Alabama Vipers | |
Helmet: | Alabama Vipers Helmet Logo.png |
Founded: | 2000 |
Folded: | 2010 |
City: | Von Braun Center in Huntsville, Alabama |
Colors: | Green, black, white |
Coach: | Dean Cokinos |
Owner: | Doug MacGregor |
President: | Corey Remillard |
League: | AF2 (–)
United Indoor Football (2005)
AF2 (–)
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Team History: |
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No League Champs: | 1 |
No Conf Champs: | 1 |
No Div Champs: | 5 |
League Champs: |
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Conf Champs: |
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Div Champs: |
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Playoff Appearances: |
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No Playoff Appearances: | 8 |
Arena Years: |
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The Alabama Vipers were a professional arena football team, that played in the Arena Football League. For most of their history, the Vipers played as the Tennessee Valley Vipers in the now-defunct af2, the minor league for the original Arena Football League, where they won ArenaCup IX in 2008. They played their home games at the Von Braun Center.[1] They were coached by Dean Cokinos.
The team moved to Gwinnett County, Georgia for the 2011 AFL season and became a new incarnation of the Georgia Force.
The team played in af2 for five seasons, from 2000 to 2004, and during that period was one of the league's most competitive teams. The then owner and operator of the team was Art Clarkson. Then following the 2004 season the team left the af2 and joined the United Indoor Football (UIF) league.
The team joined the United Indoor Football league as the Tennessee Valley Pythons. But after legal threats from the AF2 for using the "snake" motif, the team changed its name again, this time to the Tennessee Valley Raptors. The Raptors, after an attendance decline in Huntsville, moved operations to Rockford, Illinois in 2005 and became the Rock River Raptors.
Meanwhile, the af2 returned to Huntsville in 2006. The new team, owned by HSV Sports (who also owned the local hockey team), was granted the rights to the Vipers name, trademarks, and history that had been vacated by the previous ownership. Prior to the 2007 season, controlling interest in the team was sold to Texas AF2 Holdings, LLC. The team still operated in conjunction with HSV Sports, LLC, now a minority partner with the team.
For the 2010 season, the Vipers played in the new Arena Football League and changed their name to the Alabama Vipers.
After the season, the team's owners announced it was leaving Huntsville and moving to Duluth, Georgia, becoming the new Georgia Force.[2]
|-| colspan="6" align="center" | Tennessee Valley Vipers (af2)|-|2000 || 10 || 6 || 0 || 2nd NC || Won Round 1 (Tulsa)
Won Semifinal (Augusta)
Lost ArenaCup I (Quad City)|-|2001 || 14 || 2 || 0 || 1st NC South Central || Won Round 1 (Tallahassee)
Lost NC Championship (Richmond)|-|2002 || 13 || 3 || 0 || 1st NC South || Lost NC Round 1 (Birmingham)|-|2003 || 14 || 2 || 0 || 1st AC South || Won AC Semifinal (Mohegan)
Lost AC Championship (Macon)|-|2004 || 12 || 4 || 0 || 1st AC Mid-South || Lost AC Semifinal (Florida)|-|2005 || colspan="6" align="center" | played as Tennessee Valley Raptors (UIF)|-|2006 || 3 || 13 || 0 || 6th AC South || –|-|2007 || 7 || 9 || 0 || 4th NC South || –|-|2008 || 10 || 6 || 0 || 3rd AC South || Won AC Round 1 (Florida)
Won AC Semifinals (Wilkes-Barre/Scranton)
Won AC Championship (Manchester)
Won ArenaCup IX (Spokane)|-|2009 || 11 || 5 || 0 || 1st AC South || Lost AC Round 1 (Green Bay)|-| colspan="6" align="center" | Alabama Vipers (Arena Football League)|-|2010 || 7 || 9 || 0 || 4th AC South[3] || --|-!Totals || 109 || 65 || 0|colspan="2"| (including playoffs)|}
Note: W = Wins, L = Losses
Seasons | Coach | W | L |
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2000 | 12 | 7 | |
2001 | 15 | 3 | |
2002–2004 | Kevin Guy | 40 | 12 |
2006 | Chris Williams | 2 | 8 |
2006–2007 | Milt Theodosatos | 8 | 14 |
2008–2010 | 32 | 21 | |
The following Vipers players were named to All-Arena Teams: