The American Conference - South Division was a division of the
Arena Football League
The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 Arena Football League season, 1987 season, making it the third longest-runnin ...
's American Conference.
The Southern Division was formed in 1992 when the AFL first split into three divisions. The League used only conferences in 1993 and 1994, but returned to division play in 1995. The Southern Division has produced 10
ArenaBowl
The ArenaBowl was the championship game of the Arena Football League (AFL). Originally hosted at Pittsburgh's Civic Arena based on home attendance during the inaugural 1987 season, save four years (2005–2008) the game was hosted by the team w ...
teams and 5 champions, with the most recent during the
2011 Arena Football League season
The 2011 Arena Football League season was the 24th season in the history of the league. The regular season began on March 11, 2011 and ended on July 23, 2011. The Jacksonville Sharks, in their second year of existence, defeated the Arizona Rattl ...
by the Sharks. Rivalries such as the Tampa Bay Storm and Orlando Predators, known as the "
War on I-4
The War on I-4 is a college rivalry between the University of Central Florida Knights and University of South Florida Bulls. The rivalry is best known for its college football matchup which originated in a series of football games played from 2 ...
," used to define this division, but the Georgia Force had risen to the top and dominated in recent years before their folding.
Division lineups
1992
*
Charlotte Rage
The Charlotte Rage were a professional arena football team based out of Charlotte, North Carolina. They were members of the Arena Football League from 1992 to 1996. They played their home games at the Charlotte Coliseum from 1992 to 1994 and t ...
*
New Orleans Night
*
Orlando Predators
The Orlando Predators were a professional arena football team based in Orlando, Florida and member of the Arena Football League (AFL). The team was most recently owned by Orlando Predators LLC, a company owned by David A. Siegel, and played it ...
*
Tampa Bay Storm
The Tampa Bay Storm were a professional arena football team based in Tampa, Florida, US. It played in the Arena Football League (AFL). Originally the team was located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and operated as the Pittsburgh Gladiators. The ...
Creation of the Southern Division. Charlotte Rage enfranchised. In 1993, New Orleans Night folded upon suspension of the Southern Division while the league has been realigned into the American/National conference structure.
1995
*Miami Hooters
*Orlando Predators
*Tampa Bay Storm
The Southern Division returns, now part of the National Conference. Three of the National Conference teams, Miami, Orlando, and Tampa Bay reformed this division.
1996
*
Florida Bobcats
The Florida Bobcats were an Arena Football League (AFL) team based in Sunrise, Florida. They were previously known as the Sacramento Attack and the Miami Hooters, and played in the AFL for a total of ten seasons, the last seven in West Palm Beac ...
*Orlando Predators
*Tampa Bay Storm
*
Texas Terror
Miami Hooters renamed Florida Bobcats. Texas Terror enfranchised.
1997
*Florida Bobcats
*Orlando Predators
*Tampa Bay Storm
Texas Terror moved to the American Conference's Central Division.
1998–1999
*Florida Bobcats
*
Nashville Kats
The Nashville Kats were an Arena Football League team, located in Nashville, Tennessee. They were last coached by Pat Sperduto, who coached the team's original incarnation to two ArenaBowl appearances prior to the original franchise's move to A ...
*Orlando Predators
*Tampa Bay Storm
Nashville moved in from the National Conference's Eastern Division.
2000
*
Carolina Cobras
The Carolina Cobras were an expansion franchise in the Arena Football League. The team was formed prior to the 2000 season, which endured a player strike.
The team was originally based in Raleigh, North Carolina, but moved to Charlotte followin ...
*Florida Bobcats
*Nashville Kats
*Orlando Predators
*Tampa Bay Storm
Carolina Cobras enfranchised.
2001
*Florida Bobcats
*Nashville Kats
*Orlando Predators
*Tampa Bay Storm
Carolina moved to Eastern Division.
2002–2003
*Carolina Cobras
*
Georgia Force
The Georgia Force was an Arena Football League (AFL) team based in Gwinnett County, Georgia, United States (part of suburban Atlanta) that played in the South Division of the American Conference. The team was owned by Doug MacGregor and Donn ...
*Orlando Predators
*Tampa Bay Storm
Carolina moved back from Eastern Division. Florida Bobcats folded. Nashville moved to Atlanta as Georgia Force.
2004–2005
*
Austin Wranglers
The Austin Wranglers were an arena football team based in Austin, Texas. They played four seasons in the Arena Football League from 2004 to 2007 and spent one season in af2, the AFL's developmental league, in 2008. They made playoff appearances ...
*Georgia Force
*
New Orleans VooDoo
The New Orleans VooDoo were a professional arena football team based in New Orleans, Louisiana. They were members of the Arena Football League from 2004 to 2015.
The VooDoo were the second team to play in the Arena Football League and play in ...
*Orlando Predators
*Tampa Bay Storm
Austin Wranglers and New Orleans VooDoo enfranchised. Carolina moved back to Eastern Division.
2006
*Austin Wranglers
*Georgia Force
*
Kansas City Brigade
*Orlando Predators
*Tampa Bay Storm
Kansas City Brigade enfranchised. New Orleans VooDoo suspended due to
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina was a powerful, devastating and historic tropical cyclone that caused 1,392 fatalities and damages estimated at $125 billion in late August 2005, particularly in the city of New Orleans and its surrounding area. ...
.
2007
*Austin Wranglers
*Georgia Force
*New Orleans VooDoo
*Orlando Predators
*Tampa Bay Storm
Kansas City moved to Central Division. New Orleans reactivated.
2008
*Georgia Force
*New Orleans VooDoo
*Orlando Predators
*Tampa Bay Storm
Austin Wranglers moved to
af2
The AF2 (often styled as af2, and short for arenafootball2) was the Arena Football League's developmental league; it was founded in 1999 and played its first season in 2000. Like its parent AFL, the AF2 played using the same arena football r ...
. In 2009, the AFL has been put on a one-year hiatus while Georgia Force and New Orleans are suspended.
2010
*
Alabama Vipers
*
Jacksonville Sharks
The Jacksonville Sharks are a professional indoor football team based in Jacksonville, Florida, that competes in the Indoor Football League (IFL). The team plays its home games at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena.
They were members of the Are ...
*Orlando Predators
*Tampa Bay Storm
The Southern Division moved to the American Conference. Alabama moved in from af2. Jacksonville Sharks enfranchised.
2011–2012
*Georgia Force
*Jacksonville Sharks
*New Orleans VooDoo
*Orlando Predators
*Tampa Bay Storm
Alabama moved to Duluth as Georgia Force. New Orleans reactivated.
2013–2014
*Jacksonville Sharks
*New Orleans VooDoo
*Orlando Predators
*Tampa Bay Storm
Georgia Force folded.
2015
*Jacksonville Sharks
*Orlando Predators
*Tampa Bay Storm
New Orleans VooDoo moved to East Division.
Divisions were discontinued after the 2015 season.
Division Champions
*1992: Orlando Predators (9–1)
*1995: Tampa Bay Storm (10–2)
*1996: Tampa Bay Storm (12–2)
*1997: Orlando Predators (10–4)
*1998: Tampa Bay Storm (12–2)
*1999: Tampa Bay Storm (11–3)
*2000: Orlando Predators (11–3)
*2001: Nashville Kats (10–4)
*2002: Orlando Predators (7–7)
*2003: Tampa Bay Storm (12–4)
*2004: New Orleans VooDoo (11–5)
*2005: Georgia Force (11–5)
*2006: Orlando Predators (10–6)
*2007: Georgia Force (13–3)
*2008: Georgia Force (10–6)
*2010: Jacksonville Sharks (12–4)
*2011: Jacksonville Sharks (14–4)
*2012: Jacksonville Sharks (10–8)
*2013: Jacksonville Sharks (12–6)
*2014: Orlando Predators (11–7)
*2015: Orlando Predators (12–6)
{{DEFAULTSORT:South Division (AFL)
Arena Football League divisions
1995 establishments in the United States