Post by DiamondThief on Aug 22, 2023 9:03:57 GMT -8
8/22/23 --
There's a new threat in the Indoor Football League and it's not a new face to the world of indoor/arena football.
Four-time champion Jacksonville Sharks announced today that they are leaving the National Arena League to join the IFL beginning in 2024. The announcement was made via a statement on the team and league's websites.
The Sharks were founded in 2010 as part of the revamped Arena Football League. The AFL, founded in 1987, went dormant after its 2009 season. It returned in 2010 as a single-entity system which essentially means that all monies were filtered through the league and players were signed by the league and "assigned" to a particular team. that team would be the one to have scouted and contacted the player. The Sharks won the Arena Bowl in 2011; their second of seven seasons in the league.
Jacksonville moved to the newly formed NAL prior to the 2017 season and went on to win the championship that year and in 2019 and 2023 as well. The Sharks went 10-3 this season before defeating the Orlando Predators in the semifinals. They won the title with a 54-45 decision over the Carolina Cobras on August 12. Over their tenure in the NAL, they compiled a regular season record of 46-17 and a playoff mark of 6-1.
Historically in both leagues combined, the Sharks are 118-67 in regular season play and 14-6 in the playoffs (132-73 overall). They reached the playoffs in each of their 13 seasons of existence with the exceptions of 2014 (AFL and 2021 (NAL).
The Sharks' ownership is a collective of six persons. They are Steve Curran, Kevin Wezniak, Jason Green, Rob Storm, Diva Nagula and Nick Furris. Jason Gibson is coming off his first season as head coach.
"We are excited to join the IFL," Gibson said in a press release on the Sharks' website. "I am sure the fans will enjoy the new competition."
They play at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida. The capacity for indoor football is listed at 13,011, which will be the fifth highest in the IFL (sixth should the Columbus Wild Dogs begin play next year). The arena opened on November 28, 2023 after two years of constriction. It also houses basketball, ice hockey and concerts. The Sharks currently share the arena with the Jacksonville Giants of the American Basketball Association and the Jacksonville Icemen of the ECHL (formerly the East Coast Hockey League). Coincidentally, one of the Icemen's fellow ECHL teams is the Tulsa Oilers, who are owned by Andy Scurto, owner of the IFL's Tulsa Oilers.
Barring any conference restructuring by the IFL, the Sharks will play in the Eastern Conference. They are the second-furthest eastern team in the league to the Massachusetts Pirates, which are located in the same conference. This is the first announcement of team movement involving the IFL this season. SCtoC will follow up with additional announcements of team movement during the off season.
"To pick up another historic brand like the Jacksonville Sharks, is one of many reasons to tune into the IFL for 2024,” IFL Commissioner Todd Tryon said in the statement. “Jacksonville is a first-class organization that will help make everyone better. We are excited to add them to the mix of great IFL franchises as we build for 2024.”
The IFL will enter its 16th year in 2024. This brings the league to 15 teams from the 14 which competed in the 2023 season. Two additional teams are poised to take the field next season as well. The Bismarck Bucks took a this season off to become compliant with North Dakota workplace requirements, but are expected back. The Columbus Wild Dogs were announced in 2019 to join the league, but have yet to take the field, having postponed their debut multiple times.
The Bay Area Panthers defeated the Sioux Falls Storm in the IFL National Championship Game on August 5, becoming the sixth new champion in as many seasons. The IFL is the longest continuously running indoor/arena football league in the country. They've played 14 full seasons (2020 was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic) and represent teams from California to Massachusetts.
-ANM
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