The 2023 National Arena League season was the sixth season of the National Arena League (NAL).[1] The league started the season with seven teams following the additions of the expansion team, the Fayetteville Mustangs,[2][3] and the West Texas Warbirds joining from the Arena Football Association, while the Columbus Lions left the league following the previous season.
| 2023 NAL season | |
|---|---|
 | |
| League | National Arena League |
| Sport | Indoor American football |
| Duration | April 8 – August 12, 2023 |
| Number of teams | 7 |
| Regular season | |
| Season champions | Jacksonville Sharks |
| 2023 NAL Championship | |
| Champions | Jacksonville Sharks |
| Runners-up | Carolina Cobras |
Teams
edit| Teams | Location | Arena | Capacity | Founded | Joined | Head Coach |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Albany Empire[a] | Albany, New York | MVP Arena[4] | 13,785[5] | 2020 | 2021 | Maurice Leggett |
| Carolina Cobras | Greensboro, North Carolina[6] | Greensboro Coliseum Complex[7][8] | 5,000[7] | 2017[8] | 2018 | James Fuller |
| Fayetteville Mustangs[b] | Fayetteville, North Carolina | Crown Complex[2][9] | 8,500 | 2022 | 2023 | Charles Gunnings |
| Jacksonville Sharks | Jacksonville, Florida | VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena[10] | 13,011 | 2009 | 2017 | Jason Gibson |
| Orlando Predators | Orlando, Florida | Amway Center | 17,192 | 2019 | 2019 | Herkie Walls |
| San Antonio Gunslingers | San Antonio, Texas | Freeman Coliseum[11] | 9,000 | 2020 | 2022[12] | Fred Shaw[13] |
| West Texas Warbirds[9] | Odessa, Texas[14] | Ector County Coliseum[15] | 8,000[16][17] | 2019[18] | 2023 | Tate Smith[19][20] |
- ^ Albany was expelled from the league and NAL membership was terminated due to non-payment of league dues. Owner Antonio Brown was also fined for conduct detrimental to the league, a fine included with league dues, and Brown failed to pay that fine.
- ^ Fayetteville could not afford to keep the team running and folded after Week 12.
Standings
edit| Team | Win | Loss | PCT | PF | PA | STK |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| z – Jacksonville Sharks | 10 | 3 | .769 | 810 | 555 | L1 |
| y – Carolina Cobras | 10 | 4 | .714 | 814 | 653 | W5 |
| x – San Antonio Gunslingers | 8 | 4 | .727 | 569 | 606 | L3 |
| x – Orlando Predators | 4 | 8 | .333 | 520 | 618 | L3 |
| e – West Texas Warbirds | 3 | 11 | .214 | 576 | 769 | W1 |
| DNF – Fayetteville Mustangs | 4 | 4 | .500 | 371 | 373 | L1 |
| DNF – Albany Empire | 1 | 6 | .142 | 257 | 339 | L6 |
z – clinched home field advantage
y – clinched home playoff game
x - clinched playoff berth
e – eliminated from playoffs
DNF – Did not finish the season
2023 NAL Playoffs
edit| Semifinal | 2023 NAL Championship | ||||||||
| 1 | Jacksonville Sharks | 62 | |||||||
| 4 | Orlando Predators | 18 | |||||||
| 1 | Jacksonville Sharks | 54 | |||||||
| 2 | Carolina Cobras | 45 | |||||||
| 2 | Carolina Cobras | 52 | |||||||
| 3 | San Antonio Gunslingers | 36 | |||||||
Players of the Week
edit| Weeks | Offensive Player of the Week | Defensive Player of the Week | Special Team Player of the Week | Ironman Player of the Week |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rakeem Cato, Fayetteville Mustangs | Marvin Ross, Jacksonville Sharks | Kendrick Ings, Fayetteville Mustangs | Tre Long, Fayetteville Mustangs |
| 2 | Darius Prince, Albany Empire | Kenny Veal, Carolina Cobras | Marc Orozco, Albany Empire | Jalen Childress, West Texas Warbirds |
| 3 | Arvell Nelson, San Antonio Gunslingers | Sha-ki Holines, Jacksonville Sharks | Kevin Didio-Webber, Jacksonville Sharks | Phillip Barnett, San Antonio Gunslingers |
| 4 | Rakeem Cato, Fayetteville Mustangs | Freddie Booth-Lloyd, Orlando Predators | T. C. Stevens, Carolina Cobras | Jensen Stoshak, Jacksonville Sharks |
| 5 | Jalen Childress, West Texas Warbirds | Trevon Shorts, West Texas Warbirds | Kendrick Ings, Fayetteville Mustangs | Trevon Shorts, West Texas Warbirds |
| 6 | Zach Brown, Carolina Cobras | Mike Green, Carolina Cobras | Darius Prince, Orlando Predators | Zach Brown, Carolina Cobras |
| 7 | Sam Castronova, Jacksonville Sharks | Jabari Gorman, Jacksonville Sharks | Adam Smith, Carolina Cobras | Marquel Wade, Jacksonville Sharks |
| 8 | Sam Castronova, Jacksonville Sharks | Jabari Gorman, Jacksonville Sharks | Marc Orozco, Jacksonville Sharks | Jalen Wilson, West Texas Warbirds |
| 9 | Sam Castronova, Jacksonville Sharks | Sha-ki Holiness, Jacksonville Sharks | Kevin Didio-Weber, West Texas Warbirds | Devonte Baker, Fayetteville Mustangs |
| 10 | Malik Henry, Carolina Cobras | Joshua Jenkins, Orlando Predators | Marquel Wade, Jacksonville Sharks | Devonte Baker, Fayetteville Mustangs |
| 11 | Darius Prince, Orlando Predators | Dwayne Hollis, Orlando Predators | Kevin Didio-Weber, West Texas Warbirds | Trevon Shorts, West Texas Warbirds |
| 12 | ||||
| 13 | ||||
| 14 |
References
edit- ^ "About the NAL - National Arena League". www.nationalarenaleague.com. Retrieved 2022-08-04.
- ^ a b c d Rubel, Abigail (2022-07-14). "National Arena League announces expansion team". Times Union. Retrieved 2022-08-04.
- ^ "National Arena League Announces Expansion Team for 2023". OurSports Central. 2022-07-14. Retrieved 2022-08-04.
- ^ Singelais, Mark (2021-12-22). "Albany Empire's 2022 schedule is announced". Times Union. Retrieved 2022-07-25.
- ^ "MVP Arena". www.albany.org. Retrieved 2022-07-25.
- ^ "Carolina Cobras - Indoor/Arena Football on OurSports Central". www.oursportscentral.com. Retrieved 2022-07-25.
- ^ a b "Greensboro Coliseum Special Events Center". Greensboro Convention and Visitors Bureau. Retrieved 2022-07-25.
- ^ a b "Carolina Cobras Arena Football". Greensboro Convention and Visitors Bureau. Retrieved 2022-07-25.
- ^ a b "News: Expansion Team Reveals Logo and Name - National Arena League". www.nationalarenaleague.com. Retrieved 2022-08-28.
- ^ "Jacksonville Sharks". Downtown Jacksonville. Retrieved 2022-07-25.
- ^ Ramirez, Daniel Villanueva, Mark Mendez, Larry (2022-04-22). "The San Antonio Gunslingers are headed to Freeman Coliseum". KSAT. Retrieved 2022-07-25.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Rachuk, Stephan (2021-11-11). "NAL Announces San Antonio Gunslingers as Expansion Franchise". XFL Newsroom. Retrieved 2022-07-25.
- ^ "Staff - San Antonio Gunslingers". www.sanantoniogunslingers.com. Retrieved 2022-07-25.
- ^ "HIGHLIGHTS: Warbirds finish another undefeated championship season". Yourbasin. 2022-07-17. Retrieved 2022-08-28.
- ^ Aguirre, Priscilla (2022-07-20). "VIDEO: Brawl at West Texas indoor football game spills into stands". mySA. Retrieved 2022-08-28.
- ^ "Ector County Coliseum". www.cvent.com. Retrieved 2022-08-28.
- ^ "Data view of Ector County Coliseum from United States - Sports Stadiums & Arenas dataset". rlist.io. Retrieved 2022-08-28.
- ^ "Professional Indoor Football Coming to West Texas in 2020". OurSports Central. 2019-10-02. Retrieved 2022-08-28.
- ^ "Coaching Staff | Warbirds Football". warbirdfootball.com. Retrieved 2022-08-28.
- ^ "Warbirds introduce Tate Smith as head coach". 2021-05-12. Archived from the original on 2021-05-12. Retrieved 2022-08-28.
- ^ "Stats - National Arena League". www.nationalarenaleague.com. Retrieved 2022-07-26.
- ^ "Stats - National Arena League". www.nationalarenaleague.com. Retrieved 2022-08-14.
- ^ "Stats - National Arena League". www.nationalarenaleague.com. Retrieved 2022-08-14.
- ^ "Stats - National Arena League". www.nationalarenaleague.com. Retrieved 2022-08-14.
- ^ "Players of the Week - National Arena League". www.nationalarenaleague.com. Retrieved 2022-07-26.
- ^ "News: THE EMPIRE LEAVES JACKSONVILLE IN WEEK TWO WITH THEIR FIRST WIN OF THE SEASON - National Arena League". www.nationalarenaleague.com. Team for Rob Jones. Retrieved 2022-07-30.