Knoxville NightHawks
| 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 | |
| |
| Championships | |
| League championships (0) | |
| Conference championships (0) | |
| Division championships (0) | |
| Home arena(s) | |
| |
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]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]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
Running backs
Wide receivers
| Offensive linemen
Defensive linemen
| Linebackers
Defensive backs
Kickers
| Injured reserve
Exempt list
Practice squad
rookies in italics | |||
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
Head coach
Offensive coaches
| Defensive coaches
| |||||
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]- ^ "Nighthawks Newest Professional Franchise in Knoxville". www.oursportscentral.com. OurSports Central. September 15, 2011. Retrieved August 6, 2012.
- ^ Dave Link (September 15, 2011). "Indoor football team to give it a go". Knoxville News Sentinel. Retrieved August 6, 2012.
- ^ "Chris MacKeown named coach of Knoxville Nighthawks". Knoxville News Sentinel. October 4, 2011. Retrieved August 6, 2012.
- ^ "NightHawks sign Bradwell". Knoxville News Sentinel. October 18, 2011. Retrieved August 6, 2012.
- ^ "Veteran QB Colston Is Nighthawks First Signee". www.oursportscentral.com. OurSports Central. October 11, 2011. Retrieved August 6, 2012.
- ^ Dave Link (March 10, 2012). "Nighthawks drop indoor debut, 70-45". Knoxville News Sentinel. Retrieved August 6, 2012.
- ^ Dave Link (June 10, 2012). "Nighthawks coach Chris MacKeown doesn't expect return engagement". Knoxville News Sentinel. Retrieved August 6, 2012.
- ^ "Nighthawks Name Cosmo DeMatteo New Head Coach". www.oursportscentral.com. OurSports Central. October 10, 2012. Retrieved October 10, 2012.
- ^ h http://knoxvillenighthawks.com/schedule.html Knoxville Nighthawks Schedule
- ^ "Roster". Archived from the original on 2013-09-28. Retrieved 2012-09-25.