|
|||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Tennessee Valley Vipers |
 |
|
| Conference | American |
|---|---|
| Division | South |
| Year founded | 2000 |
| Home arena | Von Braun Center |
| City, State | Huntsville, Alabama |
| Indoor football championships | 1 (2008) |
| Owner | Texas AF2 Holdings, LLC, in conjuction with HSV Sports, LLC. |
The Tennessee Valley Vipers are a professional arena football team, currently playing in af2, the minor league for the Arena Football League, where they are the 2008 defending ArenaCup champions. They play their home games at the Von Braun Center. They are coached by Dean Cokinos who was the head coach of the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Pioneers in 2003 and the Nashville Kats Offensive Coordinator and Director of Player Personnel from 2005 - 2007.
Contents |
The team played in af2 for four years, from 2000-2004, and during that period was one of the league's most competitive teams. The then owner and operator of the team was Art Clarkson. However, following the 2004 season the team left the af2 and joined the United Indoor Football (UIF) league, changing their name to the Tennessee Valley Pythons.
After legal threats from the AF2 for using the "snake" motif, the team changed its name again, this time to the Tennessee Valley Raptors. The Raptors, after an attendance decline in Huntsville, moved operations to Rockford, Illinois in 2005 and became the Rock River Raptors.
Meanwhile, the af2 returned to Huntsville in 2006. The new team, owned by HSV Sports, LLC (who also owns the local hockey team), was granted the rights to the Vipers name, trademarks, and history that had been vacated by the previous ownership. Prior to the 2007 season, controlling interest in the team was sold to Texas AF2 Holdings, LLC. The team still operated in conjunction with HSV Sports, LLC, now a minority partner with the team.
Note: W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties
| Season | W | L | T | Finish | Playoff results | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 10 | 6 | 0 | 2nd AC | Won Round 1 (Tulsa) Won Semifinal (Augusta) Lost ArenaCup I (Quad City) |
|
| 2001 | 14 | 2 | 0 | 1st NC South Central | Won Round 1 (Tallahassee) Lost NC Championship (Richmond) |
|
| 2002 | 13 | 3 | 0 | 1st NC South | Lost NC Round 1 (Birmingham) | |
| 2003 | 14 | 2 | 0 | 1st AC South | Won AC Semifinal (Mohegan) Lost AC Championship (Macon) |
|
| 2004 | 12 | 4 | 0 | 1st AC Mid-South | Lost AC Semifinal (Florida) | |
| 2005 | played as Tennessee Valley Raptors (UIF) | |||||
| 2006 | 3 | 13 | 0 | 6th AC South | -- | |
| 2007 | 7 | 9 | 0 | 4th NC South | -- | |
| 2008 | 10 | 6 | 0 | 2nd AC South | Won AC Round 1 (Florida) Won AC Semifinals (Wilkes-Barre/Scranton) Won AC Championship (Manchester) Won ArenaCup IX (Spokane) |
|
| Totals | 91 | 50 | 0 | (including playoffs) | ||
| # | Name | Position | Height | Weight | College |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Demetrius Derico | WR/DB | 5-10 | 190 | Alabama State |
| 2 | Jeremy Stephens | WR | 5-8 | 180 | Tennessee State |
| 3 | Desmond Foster | WR/DB | 5-9 | 190 | Alabama State |
| 4 | Alonzo Nix | WR | 6-1 | 185 | UT-Chattanooga |
| 5 | Michael Johnson | WR | 6-2 | 190 | UT-Chattanooga |
| 6 | Maurice Brown | WR | 6-2 | 210 | Iowa |
| 7 | Travis Blanchard | WR/DB | 5-11 | 182 | University of Mississippi |
| 8 | Henry Freeman | WR | 5-10 | 180 | Alabama A&M |
| 9 | Eric Scott | OL/DL | 6-2 | 285 | Southern Mississippi |
| 10 | Eric Crosby | LB | 6-3 | 210 | Albany State |
| 11 | Rajohn Myles | FB/LB | 6-0 | 255 | UAB |
| 12 | Kevin Eakin | QB | 6-0 | 225 | Fordham |
| 14 | Tony Colston | QB | 6-3 | 205 | Tusculum College |
| 16 | Nick Hayes | K | 6-0 | 215 | UAB |
| 19 | Gary Elliott | WR/DB | 5-9 | 170 | Midwestern State |
| 21 | Darren Garrigan | DB | 6-1 | 85 | West Texas A&M |
| 30 | Matt Webber | FB/LB | 6-1 | 255 | Murray State |
| 33 | Tyrell Ellston | OL/DL | 6-3 | 265 | Sewanee |
| 42 | Rico Reese | OL/DL | 6-2 | 252 | Western Carolina |
| 44 | Lance Ancar | FB/OL | 6-1 | 305 | North Alabama |
| 55 | John Simmons | OL/DL | 6-0 | 285 | Delta State |
| 72 | Calvin Ousby | OL/DL | 6-5 | 320 | Jackson State |
| 77 | Willie Hall | OL | 6-6 | 315 | Middle Tenn. State |
| 85 | Germayle Franklin | OL/DL | 6-4 | 328 | Middle Tenn. State |
| 90 | Benji McDowell | OL/DL | 6-1 | 290 | Lenoir-Rhyne College |
| 99 | Terrance Ford | OL/DL | 6-3 | 320 | Southern Mississippi |
|
|
||
|---|---|---|
| American Conference | Eastern Division | Albany Firebirds · Mahoning Valley Thunder · Manchester Wolves · Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Pioneers |
| Midwestern Division | Green Bay Blizzard · Iowa Barnstormers · Milwaukee Iron · Quad City Steamwheelers · Peoria Pirates | |
| Southern Division | Florida Firecats · Kentucky Horsemen · South Georgia Wildcats · Tennessee Valley Vipers | |
| National Conference | Central Division | Amarillo Dusters · Oklahoma City Yard Dawgz · Tulsa Talons |
| Southwestern Division | Arkansas Twisters · Bossier-Shreveport Battle Wings · Corpus Christi Sharks · Rio Grande Valley Dorados | |
| Western Division | Boise Burn · Central Valley Coyotes · Spokane Shock · Stockton Lightning · Tri-Cities Fever | |
| Expansion | 2010 | Toledo Bullfrogs |
| Related articles: Arena Football League · af2 · Arena football · Indoor football | ||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
This Alabama-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
 |
This American football team article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |