The arenafootball2 (af2) league, which will cap off its 10th anniversary season this Saturday, August 22 with the 2009 ArenaCup Championship in Las Vegas, is proud to announce its very first af2 Hall of Fame class of 10 distinguished inductees.
The final 10 includes four players, three coaches, two owners and one at-large contributor:
PLAYERS (4)
Mitch Allner
Kevin Prentiss
Matt Sauk
Craig Strickland
COACHES (3)
Skip Foster
Kevin Guy
Rich Ingold
OWNERS (2)
Jim Foster
Dan Newman
AT LARGE (1)
Jerry Kurz
The above list of 10 was trimmed from 15 by way of a final vote among the af2 Hall of Fame Committee, media and fans. A closer look at each inductee follows on pages 2-4 of this release.
Player nominations included only retired athletes while coach nominations included only those with three or more years of af2 tenure.
"I consider myself very fortunate to have been a part of this league for the past five years," said af2 President Jerry Kurz. "I'm also extremely grateful and humbled by my inclusion in the very first Hall of Fame class. It's an impressive list of individuals who have achieved great things in the af2 and are a big part of our league's 10-year history."
The group will be honored at the 2009 ArenaCup celebration in Las Vegas on August 22.
This Saturday, August 22, the American Conference Champion Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Pioneers (16-3) tackle the National Conference Champion Spokane Shock (18-1) in ArenaCup10 at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas. The game kicks off at approximately 7:00 p.m. PST, 10:00 EST.
Tickets to ArenaCup10 are available by visiting www.orleansarena.com, all Coast Casinos box offices, The Galleria at Sunset or by calling 800-675-3267 and mention code: ARENACUP.
A CLOSER LOOK AT THE INAUGURAL af2 HALL OF FAME CLASS
PLAYERS:
MITCH ALLNER
• Finished five-year career as league's all-time scoring leader (780 points)
• Finished career as league's all-time leader in TDs (126) and receiving TDs (113)
• Finished career as league's all-time leader in all-purpose yards (7,652)
• Won ArenaCup Championship in 2003 with Tulsa
• Earned Ironman of the Game in 2003 ArenaCup
• 2002 All-af2 First Team (OS)
• 2003 All-af2 Second Team (WR/LB)
• Played for three af2 teams (Quad City - 2000, Iowa - 2001, Tulsa - 2002-04)
KEVIN PRENTISS
• Ranked No. 1 on League's 10th anniversary list of Top-10 Kick Returners of all-time
• Ranked No. 2 on League's 10th anniversary list of Top-10 WRs of all-time
• Owns af2 all-time mark for total kick return TDs with 15 (14 kickoff return, 1 missed field goal)
• Named to American Conference All-af2 First Team - ST (2004)
• Named to National Conference All-af2 Second Team - OS (2005)
• Finished his career ranked in the league's Top-10 in scoring (5th - 738 points), total TDs (4th - 123), pass receptions (10th - 316), receiving yards (4th - 4,848), receiving TDs (4th - 108), kickoff return yards (3rd - 3,681) and all-purpose yards (2nd - 8,748)
• Owns share of af2 single-game record for most points scored (48) and most TDs (8) - both marks set in 2005
• Played four seasons in af2 (Memphis - 2003-06)
MATT SAUK
• Ranked No. 3 on League's 10th anniversary list of Top-10 QBs of all-time
• af2 Rookie of the Year (2001)
• Earned All-af2 First Team honors in 2005
• Earned All-af2 Second Team honors in 2001, 2003
• Named 2005 Offensive Player of the Year
• Led Louisville Fire to American Conference Championship in 2005
• Set league single-season records for passing yards (4,489), passing TDs (99) and completions (408) in 2005
• Ranks among af2's all-time leaders in passing yards (14,913), passing TDs (360), completions (1,494) and attempts (2,406)
• Played four full seasons in af2 (Tenn. Valley 2001, 2003; Louisville 2004-05); Played three games with Louisville in 2007
CRAIG STRICKLAND
• Ranked No. 1 on League's 10th anniversary list of Top-10 QBs of all-time
• Won ArenaCup Championship in 2003 with Tulsa
• Named ArenaCup MVP in 2003
• Earned All-af2 First Team honors in 2004
• Earned All-af2 Second Team honors in 2003, 2006
• Became first player in af2 history to reach 20,000 passing yards for their career (2006)
• Finished his career as the league's all-time leader in pass completions (1,736), attempts (3,029), yards (22,688) and touchdowns (481)
• Played six seasons in af2 (Tulsa - 2000-01, 2003; Oklahoma City - 2004-06)
COACHES:
SKIP FOSTER
• 44-10 overall record (.815 winning percentage), 4-2 postseason
• Served three years as an af2 head coach (Tulsa 2001-03)
• Led Talons to 2003 ArenaCup Championship
• Three-consecutive .800+ seasons as head coach
• Led Talons to two division titles (2002, 2003)
• Coached two of the four players (Mitch Allner, Craig Strickland) named as part of inaugural Hall of Fame class
KEVIN GUY
• 52-19 overall record (.732 winning percentage), 3-4 postseason
• Fastest coach to reach 50-win milestone
• Ranked No. 1 in career coaching wins when he moved up to accept an AFL position with San Jose
• Served four years as an af2 head coach (Tennessee Valley 2002-04, Rio Grande Valley 2005)
• Four consecutive postseason appearances as head coach
• Four years of at least 12 wins
• Led Vipers to division title in all three seasons as coach
• 2003 Coach of the Year
RICH INGOLD
• 91-33 overall record (.734 winning percentage), 7-5 postseason
• All-time league leader in career head coaching wins
• Current Head Coach of Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (2006-present); Head Coach of Quad City - 2002-04
• Has led Wilkes-Barre/Scranton to two American Conference Championships - 2007, 2009
• 2007 Coach of the Year
• His teams have reached the postseason in six of his seven years as an af2 head coach
OWNERS:
JIM FOSTER
• Served as managing owner/operator of the Quad City Steamwheelers from late 1999 until late 2006
• Steamwheelers won first two league championships (2000 ArenaCup, 2001 ArenaCup)
• Founder and inventor of the game of Arena Football
• Member of AFL Hall of Fame - part of inaugural class of 1998
• Played a key role in the creation and development of af2, which began play in April 2000
• Serves as a member of the af2 Board of Directors, the af2 Executive Committee and is a member of af2 Rules and Competition Committee
DAN NEWMAN
• Owner of Bossier-Shreveport BattleWings for the past seven seasons (2003-present)
• Has served as Chairman of af2 Executive Committee for five years
• Hired Jon Norris in 2007 - BattleWings have reached the playoffs in each of his three seasons as head coach, including two straight Southwest Division titles (2008, 2009)
AT-LARGE:
JERRY KURZ
• Has served five seasons as af2 President (2005-present)
• Prior to his selection as af2 President, he was the AFL's Director on the af2's Board of Directors
• One of the founding members of Gridiron Enterprises Inc., the charter member of the Arena Football League
• He is only exceeded in overall Arena Football tenure by Jim Foster, the creator of the sport
• Member of AFL Hall of Fame - part of inaugural class of 1998
• In an effort to increase the international talent in the af2, Kurz adopted a rule prior to the 2005 season that allows teams to dress an extra player if that player is of international origin
