Knoxville NightHawks

Established 2011
Folded 2013
Played in Knoxville, Tennessee
at the James White Civic Coliseum
League/conference affiliations
Professional Indoor Football League (2012–2013)

Current uniform

Team colors| Royal Blue, Green, Silver, White

Nicknames| NightHawks
Mascot| Ace
Personnel
Owner(s)| Southern Sports and Entertainment LLC (Jeff Knight, CEO)
Chairman| Jeff Knight
President| Joe Stroud
Head coach| Cosmo DeMatteo
Team history

* Knoxville NightHawks (2011–2013)

Championships
League championships (0)

Conference championships (0)

Division championships (0)

Home arena(s)

* James White Civic Coliseum (2012-2013)

The Knoxville NightHawks were a professional indoor football team based in Knoxville, Tennessee. The team was a member of the Professional Indoor Football League (PIFL). The NightHawks joined the PIFL in 2012 as an expansion team. The NightHawks were the second indoor/arena football team based in Knoxville, following the Tennessee ThunderCats which played in the Indoor Professional Football League for the 2001 season before joining the National Indoor Football League where they played the 2002 and 2003 seasons (the latter of which they played as the Tennessee Riverhawks) before moving to Greenville, South Carolina. The Owner of the NightHawks was Southern Sports Entertainment, LLC. The NightHawks played their home games at the James White Civic Coliseum in Knoxville, Tennessee.

## Franchise history

[edit]

### 2012

[edit]

Main article: 2012 Knoxville NightHawks season

The franchise was announced by Owner Jeff Knight on September 15, 2011.[1] He announced the team's decision to join the Professional Indoor Football League and that the team would play at the James White Civic Coliseum.[2] On October 4, 2011, the NightHawks named Chris MacKeown the team's first coach in franchise history.[3] The team made a splash when they signed veteran NFL defensive lineman Chris Bradwell,[4] and veteran Arena Football League quarterback, Tony Colston.[5] In the team's first ever game, the NightHawks fell 45–70 to the Alabama Hammers.[6] The team started 0–6 on the season before winning their 7th contest on May 5, 2012, an overtime victory over the Hammers. The team finished their inaugural season 1–11 with a 0.083 winning percentage, which was worst in the PIFL. Coach MacKeown said he felt that he would not be back for a second season with the team.[7]

### 2013

[edit]

Main article: 2013 Knoxville NightHawks season

In October 2012, the NightHawks named Cosmo DeMatteo the second head coach in franchise history.[8] The NightHawks finished the 2013 season 2–10 with a 0.167 winning percentage, finishing in the bottom of the league.[9]

## Players of note

[edit]

### Final roster

[edit]

Knoxville NightHawks roster

Quarterbacks

* 8 Luke Collis
* 9 Anthony Speight

Running backs

* 6 Daccus Turman

Wide receivers

* 10 Kelvin Boldin
* 4 DeAndre Brown
* 14 Charles Gilbert
* 1 Rico Joseph
* 20 Ryan Schuck

|  | Offensive linemen

* 72 Dominique Bacon
* 55 R. J. Bibbs
* 78 Carnell Stewart

Defensive linemen

* 62 Adrien Cole
* 99 Armand Johnson
* 91 Justin Wells

|  | Linebackers

* 33 Roosevelt Falls
* 7 Sam Fehoko

Defensive backs

* 3 Ginikachi Ibe
* 2 Kirkland Davidson
* 23 Derrick Furlow
* 22 Victor Rogers

Kickers

* 18 Armando Cuko

|  | Injured reserve

* currently vacant

Exempt list

* currently vacant

Practice squad

* currently vacant

rookies in italics
updated June 15, 2014[10]
20 Active, 0 Inactive, 0 PS

→ More rosters

### Awards and honors

[edit]

The following is a list of all NightHawks players who won league awards:

Season | Player | Position | Award

|
|
|

2012 | Ginikachi Ibe | DB | Defensive Rookie of the Year
2013 | Armando Cuko | K | Special Teams Player of the Year

## Coaches of note

[edit]

### Head coaches

[edit]

Name  | Term  | Regular season  | Playoffs  | Awards

|
|
|
|

W  | L  | T  | Win%  | W  | L
Chris MacKeown  | 2012 | 1  | 11  | 0  | .083  | 0  | 0  |
Cosmo DeMatteo  | 2013 | 2  | 10  | 0  | .167  | 0  | 0  |

### Coaching staff

[edit]

Knoxville NightHawks staff

| Front office

* Founder/owner –

Head coach

* Head coach – Cosmo DeMatteo

Offensive coaches

* Offensive coordinator –
* Running backs -
* Wide receivers –
* Offensive line –

|  |  |

Defensive coaches

* Defensive coordinator –
* Defensive line –
* Linebackers –
* Secondary –

## Season-by-season results

[edit]

League Champions | Conference Champions | Division Champions | Wild Card Berth | League Leader

|
|
|
|

Season | Team  | League | Conference | Division | Regular season | Postseason results

|
|
|
|
|
|

Finish  | Wins  | Losses  | Ties
2012 | 2012 | PIFL |  |  | 6th  | 1  | 11  | 0  |
2013 | 2013 | PIFL |  |  | 6th  | 2  | 10  | 0  |
Totals  | 3 | 21 | 0 | All-time regular season record (2012–2013)
0 | 0 | \-  | All-time postseason record (2012–2013)
3 | 21 | 0 | All-time regular season and postseason record (2012)

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Nighthawks Newest Professional Franchise in Knoxville". www.oursportscentral.com. OurSports Central. September 15, 2011. Retrieved August 6, 2012.
2. ^ Dave Link (September 15, 2011). "Indoor football team to give it a go". Knoxville News Sentinel. Retrieved August 6, 2012.
3. ^ "Chris MacKeown named coach of Knoxville Nighthawks". Knoxville News Sentinel. October 4, 2011. Retrieved August 6, 2012.
4. ^ "NightHawks sign Bradwell". Knoxville News Sentinel. October 18, 2011. Retrieved August 6, 2012.
5. ^ "Veteran QB Colston Is Nighthawks First Signee". www.oursportscentral.com. OurSports Central. October 11, 2011. Retrieved August 6, 2012.
6. ^ Dave Link (March 10, 2012). "Nighthawks drop indoor debut, 70-45". Knoxville News Sentinel. Retrieved August 6, 2012.
7. ^ Dave Link (June 10, 2012). "Nighthawks coach Chris MacKeown doesn't expect return engagement". Knoxville News Sentinel. Retrieved August 6, 2012.
8. ^ "Nighthawks Name Cosmo DeMatteo New Head Coach". www.oursportscentral.com. OurSports Central. October 10, 2012. Retrieved October 10, 2012.
9. ^ h http://knoxvillenighthawks.com/schedule.html Knoxville Nighthawks Schedule
10. ^ "Roster". Archived from the original on September 28, 2013. Retrieved September 25, 2012.

## External links

[edit]

* Knoxville Nighthawks official site

* v
* t
* e

Professional Indoor Football League

Teams|

* Alabama Hammers
* Albany Panthers
* Charlotte Speed
* Columbus Lions
* Erie Explosion
* Georgia Fire
* Harrisburg Stampede
* Lehigh Valley Steelhawks
* Knoxville NightHawks
* Louisiana Swashbucklers
* Nashville Venom
* Richmond Raiders
* Trenton Freedom

Arenas|

* Von Braun Center (Alabama)
* Albany Civic Center (Albany)
* Columbus Civic Center (Columbus)
* Erie Insurance Arena (Erie)
* Forum Civic Center (Georgia)
* Giant Center (Harrisburg)
* Knoxville Civic Coliseum (Knoxville)
* Stabler Arena (Lehigh Valley)
* Sudduth Coliseum (Louisiana)
* Nashville Municipal Auditorium (Nashville)
* Richmond Coliseum (Richmond)
* Sun National Bank Center (Trenton)

Seasons|

* 2012
* 2013
* 2014
* 2015

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*[t]: Discuss this template
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