Jacksonville Sharks

For the defunct World Football League team, see Jacksonville Sharks (WFL).
Jacksonville Sharks
Current season
Established 2009
Play in Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena
in Jacksonville, Florida
JAXSharks.com
HelmetLogo
League/conference affiliations

Arena Football League (2010–2016)

  • National Conference (2010–2016)

National Arena League (2017–present)

Team colors Blood Red, Midnight Black, White
              
Mascot Chum
Personnel
Owner(s) Jeffrey Bouchy
Steve Curran
Diva Nagula, D.O.
Rob Storm
Jason Green
Kevin Wesniak
Head coach Mark Stoute
Team history
  • Jacksonville Sharks (2010–present)
Championships
League championships (1)
AFL: 2011
NAL: 0
Conference championships (2)
AFL: 2011, 2015
NAL: 0
Division championships (4)
AFL: 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013
NAL: 0
Playoff appearances (6)
AFL: 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2016
NAL: 0
Home arena(s)

The Jacksonville Sharks are a professional indoor football team based in Jacksonville, Florida, playing their home games at the Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena, known for sponsorship purposes as Sea Best Field. Beginning in 2017, the Sharks will begin play as charter members of the National Arena League (NAL). They were members of the Arena Football League (AFL) from 2010 to 2016 and won the championship of their division in the first four seasons of their existence.

The Sharks joined the AFL for the 2010 season, following the league's complete reorganization the previous year. In their inaugural season they set the league record for most regular season wins by an expansion team, winning twelve of their sixteen games, and ranked third in the league in ticket sales and average attendance. They advanced to the 2010 AFL playoffs, claiming the South Division title. In their second year in the league, they advanced to the ArenaBowl XXIV, defeating the Arizona Rattlers 73-70, for the first AFL Championship in franchise history.[1][2] The Sharks announced they were leaving the AFL for a rival league after the 2016 season, which was announced as the NAL on November 18th.

History

The Arena Football League originally wanted to place a franchise in Jacksonville in the 1990s, citing the city's historical support for football.[3] The proposal drew the attention of Wayne Weaver, then owner of the Jacksonville Jaguars, but the league decided that the Jacksonville Coliseum was too small for AFL standards.[3] In 2000, the Jacksonville Tomcats began play in the af2, the AFL's developmental league. The AFL and Tomcats ownership anticipated the completion of the new 15,000-seat Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena, but the Tomcats folded after the 2002 season, before construction of the Arena was completed.[4]

Interest in placing an arena football team in Jacksonville remained. In 2010, following the restructuring of the AFL and the cancellation of the 2009 season, the AFL announced it would place an expansion team in Jacksonville.[5] The ownership group would be Jacksonville Sports Group, led by Jeff Bouchy, formerly part owner of the Orlando Predators AFL team under his brother Brett Bouchy.[5] On May 3, 2014, it was officially announced that former Motley Crue front man Vince Neil purchased a minority stake in the team.

On October 12, 2016, the Sharks announced that they were leaving the AFL for a rival league beginning with the 2017 season.[6] The Sharks were rejected from their first choice of league, the Indoor Football League (which itself is the home of several former AFL franchises), as the IFL was focused on a regional footprint that did not include Florida.[7]

On November 18, 2016, Sharks owner Jeff Bouchy announced the team has joined the National Arena League, originally known as the Arena Developmental League. He also announced the hiring for former Toronto Phantoms head coach Mark Stoute as their third head coach in franchise history.

Arena

Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena, home of the Sharks

Since 2010, the Sharks' home arena has been Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena, a $130 million facility. The field is known as "Sea Best Field", sponsored by the local seafood distribution company In the area.

Notable players

Current roster

Jacksonville Sharks roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

  • Currently vacant

Wide receivers

  • Currently vacant
 Offensive linemen
  • 72 Cornelius Lewis

Defensive linemen

  • Currently vacant
 Linebackers
  • Currently vacant

Defensive backs

Kickers

  • Currently vacant
 Injured reserve
  • Currently vacant

Refused to report

  • Currently vacant

Other league exempt

  • Currently vacant

Inactive reserve

  • Currently vacant

League suspension

  • Currently vacant

Recallable reassignment

  • Currently vacant

Rookies in italics
Roster updated December 2, 2016
3 Active, 0 Inactive

→ More rosters

Individual awards

AFL Offensive Player of the Year
Season Player Position
2011Aaron GarciaQB
2016Joe HillsWR
AFL Defensive Lineman of the Year
Season Player Position
2015Joe SykesDL

All-Arena players

The following Sharks players have been named to All-Arena Teams:

All-Ironman players

The following Sharks players have been named to All-Arena Teams:

Notable coaches

Head coaches

Note: Statistics are correct through Week 18 of the 2014 Arena Football League season.

Name Term Regular Season Playoffs Awards
W L T Win% W L
Les Moss 2010–2016 70 50 0 .583 7 4 Coach of the Year (2010)
Bob Landsee 2016 2 0 0 1.000 1 1
Mark Stoute 2017–present 0 0 0 – 0 0

Staff

Jacksonville Sharks staff
Front Office
  • Operating Manager & Member of Board of Managers – Jeff Bouchy
  • Vice President of Ticketing & Member of Board of Managers – Steve Curran
  • Member of Board of Managers - Diva Nagula, D.O.
  • Member of Board of Managers – Larry Payne
  • Executive VP – Tim Johnson
  • Assistant General Manager – Jack Benigno
  • Director of Media Relations – Steven Shotola
  • Director of Operations & Director of Community Relations – Kayla Sharp
  • Account Sales Manager – Mike Adams
  

Head Coach

  • Head Coach – Mark Stoute

Offensive Coaches

  • Offensive Linemen –

Defensive Coaches

  • Defensive Linemen -

Football Operations Staff

  • Director of Sports Medicine -
  • Director of Equipment Operations -
  • Director of Player Personnel -

Season-by-season results

References

  1. ↑ Don Coble (August 12, 2011). "Sharks win ArenaBowl on final play". The Florida Times-Union. Retrieved September 2, 2011.
  2. ↑ Don Coble (August 16, 2011). "Jacksonville to celebrate Sharks' championship with a parade". The Florida Times-Union. Retrieved September 2, 2011.
  3. 1 2 "New arena considered for football". The Florida Times-Union. May 25, 1998. Retrieved January 5, 2011.
  4. ↑ Jeff Walker (November 13, 2002). "Tomcats fold". The Florida Times-Union. Retrieved January 5, 2011.
  5. 1 2 Jeff Elliott (November 18, 2009). "Jacksonville arena football team hoping for a bang". The Florida Times-Union. Retrieved January 5, 2011.
  6. ↑ "SHARKS MOVING TO RIVAL LEAGUE". Jacksonville Sharks. October 12, 2016.
  7. ↑ http://jacksonville.com/sports/2016-10-18/jacksonville-sharks-create-new-league
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Jacksonville Sharks.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/30/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.