2013 Arena Football League season

2013 Arena Football League season
League	Arena Football League
Sport	Arena football
Duration	March 23, 2013 – August 17, 2013
Regular season
Season champions	Arizona Rattlers
Season MVP	Erik Meyer, SPO
AFL Playoffs
American Conference champions	Philadelphia Soul
American Conference runners-up	Jacksonville Sharks
National Conference champions	Arizona Rattlers
National Conference runners-up	Spokane Shock
ArenaBowl XXVI
Champions	Arizona Rattlers
Runners-up	Philadelphia Soul
Finals MVP	Rod Windsor, ARZ

The 2013 Arena Football League season was the twenty-sixth season in the history of the league. The regular season began on March 23, 2013 with a five-game slate, the first of which to kickoff being between the Utah Blaze and the Pittsburgh Power, and ended on July 27, 2013 with the Utah Blaze and Cleveland Gladiators as the last game to kickoff.^[1][2] The Arizona Rattlers defeated the Philadelphia Soul by a 48–39 score in ArenaBowl XXVI to conclude the league's playoffs.^[3]

League business

Teams

The league dropped to 14 teams during the offseason. The Kansas City Command ceased operations on August 23, 2012,^[4] as well as the Georgia Force on October 14, 2012.^[5] The Milwaukee Mustangs suspended operations for 2013, eyeing a return to play in the 2014 season.^[6]

Television

It was announced on November 13, 2012 that the league had reached an agreement with CBS Sports Network to air 19 regular season games, as well as two playoff games. The network is scheduled to air the league's "game of the week" each Saturday. The main CBS network will televise ArenaBowl XXVI on August 17, 2013.^[3]

Regular season standings

American Conference
East Division
Team	W	L	PCT	PF	PA	DIV	CON	Home	Away
^(2) Philadelphia Soul	12	6	.667	1052	839	2–2	6–3	5–4	7–2
Cleveland Gladiators^[a]	4	14	.222	847	1047	2–2	3–7	3–6	1–8
Pittsburgh Power	4	14	.222	726	1014	2–2	4–8	1–8	3–6
South Division
Team	W	L	PCT	PF	PA	DIV	CON	Home	Away
^(1) Jacksonville Sharks^[b]	12	6	.667	941	883	6–0	11–0	6–3	6–3
^(3) Orlando Predators^[c]	7	11	.389	965	1032	2–4	5–7	4–5	3–6
^(4) Tampa Bay Storm	7	11	.389	959	980	2–4	4–6	2–7	5–4
New Orleans VooDoo	5	13	.278	833	1069	2–4	4–6	3–6	2–7
National Conference
Central Division
Team	W	L	PCT	PF	PA	DIV	CON	Home	Away
^(2) Chicago Rush^[d]	10	8	.556	973	947	2–2	5–5	3–5	7–3
San Antonio Talons	10	8	.556	782	884	2–2	3–8	4–5	6–3
Iowa Barnstormers	6	12	.333	827	913	2–2	3–7	2–7	4–5
West Division
Team	W	L	PCT	PF	PA	DIV	CON	Home	Away
^(1) Arizona Rattlers	15	3	.833	1203	866	4–2	9–3	8–1	7–2
^(3) Spokane Shock	14	4	.778	1198	896	4–2	8–2	7–2	7–2
^(4) San Jose SaberCats	13	5	.722	1033	877	3–3	6–4	8–2	5–3
Utah Blaze	7	11	.389	896	988	1–5	3–8	4–5	3–6

Eight teams qualify for the playoffs: four teams from each conference, of which two are division champions and the other two have the best records of the teams remaining.^[7]

• Green indicates clinched playoff berth
• Blue indicates division champion
• Gray indicates division champion and conference's best record

Tie-breakers

• ^a Cleveland finished in second place in the East Division based on their greater point differential in head-to-head competition with Pittsburgh.
• ^b Jacksonville clinched the American Conference's No. 1 seed based on their win over Philadelphia.
• ^c Orlando clinched the American Conference's No. 3 seed based on a greater conference record than Tampa Bay.
• ^d Chicago clinched the Central Division based on their greater point differential in games against common opponents with San Antonio.

Playoffs

	Conference Semifinals					Conference Championship					ArenaBowl XXVI
	1	Jacksonville	69
	4	Tampa Bay	62
						1	Jacksonville	59
	American Conference
						2	Philadelphia	75
	2	Philadelphia	59
	3	Orlando	55
											A2	Philadelphia	39
											N1	Arizona	48
	1	Arizona	59
	4	San Jose	49
						1	Arizona	65
	National Conference
						3	Spokane	57
	2	Chicago	47
	3	Spokane	69

• Note: Due to "arena conflicts," the Chicago Rush did not host the playoff game.^[8]

Conference semifinals

Conference	Date	Kickoff	Away	Home	Final score	Game site	Recap
National	August 1	10:00 p.m. EDT	Chicago Rush	Spokane Shock	Spokane, 67–49	Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena	[9]
American	August 3	7:00 p.m. EDT	Tampa Bay Storm	Jacksonville Sharks	Jacksonville, 69–62	Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena	[10]
American	August 3	7:05 p.m. EDT	Orlando Predators	Philadelphia Soul	Philadelphia, 59–55	Wells Fargo Center	[11]
National	August 4	8:00 p.m. EDT	San Jose SaberCats	Arizona Rattlers	Arizona, 59–49	US Airways Center	[12]

Conference championships

Conference	Date	Kickoff	Away	Home	Final score	Game site	Recap
American	August 10	7:00 p.m. EDT	Philadelphia Soul	Jacksonville Sharks	Philadelphia, 75–59	Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena	[13]
National	August 10	9:00 p.m. EDT	Spokane Shock	Arizona Rattlers	Arizona, 65–57	US Airways Center	[14]

ArenaBowl XXVI

Date	Kickoff	Away	Home	Final score	Game site	Recap
August 17	1:00 p.m. EDT	Philadelphia Soul	Arizona Rattlers	Arizona, 48–39	Amway Center	[15]

References

1. "AFL Announces 2013 Schedule". Arena Football League. November 13, 2012. Retrieved January 26, 2013.
2. "2013 AFL Schedule" (PDF). Arena Football League. November 13, 2012. Retrieved November 13, 2012.
3. "AFL, CBS Sports Network Sign Two-Year TV Agreement". Arena Football League. November 13, 2012. Retrieved November 13, 2012.
4. "Kansas City Command bows out; new team forms in new league – Kansas City Business Journal". Bizjournals.com. August 23, 2012. Retrieved November 13, 2012.
5. "Force Fold". www.oursportscentral.com. OurSports Central. October 14, 2012. Retrieved November 13, 2012.
6. "Milwaukee's AFL franchise announces that it will go dormant for the 2013 season". Milwaukee Mustangs. Retrieved November 13, 2012.
7. "Playoff Qualification, Selection of Teams". Arenafootball.com. Retrieved July 28, 2013.
8. "Week 19 AFL Playoff Scenarios (Updated 7/26, 4:15 PM)". Arenafan.com. July 21, 2013. Retrieved July 28, 2013.
9. "Shock hold off the Rush in 69-47 win". Spokane Shock. Arenafan.com. August 2, 2013. Retrieved August 5, 2013.
10. "Sharks Cap Incredible Comeback with 69-62 Win Over Storm". Jacksonville Sharks. Arenafan.com. August 4, 2013. Retrieved August 5, 2013.
11. "Soul defeat Predators to advance, 59-55". Philadelphia Soul. Arenafan.com. August 4, 2013. Retrieved August 5, 2013.
12. "SaberCats Fall 59-49 to Rattlers in Close One in the Desert". San Jose SaberCats. Arenafan.com. August 4, 2013. Retrieved August 5, 2013.
13. "Sharks Fall to Soul in Conference Championship, 75-59". Jacksonville Sharks. Arenafan.com. August 10, 2013. Retrieved August 11, 2013.
14. "Shock fall to the defending champs 65-57". Spokane Shock. Arenafan.com. August 11, 2013. Retrieved August 11, 2013.
15. Jeff Sims (August 17, 2013). "Rattlers Repeat as ArenaBowl Champs". Arenafan.com. Retrieved August 18, 2013.