense Conference Championship (Allen) 67–46 Lost 2011 United Bowl (Sioux Falls) 10–37
2012	2012	IFL	Intense		1st	12	2	0	Won Intense Conference Semifinals (Colorado) 52–42 Won Intense Conference Championship (Wichita) 51–30 Lost 2012 United Bowl (Sioux Falls) 32–59
2013	2013	IFL	Intense		3rd	6	8	0
2014	2014	IFL	Intense		3rd	8	6	0
2015	2015	IFL	Intense		2nd	8	6	0	Lost Intense Conference Championship (Nebraska) 43–86
2016	2016	IFL	Intense		5th	3	13	0
Totals						87	89	0	All-time regular season record (2005–2016)
						10	6	—	All-time postseason record (2005–2016)
						97	95	0	All-time regular season and postseason record (2005–2016)

Media coverage

Previously 106.5 FM Eagle was the home of the Fever. Currently 610 KONA is the home of game broadcasts and a weekly Fever talk. The Fever have had a few games shown on local television channels, all home games of the 2011 season are viewed on a local FOX channel the following Thursday.

References

1. Dial, Tracci (March 7, 2014). "Time Lapse: Toyota Center Changeover From Ice to Turf to Court". Tri-Cities, WA: KNDU . Retrieved March 8, 2014.
2. "IFL Issues Statement on Tri-Cities Fever". www.oursportscentral.com. OurSports Central. June 30, 2016. Retrieved July 1, 2016.
3. "Fever hits Tri-Cities". www.oursportscentral.com. OurSports Central. October 5, 2004. Retrieved September 30, 2015.
4. "Fever sign NIFL veteran quarterback and defensive back". www.oursportscentral.com. OurSports Central. April 13, 2005. Retrieved September 30, 2015.
5. "Defense, Coleman lead Fever to Indoor Bowl V win". www.oursportscentral.com. OurSports Central. July 31, 2005. Retrieved September 30, 2015.
6. http://www.billingsgazette.net/articles/2006/09/04/sports/local/25-outlaws.txt ^{[ permanent dead link ]}
7. http://www.tri-cityherald.com/tch/local/breaking/story/8411447p-8306334c.html ^{[ permanent dead link ]}
8. http://www.sportstricities.com/sportstc/football/fever/story/8549671p-8443512c.html Archived 2007-03-19 at the Wayback Machine
9. Ben Reynolds (September 6, 2009). "Carrs return to run franchise they began in 2005". www.tri-cityherald.com. Tri-City Herald. Archived from the original on September 15, 2012. Retrieved April 10, 2014.
10. "Fever break free from AF1". www.spokesman.com. The Spokesman-Review. November 20, 2009. Retrieved April 10, 2014.
11. "IFL Issues Statement on Tri-Cities Fever". OurSports Central. June 30, 2016.
12. "Statement from Fever ownership on Coach Beverlin and QB, Scott Mitchell". www.oursportscentral.com. OurSports Central. April 8, 2005. Retrieved September 30, 2015.
13. "State Rivals to Face-Off for First Time Ever". www.oursportscentral.com. OurSports Central. April 20, 2005. Retrieved September 30, 2015.
14. "Tri-Cities coach quits". www.trib.com. Casper Star Tribune. July 8, 2006. Retrieved September 30, 2015.
15. "Davis Fired As Fever Head Coach". KNDO.com. KNDO/KNDU. April 26, 2009. Retrieved April 28, 2009.^{[ dead link ]}
16. "O'Hara is New Fever Head Coach". KNDO.com. KNDO/KNDU. April 27, 2009. Retrieved April 28, 2009.^{[ dead link ]}
17. Jeff Morrow (August 18, 2015). "Shackleford leaving Tri-Cities Fever to coach Spokane Shock". www.tri-cityherald.com. Tri-City Herald. Retrieved August 19, 2015.
18. "Fever Tab Ryan Lingenfelder as Head Coach". www.oursportscentral.com. OurSports Central. September 1, 2015. Retrieved September 2, 2015.
19. "goifl.com: Home". 22 August 2010. Archived from the original on 22 August 2010. Retrieved 20 April 2018.

External links

• Official website
• Fever fansite
• Tri-Cities Fever coverage in the Tri-City Herald