ArenaBowl
The ArenaBowl was the Arena Football League's championship game. From 1987 to 2019, the ArenaBowl was hosted by either the team with the better regular-season record or the higher seeding in the playoffs. From ArenaBowl XIX in 2005 until ArenaBowl XXII in 2008, the game was played at a neutral site. When the AFL returned from a bankruptcy-induced hiatus in 2010, the original format was used for this and the next season; for 2012 and 2013, the game returned to being played at a neutral site. In 2014, it was announced that the ArenaBowl would return to the format in which the higher-seeded team would host the game.[1] However, in 2018, the game's host was changed so that it would be at the site of the participating team with highest average attendance during the regular season. The final game, ArenaBowl XXXII, saw the Albany Empire defeat the Philadelphia Soul for the 2019 championship; the AFL ultimately filed for bankruptcy a second time later that year, ceasing operations as it underwent Chapter 7 bankruptcy.[2]
 The Foster Trophy is awarded to the ArenaBowl winner | |
| First played | August 1, 1987 |
|---|---|
| Last played | August 11, 2019 |
| Trophy | Foster Trophy |
 Recent and upcoming games | |
| 2019 season | |
| ArenaBowl XXXII (August 11, 2019) Albany Empire vs. Philadelphia Soul | |
Results
* Neutral site
- The first seven ArenaBowls were known by the year in which they were played (i.e. ArenaBowl I was called ArenaBowl '87). ArenaBowl VIII was the first to carry a roman numeral, and all previous games were retconned to have roman numerals as well.
- The number in parentheses indicates the amount of ArenaBowl MVPs that player won.
- The Pittsburgh Gladiators relocated in 1991 to become the Tampa Bay Storm.
- The Nashville Kats relocated in 2002 to become the Georgia Force. The Kats were brought back as an expansion team in 2005 and assumed all former team history up to the point when the original Kats relocated to Georgia. The Force were regarded as a completely separate team and kept records from their establishment in 2002 to the team's demise in 2012, similar to the Cleveland Browns and Baltimore Ravens situation in the NFL.
Most championships won
| Team | Championships | Winning years |
|---|---|---|
| Arizona Rattlers | 5 | 1994, 1997, 2012, 2013, 2014 |
| Tampa Bay Storm | 5 | 1991, 1993, 1995, 1996, 2003 |
| Detroit Drive | 4 | 1988, 1989, 1990, 1992 |
| San Jose SaberCats | 4 | 2002, 2004, 2007, 2015 |
| Philadelphia Soul | 3 | 2008, 2016, 2017 |
| Orlando Predators | 2 | 1998, 2000 |
| Albany Firebirds | 1 | 1999 |
| Chicago Rush | 1 | 2006 |
| Colorado Crush | 1 | 2005 |
| Denver Dynamite | 1 | 1987 |
| Grand Rapids Rampage | 1 | 2001 |
| Jacksonville Sharks | 1 | 2011 |
| Spokane Shock | 1 | 2010 |
| Washington Valor | 1 | 2018 |
| Albany Empire | 1 | 2019 |
Standings
| Team | W | L | PCT. | PF | PA | Last appearance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arizona Rattlers | 5 | 5 | .500 | 500 | 482 | 2016 |
| Tampa Bay Storm* | 5 | 5 | .500 | 402 | 434 | 2017 |
| San Jose SaberCats | 4 | 1 | .800 | 300 | 215 | 2015 |
| Detroit Drive | 4 | 2 | .667 | 243 | 203 | 1993 |
| Philadelphia Soul | 3 | 3 | .500 | 279 | 303 | 2019 |
| Orlando Predators | 2 | 5 | .286 | 316 | 337 | 2006 |
| Albany Empire | 1 | 0 | 1.000 | 45 | 27 | 2019 |
| Albany Firebirds | 1 | 0 | 1.000 | 59 | 48 | 1999 |
| Chicago Rush | 1 | 0 | 1.000 | 69 | 61 | 2006 |
| Colorado Crush | 1 | 0 | 1.000 | 51 | 48 | 2005 |
| Denver Dynamite | 1 | 0 | 1.000 | 45 | 16 | 1987 |
| Grand Rapids Rampage | 1 | 0 | 1.000 | 64 | 42 | 2001 |
| Spokane Shock | 1 | 0 | 1.000 | 69 | 57 | 2010 |
| Washington Valor | 1 | 0 | 1.000 | 69 | 55 | 2018 |
| Jacksonville Sharks | 1 | 1 | .500 | 120 | 138 | 2015 |
| Baltimore Brigade | 0 | 1 | .000 | 55 | 69 | 2018 |
| Chicago Bruisers | 0 | 1 | .000 | 13 | 24 | 1988 |
| Cleveland Gladiators | 0 | 1 | .000 | 32 | 72 | 2014 |
| Columbus Destroyers | 0 | 1 | .000 | 33 | 55 | 2007 |
| Dallas Texans | 0 | 1 | .000 | 27 | 51 | 1990 |
| Georgia Force | 0 | 1 | .000 | 48 | 51 | 2005 |
| Iowa Barnstormers | 0 | 2 | .000 | 71 | 97 | 1997 |
| Nashville Kats | 0 | 2 | .000 | 80 | 105 | 2001 |
*Includes two appearances as Pittsburgh Gladiators (0–2, 42 points, 84 points allowed).
Coaching records
| Coach | G | W | L | PCT. | Team(s) | Appearance(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Darren Arbet | 5 | 4 | 1 | .800 | San Jose SaberCats | 2002, 2004, 2007, 2008, 2015 |
| Fran Curci | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1.000 | Tampa Bay Storm | 1991 |
| Mike Dailey | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1.000 | Albany Firebirds, Colorado Crush | 1999, 2005 |
| Clint Dolezel | 4 | 2 | 2 | .500 | Philadelphia Soul | 2013, 2016, 2017, 2019 |
| John Gregory | 2 | 0 | 2 | .000 | Iowa Barnstormers | 1996, 1997 |
| Jay Gruden | 4 | 2 | 2 | .500 | Orlando Predators | 1998, 1999, 2000, 2006 |
| Kevin Guy | 5 | 3 | 2 | .600 | Arizona Rattlers | 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2016 |
| Joe Haering | 1 | 0 | 1 | .000 | Pittsburgh Gladiators | 1987* |
| Mike Hohensee | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1.000 | Chicago Rush | 2006 |
| Darrel Jackson | 1 | 0 | 1 | .000 | Pittsburgh Gladiators | 1989* |
| Ron James | 1 | 0 | 1 | .000 | Tampa Bay Storm | 2017 |
| Doug Kay | 1 | 0 | 1 | .000 | Columbus Destroyers | 2007 |
| Rob Keefe | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1.000 | Spokane Shock, Albany Empire | 2010, 2019 |
| Lary Kuharich | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1.000 | Tampa Bay Storm | 1993 |
| Tim Marcum | 11 | 7 | 4 | .636 | Denver Dynamite, Detroit Drive, Tampa Bay Storm | 1987, 1988, 1989, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1995, 1996, 1998, 2003, 2010 |
| Benji McDowell | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1.000 | Washington Valor | 2018 |
| Les Moss | 2 | 1 | 1 | .500 | Jacksonville Sharks | 2011, 2015 |
| Perry Moss | 5 | 1 | 4 | .200 | Chicago Bruisers, Detroit Drive, Orlando Predators | 1988, 1990, 1992, 1994, 1995 |
| Bret Munsey | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1.000 | Philadelphia Soul | 2008 |
| Doug Plank | 2 | 0 | 2 | .000 | Georgia Force, Philadelphia Soul | 2005, 2012 |
| Omarr Smith | 1 | 0 | 1 | .000 | Baltimore Brigade | 2018 |
| Pat Sperduto | 2 | 0 | 2 | .000 | Nashville Kats | 2000, 2001 |
| Ernie Stautner | 1 | 0 | 1 | .000 | Dallas Texans | 1990 |
| Steve Thonn | 1 | 0 | 1 | .000 | Cleveland Gladiators | 2014 |
| Michael Trigg | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1.000 | Grand Rapids Rampage | 2001 |
| Danny White | 5 | 2 | 3 | .400 | Arizona Rattlers | 1994, 1997, 2002, 2003, 2004 |
*Both Haering and Jackson coached the 1989 Pittsburgh Gladiators, but Jackson is credited with the postseason games.
References
- "ArenaBowl to Return to Home Field Advantage in 2014". Arenafootball.com. March 5, 2014. Archived from the original on March 11, 2014. Retrieved March 5, 2014.
- Gleeson, Scott (November 27, 2019), "Arena Football League files for bankruptcy, ceases all operations", USA Today, retrieved November 27, 2019