The High Country Grizzlies were a professional indoor football team that began play in the 2017 season. Based in Boone, North Carolina, the Grizzlies played their home games at the George M. Holmes Convocation Center on the campus of Appalachian State University.
| High Country Grizzlies | |
|---|---|
| Established 2016 Folded 2019 Played in Boone, North Carolina at the George M. Holmes Convocation Center HighCountryGrizzlies.com | |
 | |
| League/conference affiliations | |
Current uniform | |
| Team colors | Black, orange, silver, white |
| Nicknames | Grizzlies |
| Mascot | Grizzy |
| Personnel | |
| Owner(s) | Paul & Christine Potter Don Thompson Bryan Bouboulis |
| General manager | William Thompson |
| Team history | |
| |
| Championships | |
| League championships (0) | |
| Conference championships (0) | |
| Division championships (0) | |
| Home arena(s) | |
| |
History
editOn April 14, 2016, American Indoor Football (AIF) announced that it had granted an expansion franchise to the High Country region for the 2017 season.[1] At an introductory press conference on July 14, the Grizzlies officially introduced themselves, their staff, head coach, name, logo, colors and venue.[2][3] However, on July 18, the AIF ceased operations forcing the Grizzlies to find a new league.[4] On July 21, the team announced it had joined the Arena Developmental League for the new league's inaugural season.[5] In November 2016, the ADL then changed its name to National Arena League.
Prior to the 2017 season, the Grizzlies had recruited former Appalachian State and NFL wide receiver Dexter Jackson to be the marquee player and face of the team for marketing and ticket sales, agreeing to sales incentives and relocation reimbursement for Jackson and his family. Jackson initially requested his ticket sales incentives in February prior to the start of the season, but Jackson would leave the team over non-payment in May and the league suspended Jackson. In August, Jackson took the Grizzlies to arbitration with the league and the NAL ruled in Jackson's favor with the team owing Jackson US$9,500. Jackson filed another complaint with Watauga County over continued non-payment by the team as of January 2018.[6]
After one season in the NAL, the Grizzlies announced on September 20 that the organization had joined the newly formed American Arena League (AAL) for the 2018 season.[7] Scoot Meserve was hired as head coach and the team finished the season with a 2–6 record, failing to make the AAL playoffs.
Prior to the 2019 season, the Grizzlies hired Jeff Hunt as head coach, but the team ceased operations in February 2019 a month before the season was to begin.
Players and staff
editIndividual awards
edit| Offensive Rookie of the Year | |||
| Season | Player | Position | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Malachi Jones | WR | |
Staff
edit| High Country Grizzlies staff | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Front office
|
Coaches
| |||||
Statistics and records
editSeason-by-season results
edit| League Champions | Conference Champions | Division Champions | Playoff berth | League leader |
| Season | Team | League | Regular season | Postseason results | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Finish | Wins | Losses | Ties | ||||||
| 2017 | 2017 | NAL | 5th | 3 | 7 | 0 | |||
| 2018 | 2018 | AAL | 8th | 2 | 6 | 0 | |||
| Totals | 5 | 13 | 0 | All-time regular season record (2017–2018) | |||||
| 0 | 0 | — | All-time postseason record (2017–2018) | ||||||
| 5 | 13 | 0 | All-time regular season and postseason record (2017–2018) | ||||||
Head coaches' records
edit| Name | Term | Regular season | Playoffs | Awards | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | T | Win% | W | L | |||
| Josh Resignalo | 2017 | 3 | 7 | 0 | .300 | — | — | |
| Scott Meserve | 2018 | 2 | 6 | 0 | .250 | — | — | |
References
edit- ^ "American Indoor Football Awards Newest Territory to Western North Carolina". American Indoor Football. April 14, 2016. Archived from the original on July 22, 2016. Retrieved July 15, 2016.
- ^ Wood, Jesse (July 14, 2016). "High Country Grizzlies Ready To Impact the Community In More Ways Than One". HCPress.com. High Country Press. Retrieved July 15, 2016.
- ^ Behr, Steve (July 14, 2016). "Grizzlies management makes debut in High Country". WataugaDemocrat.com. Watauga Democrat. Retrieved July 15, 2016.
- ^ "American Indoor Football League to Cease Operations". aifprofootball.com. July 18, 2016. Archived from the original on July 18, 2016. Retrieved July 18, 2016.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - ^ "Grizzlies Announce New Affiliation". OurSports Central. July 21, 2016.
- ^ "Dexter Jackson sues Grizzlies alleging unpaid revenue". Watauga Democrat. January 20, 2018.
- ^ "High Country Grizzlies Leave NAL; Join AAL". Last Word on Sports. September 20, 2017.