2015 Arena Football League season

2015 Arena Football League season
League	Arena Football League
Sport	Arena Football
Duration	March 27 – August 29
Regular season
Season champions	San Jose SaberCats
Season MVP	Dan Raudabaugh (PHI)
League postseason
American Conference champions	Jacksonville Sharks
American Conference runners-up	Philadelphia Soul
National Conference champions	San Jose SaberCats
National Conference runners-up	Arizona Rattlers
ArenaBowl XXVIII
Champions	San Jose SaberCats
Runners-up	Jacksonville Sharks

The 2015 Arena Football League season is the twenty-eighth season in the history of the league. The regular season began on March 27, 2015 and ended on August 8, 2015.

League business

Teams

The city of Las Vegas, Nevada was awarded an expansion team on June 18, 2014. The team, named the Las Vegas Outlaws, was the first AFL team to call Las Vegas home since the Las Vegas Gladiators in 2007. Vince Neil, lead singer of the rock band Mötley Crüe, was the majority owner of the expansion franchise.^[1] The Outlaws' expansion draft took place on December 22, 2014.

Two teams that competed in 2014 suspended operations, (Pittsburgh Power & San Antonio Talons) and their rosters became signable upon offseason assignment process held on December 23, 2014.

The Iowa Barnstormers were the third and final team to leave the AFL for the 2015 season when they joined the Indoor Football League (IFL) on August 27, 2014. In 2015 all games were televised, most on ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNEWS, and especially on ESPN3 (available online through WatchESPN) and some on the CBS Sports Network.^[2]

On July 15, the league took over the daily operations of the Las Vegas Outlaws and New Orleans VooDoo after financial problems and declining attendance. As a result, their game against each other (which was set to be played on the 25th) was cancelled and declared a tie, only the 3rd in AFL history and the only cancellation in league history. The league ran both teams to the end of the season with the intent of looking for new ownership in the offseason but on August 9, the day following the conclusion of the regular season, both teams ceased operations. Las Vegas had qualified for a playoff spot, the final one in the National Conference, but the league's Board of Directors voted against their inclusion in the postseason, considering that with no team ownership, there was no funding for the team.^[3] The Outlaws were replaced in the playoffs by the Portland Thunder, who had finished last in their division but had the better record of the two remaining non-playoff National Conference teams, meaning that all teams in the Pacific Division made the playoffs.

Alignment

Conference	Division	Teams
American	East	Cleveland Gladiators, New Orleans VooDoo, Philadelphia Soul
	South	Jacksonville Sharks, Orlando Predators, Tampa Bay Storm
National	Pacific	Portland Thunder, San Jose SaberCats, Spokane Shock
	West	Arizona Rattlers, Las Vegas Outlaws , Los Angeles Kiss

Standings

2015 American Conference standings Team Overall Points Records W L T PCT PF PA DIV CON Home Away East Division ^(1) Philadelphia Soul 15 3 0 .833 1060 823 6–0 11–3 9–0 6–3 ^(4) Cleveland Gladiators 8 10 0 .444 953 959 3–3 6–8 3–6 5–4 New Orleans VooDoo 3 14 1 .194 692 919 0–6 2–12 3–6 0–8–1 South Division ^(2) Orlando Predators 12 6 0 .667 1023 951 5–1 10–4 7–2 5–4 ^(3) Jacksonville Sharks 10 8 0 .556 971 901 2–4 8–6 7–2 3–6 Tampa Bay Storm 7 11 0 .389 820 942 2–4 5–9 5–4 2–7

2015 National Conference standings Team Overall Points Records W L T PCT PF PA DIV CON Home Away Pacific Division ^(1) San Jose SaberCats 17 1 0 .944 1061 662 6–0 13–1 8–1 9–0 ^(3) Spokane Shock 7 11 0 .389 847 971 2–4 6–8 4–5 3–6 ^(4) Portland Thunder 5 13 0 .278 819 908 1–5 4–10 5–4 0–9 West Division ^(2) Arizona Rattlers 14 4 0 .778 1003 825 5–1 10–4 8–1 6–3 Las Vegas Outlaws 5 12 1 .306 740 909 3–3 5–9 3–5–1 2–7 Los Angeles Kiss 4 14 0 .222 724 915 1–5 4–10 3–6 1–8

Playoffs

	Conference Semifinals					Conference Championships					ArenaBowl XXVIII
	1	Philadelphia	47
	4	Cleveland	35
						1	Philadelphia	56
	American Conference
						3	Jacksonville	61
	2	Orlando	33
	3	Jacksonville	55
											3	Jacksonville	47
											1	San Jose	68
	1	San Jose	55
	4	Portland	28
						1	San Jose	70
	National Conference
						2	Arizona	67
	2	Arizona	72
	3	Spokane	41

Conference semifinals

Conference	Date	Kickoff	Away	Score	Home	Game site	Recap
National	August 14	11:00 p.m. EDT	Portland Thunder	28–55	San Jose Sabercats	SAP Center at San Jose
American	August 15	5:00 p.m. EDT	Cleveland Gladiators	35–47	Philadelphia Soul	Wells Fargo Center
American	August 15	7:30 p.m. EDT	Jacksonville Sharks	55–33	Orlando Predators	Amway Center
National	August 15	9:00 p.m. EDT	Spokane Shock	41–72	Arizona Rattlers	Talking Stick Resort Arena

Conference finals

Conference	Date	Kickoff	Away	Score	Home	Game site	Recap
National	August 22	8:00 p.m. EDT	Arizona Rattlers	67–70	San Jose SaberCats	Stockton Arena[4]
American	August 23	5:00 p.m. EDT	Jacksonville Sharks	61–56	Philadelphia Soul	Wells Fargo Center

ArenaBowl XXVIII

Date	Kickoff	Away	Score	Home	Game site	Recap
August 29	7:00 p.m. EDT	Jacksonville Sharks	47–68	San Jose SaberCats	Stockton Arena

References

1. "Vince Neil gets AFL approval". www.espn.go.com. ESPN Internet Ventures. June 20, 2014.
2. "Iowa Barnstormers Announce Future Plans, Barnstormers Join Indoor Football League, Hire Head Coach". www.theiowabarnstormers.com. Iowa Barnstormers. August 27, 2014.
3. "VooDoo, Outlaws Cease Operations". www.arenafootballleague.com. Arena Football League. August 9, 2015. Retrieved August 9, 2015.
4. "Local sports digest: SaberCats' potential ArenaBowl clincher would be in Stockton". San Jose Mercury News. mercurynews.com. August 12, 2015. Retrieved August 15, 2015.