The 2015 Arena Football League season was the 28th season in the history of the league. The regular season began on March 27, 2015 and ended on August 8, 2015.
2015 Arena Football League season | |
---|---|
League | Arena Football League |
Sport | Arena football |
Duration | March 27, 2015 – August 29, 2015 |
Regular season | |
Season champions | San Jose SaberCats |
Season MVP | Dan Raudabaugh (PHI) |
League postseason | |
American Conference champions | Jacksonville Sharks |
American Conference runners-up | Philadelphia Soul |
National Conference champions | San Jose SaberCats |
National Conference runners-up | Arizona Rattlers |
ArenaBowl XXVIII | |
Champions | San Jose SaberCats |
Runners-up | Jacksonville Sharks |
Finals MVP | Reggie Gray, SJ |
League business
editTeams
editThe city of Las Vegas, Nevada was awarded an expansion team on June 18, 2014. The team, named the Las Vegas Outlaws, was the first AFL team to call Las Vegas home since the Las Vegas Gladiators in 2007. Vince Neil, lead singer of the rock band Mötley Crüe, was the majority owner of the expansion franchise.[1] The Outlaws' expansion draft took place on December 22, 2014.
Two teams that competed in 2014 suspended operations (Pittsburgh Power and San Antonio Talons), and their rosters became signable upon offseason assignment process held on December 23, 2014.
The Iowa Barnstormers were the third and final team to leave the AFL for the 2015 season when they joined the Indoor Football League (IFL) on August 27, 2014. In 2015 all games were televised, most on ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNEWS, and especially on ESPN3 (available online through WatchESPN) and some on the CBS Sports Network.[2]
On July 15, the league took over the daily operations of the Las Vegas Outlaws and New Orleans VooDoo after financial problems and declining attendance. As a result, their game against each other (which was set to be played on the 25th) was cancelled and declared a tie, only the 3rd in AFL history and the only cancellation in league history. The league ran both teams to the end of the season with the intent of looking for new ownership in the offseason but on August 9, the day following the conclusion of the regular season, both teams ceased operations. Las Vegas had qualified for a playoff spot, the final one in the National Conference, but the league's board of directors voted against their inclusion in the postseason, considering that with no team ownership, there was no funding for the team.[3] The Outlaws were replaced in the playoffs by the Portland Thunder, who had finished last in their division but had the better record of the two remaining non-playoff National Conference teams, meaning that all teams in the Pacific Division made the playoffs.
Alignment
editConference | Division | Teams |
---|---|---|
American | East | Cleveland Gladiators, New Orleans VooDoo, Philadelphia Soul |
South | Jacksonville Sharks, Orlando Predators, Tampa Bay Storm | |
National | Pacific | Portland Thunder, San Jose SaberCats, Spokane Shock |
West | Arizona Rattlers, Las Vegas Outlaws, Los Angeles Kiss |
Regular season standings
edit
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Playoffs
editConference Semifinals | Conference Championships | ArenaBowl XXVIII | ||||||||||||
1 | Philadelphia | 47 | ||||||||||||
4 | Cleveland | 35 | ||||||||||||
1 | Philadelphia | 56 | ||||||||||||
American Conference | ||||||||||||||
3 | Jacksonville | 61 | ||||||||||||
2 | Orlando | 33 | ||||||||||||
3 | Jacksonville | 55 | ||||||||||||
3 | Jacksonville | 47 | ||||||||||||
1 | San Jose | 68 | ||||||||||||
1 | San Jose | 55 | ||||||||||||
4 | Portland | 28 | ||||||||||||
1 | San Jose | 70 | ||||||||||||
National Conference | ||||||||||||||
2 | Arizona | 67 | ||||||||||||
2 | Arizona | 72 | ||||||||||||
3 | Spokane | 41 |
Conference semifinals
editConference | Date | Kickoff | Away | Score | Home | Game site | Recap |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
National | August 14 | 11:00 p.m. EDT | Portland Thunder | 28–55 | San Jose Sabercats | SAP Center at San Jose | [4] |
American | August 15 | 5:00 p.m. EDT | Cleveland Gladiators | 35–47 | Philadelphia Soul | Wells Fargo Center | [5] |
American | August 15 | 7:30 p.m. EDT | Jacksonville Sharks | 55–33 | Orlando Predators | Amway Center | [6] |
National | August 15 | 9:00 p.m. EDT | Spokane Shock | 41–72 | Arizona Rattlers | Talking Stick Resort Arena | [7] |
Conference finals
editConference | Date | Kickoff | Away | Score | Home | Game site | Recap |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
National | August 22 | 8:00 p.m. EDT | Arizona Rattlers | 67–70 | San Jose SaberCats | Stockton Arena[8] | [9] |
American | August 23 | 5:00 p.m. EDT | Jacksonville Sharks | 61–56 | Philadelphia Soul | Wells Fargo Center | [10] |
ArenaBowl XXVIII
editDate | Kickoff | Away | Score | Home | Game site | Recap |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
August 29 | 7:00 p.m. EDT | Jacksonville Sharks | 47–68 | San Jose SaberCats | Stockton Arena | [11] |
All-Arena team
editReferences
edit- ^ "Vince Neil gets AFL approval". ESPN. ESPN Internet Ventures. June 20, 2014.
- ^ "Iowa Barnstormers Announce Future Plans, Barnstormers Join Indoor Football League, Hire Head Coach". www.theiowabarnstormers.com. Iowa Barnstormers. August 27, 2014. Archived from the original on December 22, 2014. Retrieved December 22, 2014.
- ^ "VooDoo, Outlaws Cease Operations". www.arenafootballleague.com. Arena Football League. August 9, 2015. Archived from the original on 2015-08-11. Retrieved August 9, 2015.
- ^ "SaberCats Advance to Conference Championship with 55-28 Win Over Thunder". arenafootball.com. August 15, 2015. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved August 9, 2017.
- ^ "Soul Headed to Conference Title Game After 47-35 Victory Over Gladiators". arenafootball.com. August 15, 2015. Archived from the original on September 23, 2015. Retrieved August 9, 2017.
- ^ "Sharks Beat Predators, 55-33, to Advance to Conference Championship". arenafootball.com. August 15, 2015. Archived from the original on August 8, 2016. Retrieved August 9, 2017.
- ^ "Rattlers Headed to Fifth Straight Conference Championship Game". arenafootball.com. August 16, 2015. Archived from the original on April 3, 2016. Retrieved August 9, 2017.
- ^ "Local sports digest: SaberCats' potential ArenaBowl clincher would be in Stockton". San Jose Mercury News. mercurynews.com. August 12, 2015. Retrieved August 15, 2015.
- ^ "SaberCats Defeat Rattlers, 70-67, in Dramatic Conference Championship". arenafootball.com. August 23, 2015. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved August 9, 2017.
- ^ "Sharks ArenaBowl-Bound After 61-65 Win in Philly". arenafootball.com. August 23, 2015. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved August 9, 2017.
- ^ "SaberCats Win ArenaBowl XXVIII, 68-47". arenafootball.com. August 29, 2015. Archived from the original on August 11, 2016. Retrieved August 9, 2017.