Arizona Hotshots Explained

Arizona Hotshots
Helmet:Arizona Hotshots Helmet 2019.png
Founded:2018
Folded:2019
City:Sun Devil Stadium
in Tempe, Arizona
Colors:Green, Orange and Yellow
Coach:Rick Neuheisel
President:Scott Brubaker
General Manager:Phil Savage
League:Alliance of American Football (2019)
  • Western Conference (2019)
Team History:
  • Arizona Hotshots (2019)
No League Champs:0
No Conf Champs:0
No Div Champs:0
No Playoff Appearances:0
Arena Years:

The Arizona Hotshots were a professional American football franchise based in Tempe, Arizona, and one of the eight members of the Alliance of American Football (AAF), which played one season from February 2019 to April 2019.[1] They played their home games at Sun Devil Stadium on the campus of Arizona State University. The Hotshots were one of two AAF teams based in a city that already had an NFL team (the Arizona Cardinals; the other team was the Atlanta Legends, where the NFL's Falcons are based). The Hotshots were coached by former USFL player and college head coach Rick Neuheisel. Scott Brubaker was the team president and Phil Savage was the general manager.

On April 2, 2019, the league's football operations were reportedly suspended,[2] [3] and on April 4 the league allowed players to leave their contracts to sign with NFL teams.[4] The league filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy on April 17, 2019. At the time of the bankruptcy, the Hotshots owed over $1.2 million to Arizona State University for leasing Sun Devil Stadium.[5]

History

Rick Neuheisel was announced as the head coach of the Arizona Hotshots by the Alliance of American Football on May 18, 2018. The team was slated to play at Sun Devil Stadium.[6] By September 25, Scott Brubaker and Phil Savage were named team president and general manager, respectively.[7]

Phoenix's name and logo were revealed on September 25, 2018, as the Arizona Hotshots along with the other three western teams.[8] The name is a tribute to the region's firefighters, nicknamed hotshots, while the color scheme of green, orange, and yellow are commonly worn by such fire crews. The team's logo is a pair of crossed pickhead axes, which are used by structural firefighters and not the wildland firefighters the team is named for.[9] The branding was developed by the national office then handed off to the team staff. Reception of the name was mixed, with some arguing it "exploits the memory of the Granite Mountain Hotshots."[7] On March 3, 2019, the team retired No. 19 to honor the 19 Granite Mountain Hotshots killed in the Yarnell Hill Fire in 2013.[10] [11]

On October 11, 2018, the team named Hugh Freeze as the offensive coordinator and the rest of the coaching staff.[12] In the 2019 AAF QB Draft, the Hotshots did not protect the assigned (by geographical method) quarterback Mike Bercovici in the first round and instead selected Trevor Knight for his speed.[13] The final 52-man roster was set on January 30.[14]

In January 2019, the Hotshots held their preseason camp in San Antonio.[7] They won their season opener at Sun Devil Stadium on February 10, 2019, against the Salt Lake Stallions.[15]

Personnel

Allocation pool

The Hotshots owned the rights to players from designated schools:[16]

Colleges

The Hotshots also had rights to players unaffiliated with one of the designated schools, but who were most recently affiliated with professional teams:

National Football League (NFL)

Canadian Football League (CFL)

Players not affiliated with any of the designated teams could sign with any AAF team.

Final roster

2019 season

Team:Arizona Hotshots
Year:2019
No Prevseason:true
No Nextseason:true
Record:5–3
League Place:1st (tie), Western Conference
Coach:Rick Neuheisel
General Manager:Phil Savage
Stadium:Sun Devil Stadium

Schedule

Regular season

All times local to Tempe, as Arizona does not use daylight saving time. Arizona's year-round MST is equivalent to PDT after March 9.

WeekDayDateKickoffTVOpponentResultsLocation
ScoreRecord
1SundayFebruary 106:00 p.m.NFLNSalt Lake StallionsW 38–221–0Sun Devil Stadium
2SaturdayFebruary 166:00 p.m.NFLNat Memphis ExpressW 20–182–0Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium
3SaturdayFebruary 231:00 p.m.B/R Liveat Salt Lake StallionsL 15–232–1Rice–Eccles Stadium
4SundayMarch 36:00 p.m.NFLNAtlanta LegendsL 11–142–2Sun Devil Stadium
5SundayMarch 105:00 p.m.NFLNSan Antonio CommandersL 25–292–3Sun Devil Stadium
6SaturdayMarch 165:00 p.m.NFLNat Orlando ApollosW 22–173–3Spectrum Stadium
7SundayMarch 241:00 p.m.CBSSNSan Diego FleetW 32–154–3Sun Devil Stadium
8SundayMarch 315:00 p.m.NFLNat San Antonio CommandersW 23–65–3Alamodome
9SundayApril 75:00 p.m.NFLNBirmingham IronNot playedSun Devil Stadium
10SundayApril 145:00 p.m.NFLNat San Diego FleetSDCCU Stadium
[17]

Game summaries

Week 6: at Orlando

In an upset, the Hotshots beat the Apollos to ruin their chances at a perfect season. (They fall to 5–1) With the win, they improve to 3–3.

Week 8: at San Antonio

Media

In addition to league-wide television coverage through NFL Network, CBS Sports Network, TNT, and B/R Live, Hotshots' games were also broadcast on local radio by KDUS, an NBC Sports Radio affiliate.[18]

Further reading

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Brown . Brandon . Phoenix loses Hotshots as AAF suspends operations . Phoenix Business Journal . American City Business Journals . 3 April 2019.
  2. News: Kercheval, Ben . AAF operations suspended, league's future in doubt after eight games of first season . cbssports.com . April 2, 2019 . 2019-04-02.
  3. Web site: ESPN. AAF to immediately suspend operations. April 2, 2019. April 2, 2019.
  4. Web site: AAF star Keith Reaser becomes first player to sign NFL deal after league shutdown. Nick. Schwartz. USA Today. April 4, 2019. April 4, 2019.
  5. Web site: AAF bankruptcy: Defunct league owes ASU $1.2 million, report says.
  6. Web site: Benjamin. Cody. Former UCLA coach Rick Neuheisel will run Alliance of American Football's Phoenix team. CBSSports.com. 18 May 2018 . 21 May 2018.
  7. Web site: Avila . Ricardo . Hotshots: Support, criticism follows new Arizona pro football team's name . Arizona Sports . October 15, 2018 . September 28, 2018.
  8. News: Benjamin . Cody . LOOK: Here's a full list of team names and logos from the Alliance of American Football . October 3, 2018 . CBSSports.com . September 25, 2018 . en.
  9. Web site: Dale. Shane. 'Arizona Hotshots': New AZ pro football team gets its nickname. KNXV-TV. September 25, 2018. December 4, 2018.
  10. Web site: Arizona Hotshots Host Public Safety Salute and #19 Retirement Ceremony Sunday, March 3. Our Sports Central. February 25, 2019. February 25, 2019.
  11. Web site: Photo: Arizona Hotshots retire No. 19 in honor of Granite Mountain 19. The Daily Courier. March 3, 2019. March 4, 2019.
  12. News: Higgins . Ron . Ex-Ole Miss coach Hugh Freeze hired as offensive coordinator with Arizona AAF team . November 5, 2018 . USA Today Network . Mississippi Clarion Ledger . October 11, 2018 . en.
  13. News: Somers . Kent . AAF draft: Arizona Hotshots think they found their man in quarterback Trevor Knight . November 29, 2018 . AZ Central . USA Today Network . November 28, 2018 . en.
  14. Web site: Arizona Hotshots set final roster. Alliance of American Football. January 30, 2019. January 30, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190131040723/https://aaf.com/arizona-hotshots-set-final-roster. January 31, 2019. dead.
  15. News: Alliance of American Football schedule released for Arizona Hotshots, other 7 teams . November 8, 2018 . AZ Central . USA Today Network . October 16, 2018 . en.
  16. News: Inabinett . Mark . Alabama, Auburn players to go on Birmingham AAF team's assignment list . December 5, 2018 . AL.com . Alabama Media Group . July 12, 2018.
  17. Web site: 2019 Arizona Hotshots Schedule . FBSchedules.com . February 3, 2019 . February 4, 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190204014530/https://fbschedules.com/arizona-hotshots-schedule/ . dead .
  18. Web site: Arizona Hotshots . nbcsports1060.com . 2019 . March 16, 2019 .