2015 Arena Football League season

Sports season

2015 Arena Football League season

League| Arena Football League
Sport| Arena football
Duration| March 27, 2015 – August 29, 2015
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
Finals MVP| Reggie Gray, SJ
AFL seasons

← 2014

2016 →

Gladiators

Soul

VooDoo

Predators

Sharks

Storm

SaberCats

Shock

Thunder

Kiss

Outlaws

Rattlers

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American:  East,  South
National:  Pacific,  West

The 2015 Arena Football League season was the 28th season in the history of the league. The regular season began on March 27, 2015 and ended on August 8, 2015.

## League business

[edit]

### Teams

[edit]

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 and 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

[edit]

Conference  | Division  | Teams

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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

## Regular season standings

[edit]

2015 American Conference standings

* view
* talk
* edit

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

* view
* talk
* edit

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

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| Conference Semifinals | | | Conference Championships | | | ArenaBowl XXVIII |

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|  |  |  | | |  |  |  | | |  |  |  |
| 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

[edit]

Conference  | Date  | Kickoff  | Away  | Score  | Home  | Game site  | Recap

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National  | August 14  | 11:00 p.m. EDT | Portland Thunder  | 28–55  | San Jose Sabercats | SAP Center at San Jose | [4]
American  | August 15  | 5:00 p.m. EDT | Cleveland Gladiators  | 35–47  | Philadelphia Soul | Wells Fargo Center | [5]
American  | August 15  | 7:30 p.m. EDT | Jacksonville Sharks | 55–33  | Orlando Predators  | Amway Center | [6]
National  | August 15  | 9:00 p.m. EDT | Spokane Shock  | 41–72  | Arizona Rattlers | Talking Stick Resort Arena | [7]

### Conference finals

[edit]

Conference  | Date  | Kickoff  | Away  | Score  | Home  | Game site  | Recap

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National  | August 22  | 8:00 p.m. EDT | Arizona Rattlers  | 67–70  | San Jose SaberCats | Stockton Arena[8] | [9]
American  | August 23  | 5:00 p.m. EDT | Jacksonville Sharks | 61–56  | Philadelphia Soul  | Wells Fargo Center | [10]

### ArenaBowl XXVIII

[edit]

Main article: ArenaBowl XXVIII

Date  | Kickoff  | Away  | Score  | Home  | Game site  | Recap

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August 29  | 7:00 p.m. EDT | Jacksonville Sharks  | 47–68  | San Jose SaberCats | Stockton Arena | [11]

## All-Arena team

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| Offense

Position  | First team  | Second team
Quarterback | Dan Raudabaugh, Philadelphia | Erik Meyer, San Jose
Fullback | Derrick Ross, Jacksonville | Tommy Taggart, Philadelphia
Wide receiver | Reggie Gray, San Jose
Donovan Morgan, Los Angeles
Anthony Jones, Jacksonville | Rod Windsor, Arizona
Joe Hills, Jacksonville
Marco Thomas, Philadelphia
Center | Shannon Breen, Philadelphia | John Collins, Portland
Offensive lineman | Moqut Ruffins, Jacksonville
Adam Smith, Philadelphia | Rich Ranglin, San Jose
Patrick Afif, Spokane
| Defense

Position  | First team  | Second team
Defensive end | Joe Sykes, Jacksonville
James Ruffin, Spokane | Mike McAdoo, Arizona
Bryan Robinson, Philadelphia
Nose guard | Jason Stewart, San Jose | Willie McGinnis, Cleveland
Middle linebacker | Tyre Glasper, Arizona | Francis Maka, San Jose
Jack linebacker | Alvin Ray Jackson, Jacksonville | Terence Moore, Orlando
Defensive back | Jeremy Kellem, Arizona
James Romain, Philadelphia
Greg Reid, Jacksonville | Ken Fontenette, San Jose
James Harrell, Tampa Bay
Rayshaun Kizer, Los Angeles
| Special teams

Position  | First team  | Second team
Kicker | Tommy Frevert, Philadelphia | Mark Lewis, Orlando
Kick returner | Duane Brooks, Portland | Brandon Thompkins, Orlando

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Vince Neil gets AFL approval". ESPN. 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. Archived from the original on December 22, 2014. Retrieved December 22, 2014.
3. ^ "VooDoo, Outlaws Cease Operations". www.arenafootballleague.com. Arena Football League. August 9, 2015. Archived from the original on August 11, 2015. Retrieved August 9, 2015.
4. ^ "SaberCats Advance to Conference Championship with 55-28 Win Over Thunder". arenafootball.com. August 15, 2015. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved August 9, 2017.
5. ^ "Soul Headed to Conference Title Game After 47-35 Victory Over Gladiators". arenafootball.com. August 15, 2015. Archived from the original on September 23, 2015. Retrieved August 9, 2017.
6. ^ "Sharks Beat Predators, 55-33, to Advance to Conference Championship". arenafootball.com. August 15, 2015. Archived from the original on August 8, 2016. Retrieved August 9, 2017.
7. ^ "Rattlers Headed to Fifth Straight Conference Championship Game". arenafootball.com. August 16, 2015. Archived from the original on April 3, 2016. Retrieved August 9, 2017.
8. ^ "Local sports digest: SaberCats' potential ArenaBowl clincher would be in Stockton". San Jose Mercury News. mercurynews.com. August 12, 2015. Retrieved August 15, 2015.
9. ^ "SaberCats Defeat Rattlers, 70-67, in Dramatic Conference Championship". arenafootball.com. August 23, 2015. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved August 9, 2017.
10. ^ "Sharks ArenaBowl-Bound After 61-65 Win in Philly". arenafootball.com. August 23, 2015. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved August 9, 2017.
11. ^ "SaberCats Win ArenaBowl XXVIII, 68-47". arenafootball.com. August 29, 2015. Archived from the original on August 11, 2016. Retrieved August 9, 2017.

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Arena Football League seasons

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2015 AFL season

| American Conference| National Conference

|

| East Division| South Division

|

* Cleveland Gladiators
* New Orleans VooDoo
* Philadelphia Soul

* Jacksonville Sharks
* Orlando Predators
* Tampa Bay Storm

| Pacific Division| West Division

|

* Portland Thunder
* San Jose SaberCats
* Spokane Shock

* Arizona Rattlers
* Las Vegas Outlaws
* Los Angeles KISS

Related articles
2015 Arena Football League season
ArenaBowl XXVIII
Arenas
*[W]: Wins
*[L]: Losses
*[T]: Ties
*[PCT]: Winning Percentage
*[PF]: Points for
*[PA]: Points against
*[DIV]: Division record
*[CON]: Conference record
*[Home]: Home record
*[Away]: Away record
*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template