Lehigh Valley Steelhawks
 | |
| Founded | 2010 |
|---|---|
| Current season | 2015 |
| League |
IFL (2011–2012) PIFL (2013–2015) AIF (2016–present) |
| Conference |
United (2011–2012) National (2014) |
| Division | Atlantic (2011) |
| Team history | Lehigh Valley Steelhawks (2011–present) |
| Based in | Allentown, Pennsylvania |
| Arena | PPL Center |
| Colors |
Black, Vegas Gold, White |
| Owner(s) | Glenn W. Clark |
| Head coach | Chris Thompson |
| General Manager | Michael Clark |
| Conference titles |
(1) American: 2014 |
| Playoff berths |
(3) 2012, 2013, 2014 |
| Dancers | Precious Metal Dance Team |
| Mascot | Talon |
The Lehigh Valley Steelhawks are a professional indoor football team based in Allentown, Pennsylvania. They are members of American Indoor Football (AIF). The Steelhawks began play as an expansion team in the Indoor Football League (IFL) in 2011. The Steelhawks moved to the Professional Indoor Football League (PIFL) in 2013, where they made their only championship game appearance to date, losing PIFL Cup III to the Nashville Venom. The Steelhawks are the Lehigh Valley's second indoor football team, following the defunct Lehigh Valley Outlawz of the Continental Indoor Football League (2005–2008). Both teams played their home games at Stabler Arena. The owner of the Steelhawks is Glenn Clark. The Steelhawks play their home games at the newly opened PPL Center.
History
2011
In July, 2010, the Indoor Football League (IFL) announced that there would be an expansion franchise placed in Lehigh Valley for the 2011 season.[1] It was also announced that the team would be owned by Glenn W. Clark, a Wilmington, Delaware businessman.[1] Later in July the team announced that they had named Dan Kuhn as the team's general manager and would be holding a "Name The Team" contest was held to choose a name for the organization. Over 700 names were submitted and the top five were chosen by management.[2] These names were Vipers, Ironmen, Blast, Gamblers, and Steelhawks.[2] Fans were then asked to vote on the name they thought would be best for the team with over 70% of the votes being cast for Steelhawks.[3] Brooke Trautwein, the fan who submitted the Steelhawks name, was given a prize package that included season tickets and Steelhawks' merchandise.[3]
2012
2013
In August 2013, Clark announced that the Steelhawks would be leaving the IFL for the Professional Indoor Football League (PIFL).[4]
2014
The Steelhawks finished the season with a 6-6 record, good enough to finish 2nd in the National Conference. The Steelhawks defeated the Trenton Freedom by a score of 49-38 in the National Conference Championship Game to advance to PIFL Cup III.[5] The Steelhawks were defeated 43-64 by the Nashville Venom in PIFL Cup III.[6]
2015
In 2015, the Steelhawks announced that they would be moving to the newly constructed PPL Center.[7]
2016
With the PIFL not having enough teams to remain viable, the Steelhawks moved to American Indoor Football (AIF) for the 2016 season.[8]
Statistics and records
Season-by-season results
Note: The Finish, Wins, Losses, and Ties columns list regular season results and exclude any postseason play.
| League Champions | Conference Champions | Division Champions | Wild Card Berth | League Leader |
| Season | Team | League | Conference | Division | Regular season | Postseason Results | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Finish | Wins | Losses | Ties | ||||||||
| 2011 | 2011 | IFL | United | Atlantic | 2nd | 4 | 10 | 0 | |||
| 2012 | 2012 | IFL | United | 4th | 6 | 8 | 0 | Lost United Conference Semi-final 21-79 vs. Sioux Falls | |||
| 2013 | 2013 | PIFL | 2nd | 7 | 5 | 0 | Lost PIFL Semi-final 40-44 vs. Richmond | ||||
| 2014 | 2014 | PIFL | National | 2nd | 6 | 6 | 0 | Won National Conference Championship 49-38 vs. Trenton Lost PIFL Cup III 43-64 vs. Nashville | |||
| 2015 | 2015 | PIFL | 4th | 6 | 5 | 0 | Lost PIFL Semi-final 41-69 vs. Columbus | ||||
| 2016 | 2016 | AIF | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||||
| Totals | 29 | 34 | 0 | All-time regular season record (2011–2015) | |||||||
| 1 | 4 | — | All-time postseason record (2011–2015) | ||||||||
| 30 | 38 | 0 | All-time regular season and postseason record (2011–2015) | ||||||||
* Season currently in progress
Current roster
| Lehigh Valley Steelhawks roster | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Quarterbacks
Running Backs
Wide Receivers
|
Offensive Linemen
Defensive Linemen
|
Linebackers
Defensive Backs
Kickers
|
Injured Reserve
Exempt List
Failure to Report
Left Squad
Suspension
Rookies in italics | |||
Awards and honors
The following is a list of all Steelhawks players who have won league awards:
| Season | Player | Position | Award |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | Thomas Gilson | Wide Receiver | Offensive Rookie of the Year |
| 2014 | Dwayne Hollis | Kick Returner | Special Teams Player of the Year |
| 2015 | Joe Powell | Defensive Back | Defensive Rookie of the Year |
References
- 1 2 "Indoor Football League set to introduce a Lehigh Valley-based franchise". www.lehighvalleylive.com. PennLive LLC. July 7, 2010. Retrieved December 26, 2013.
- 1 2 Keith Groller (July 22, 2010). "New team tabs 'Dynamite' as its GM, but still needs nickname". www.mcall.com. The Morning Call. Retrieved December 26, 2013.
- 1 2 Alyssa Young (August 26, 2010). "Lehigh Valley Steelhawks is name of new Indoor Football League team". www.lehighvalleylive.com. PennLive LLC. Retrieved December 26, 2013.
- ↑ "Steelhawks moving for 2013 season". www.mcall.com. The Morning Call. August 8, 2012. Retrieved January 27, 2014.
- ↑ Josh Folck (July 5, 2014). "Lehigh Valley Steelhawks advance to Pro Indoor Football League championship game". www.lehighvalleylive.com. PennLive LLC. Retrieved July 7, 2014.
- ↑ Josh Folck (July 12, 2014). "Lehigh Valley Steelhawks lose to Nashville Venom in Pro Indoor Football League championship game". www.lehighvalleylive.com. PennLive LLC. Retrieved July 14, 2014.
- ↑ Greg Joyce (August 21, 2014). "Lehigh Valley Steelhawks announce three-year deal to play at PPL Center in Allentown". www.lehighvalleylive.com. Lehigh Valley Live. Retrieved August 22, 2014.
- ↑ Keith Groller (September 14, 2015). "Steelhawks moving to a new indoor football league for 2016". www.mcall.com. The Morning Call. Retrieved September 14, 2015.
External links
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