Post by David on Jul 6, 2016 19:59:36 GMT -8
7.6.16 -
The Indoor Football League have announced the annual IFL Team Awards, recognizing outstanding achievements each franchise has achieved during the 2016 IFL regular season.
In their inaugural season in the IFL, the Spokane Empire took home two Team Award honors, which included Executive of the Year and Best Website/Social Media.
The Executive of the Year Award was given to Ryan Eucker, Spokane's Director of Operations. Eucker was the man responsible for the franchise's transition from the AFL to the IFL, which included the team's re-brand from the Shock to the Empire. Under his leadership, the team hired former coach Adam Shackleford and helped put together a competitive roster, which featured the outstanding play of first-year RB Trevor Kennedy. As a result, the Empire finished first in the Intense Conference, leading the way with 12-4 record, the organization's best win total since going 14-4 during the 2013 season.
Upon receiving the award, Eucker stated in the IFL's announcement, "I am grateful and humbled to receive this type of recognition from my peers. This award is truly a testament to the Empire organization as a whole. Our ownership, staff, coaches, and players have put a tremendous amount of effort and heart into our inaugural season as a member of the Indoor Football League."
The Empire were also awarded honors for having the Best Website/Social Media in the IFL. They were chosen based on various factors, including aesthetics, ease of use, up-to-date-information, media content, and fan interaction. At the time of this post, the Empire lead all IFL teams with 39,579 likes on Facebook and 3,040 Instagram followers.
The rest of the award winners include:
- Franchise of the Year - Sioux Falls Storm (15-1 record; #1 overall seed)
- Best Fan Base - Sioux Falls Storm (set IFL single-game attendance record with 9,982 fans & lead league in average attendance)
- Best Game Operations - Green Bay Blizzard
- Best Cheerleader/Dance Team - Colorado Crush (aka The Crushables)
- Community Relations Award - Sioux Falls Storm
- Hospitality Award - Iowa Barnstormers
- Best Mascot - Green Bay Blizzard (Bruiser the Yeti & his nice and nephew Blizz & Bling)
- Best Media Relations - Cedar Rapids Titans
- DKH
To comment on this thread and others on this forum, please login or register.