Alabama Vipers

Established 2000
Folded 2010
Played in Von Braun Center
in Huntsville, Alabama

Logo

League/conference affiliations

af2 (2000–2004)
- National Conference (2000–2002)
- American Conference (2003–2004)
  - South Central Division (2001)
  - Southern Division (2002–2003)
  - Midsouthern Division (2004)
United Indoor Football (2005)
- Southern Division (2005)
af2 (2006–2009)
American Conference (2006)
National Conference (2007)
American Conference (2008–2009)
- Southern Division (2006)
- South Division (2007–2009)

Arena Football League (2010–2010)

American Conference (2010)
- South (2010)

Team colors

Green, Black, White

Personnel

Owner(s)

Doug MacGregor

President

Corey Remillard

Head coach

Dean Cokinos

Team history

Tennessee Valley Vipers (2000–2004)
Tennessee Valley Raptors (2005)
Tennessee Valley Vipers (2006–2009)
Alabama Vipers (2010–2010)

Championships

League championships (1)

af2: 2008

Conference championships (1)

American (af2): 2008

Division championships (5)

South Central (af2): 2001
Southern (af2): 2002, 2003
Midsouthern (af2): 2004
South (af2): 2008

Playoff appearances (8)

af2: 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2008, 2009
UIF: 2005

Home arena(s)

Von Braun Center (2000-2010)

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 the 2008 ArenaCup championship. 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.

Team history

af2

The team played in af2 for five seasons, from 2000–2004, 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.

United Indoor Football (UIF)

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.

Return to af2

Logo used by the Vipers during their second stint in the af2

Meanwhile, the af2 returned to Huntsville in 2006. The new team, owned by HSV Sports, LLC (who also owns 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.

Alabama Vipers of the Arena Football League

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]

Highlights

First Game: On March 31, 2000, the Tennessee Valley Vipers traveled to Birmingham to play the Birmingham Steeldogs in the inaugural game in af2 league history. The Vipers won the game 59–18 before a crowd of 14,781 at the Birmingham Jefferson Civic Center.
Largest Home Crowd: On July 15, 2000, the Tennessee Valley Vipers beat the Birmingham Steeldogs 61–50 in front of 7,042 fans at the Von Braun Civic Center in Huntsville.
Arena Cup IX: The Vipers won Arena Cup IX by defeating the Spokane Shock 56–55 in overtime at Spokane Arena on August 25, 2008. On the road to the championship, the Vipers beat both conference #1 seeds, a league first. In addition, Arena Cup IX was the first championship game to go into overtime and it was also the first time that the road team had won the championship game. The attendance of Arena Cup IX was 10,662, which is the largest attended championship game in af2 history. In 2009, this game was voted by the league as the greatest game in af2 league history.
Win 100: The Vipers became the third franchise in af2 history to reach the 100 win mark after defeating the Florida Firecats 54–29 on June 20, 2009 at the Von Braun Center.

Season-by-season

Season	W	L	T	Finish	Playoff results
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	played as Tennessee Valley Raptors (UIF)
2006	3	13	0	6th AC South	–
2007	7	9	0	4th NC South	–
2008	10	6	0	2nd 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)
Alabama Vipers (Arena Football League)
2010	7	9	0	4th AC South^[3]	--
Totals	109	65	0	(including playoffs)

Coaching victories

Note: W = Wins, L = Losses

Seasons	Coach	W	L
2000	Tom Luginbill	12	7
2001	Bret Munsey	15	3
2002–2004	Kevin Guy	40	12
2006	Chris Williams	2	8
2006–2007	Milt Theodosatos	8	14
2008–2010	Dean Cokinos	32	21

Roster

Alabama Vipers roster

Quarterbacks

11 Kevin Eakin
14 Tony Colston
16 Tim Hicks

Fullbacks

44 Billy Eubanks

Wide receivers

19 Willie Quinnie
8 C. J. Johnson KR
1 Larry Shipp DB
10 Jeremy Grier DB

Offensive linemen

55 Lorenzo Breland
-- Germayle Franklin
77 Joe Holmes
85 Ray Norell
68 Troy Reddick

Defensive linemen

9 Eric Scott
91 Aaron McConnell
42 Steve Fifita LB
-- Rodney Hardeway

Linebackers

18 Eric Crosby WR
38 Dan Alexander FB

Defensive backs

2 Travis Coleman
6 Vince Hill
-- Desmond Foster
21 Raeshon Ball

Kickers

16 Brian Jackson

Injured reserve

-- Travis Blanchard WR/DB
21 Quentin Burrell DB
3 Robert Durham DB
5 Michael Johnson WR
4 Alonzo Nix WR
64 Steve Sene OL/DL

Exempt list

Currently vacant

Suspended list

-- Branden Hall OL
-- Andrico Hines QB

Rookies in italics
Roster updated June 11, 2010
24 Active, 8 Inactive

→ More rosters

Coaching staff

Dean Cokinos – Head Coach
John Kirk – Offensive Line Coach
Demetrius Derico - Defensive Backs Coach

References

↑ McCarter, Mark (March 25, 2015). "Von Braun Center has celebrated much sports success, but also been graveyard for some franchises". The Huntsville Times (Huntsville, AL: Advance Publications). Retrieved April 3, 2015.
↑ Bryant, Bill (August 21, 2010). "It's official: Vipers have left the building". The Huntsville Times.
↑ AFL Final Standings for 2010. AFL. Retrieved: August 12, 2010.

External links

Defunct Arena Football League franchises

Alabama Vipers (2010) Anaheim Piranhas (1994–1997) Austin Wranglers (2004–2007) Bossier–Shreveport Battle Wings (2010) Carolina Cobras (2000–2004) Charlotte Rage (1992–1996) Chicago Bruisers (1987–1989) Chicago Politicians (1986) Chicago Rush (2001-2013) Cincinnati Rockers (1992–1993) Cleveland Thunderbolts (1991–1994) Colorado Crush (2003–2008) Columbus Destroyers (1999–2008) Connecticut Coyotes (1995–1996) Dallas Desperados (2002–2008) Dallas Texans (1990–1993) Dallas Vigilantes (2010–2011) Denver Dynamite (1987, 1989–1991) Detroit Fury (2001–2004) Florida Bobcats (1992–2001) Fort Worth Cavalry (1994) Georgia Force (2002–2008, 2011–2012) Grand Rapids Rampage (1998–2008) Houston Thunderbears (1996–2001) Indiana Firebirds (1990–2004) Iowa Barnstormers (2010–2014) Kansas City Brigade/Command (2006–2012) Las Vegas Outlaws (2015) Los Angeles Avengers (2000–2008) Los Angeles Cobras (1988) Massachusetts Marauders (1988–1994) Miami Vise (1987) Milwaukee Mustangs (1994–2001) Milwaukee Iron/Mustangs (2010–2012) Minnesota Fighting Pike (1996) Nashville Kats (1997–2001, 2005–2007) New England Steamrollers (1988) New Orleans Night (1991–1992) New Orleans VooDoo (2004-2005, 2007-2008, 2011-2015) New York Dragons (1995–2008) New York Knights (1988) Oklahoma Wranglers (1995–2001) Oklahoma City Yard Dawgz (2010) Pittsburgh Power (2011-2014) Rockford Metros (1986) San Antonio Force (1992) San Antonio Talons (2010–2014) San Jose SaberCats (1995-2008, 2011-2015) Spokane Shock (2010–2015) St. Louis Stampede (1995–1996) Toronto Phantoms (1997–2002) Washington Commandos (1987–1989)

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