The Memphis Xplorers were a professional

arena football Arena football is a variety of gridiron football designed to be played indoors. The game is played on a smaller field than American or Canadian football, designed to fit in the same surface area as a standard North American ice hockey rink, an ...

team. They were a 2001 expansion member of the

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 ...

. They played their home games at DeSoto Civic Center in

Southaven, Mississippi Southaven is a city in DeSoto County, Mississippi, United States. It is a principal city in Memphis metropolitan area, Greater Memphis. The 2020 United States census, 2020 census reported a population of 54,648, making it the List of municipal ...

(a suburb of

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in Shelby County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. Situated along the Mississippi River, it had a population of 633,104 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of municipalities in Tenne ...

). The team's logo featured the likeness of the namesake of both the venue and the team, Spanish explorer

Hernando de Soto Hernando de Soto (; ; 1497 – 21 May 1542) was a Spanish explorer and conquistador who was involved in expeditions in Nicaragua and the Yucatan Peninsula. He played an important role in Francisco Pizarro's conquest of the Inca Empire in Peru, ...

. On October 11, 2006, the team announced that they would not return for the 2007 season. In October 2007, local teacher Patrick Smith and a partner purchased the Memphis Xplorers for $100,000. There were plans to bring the team back for the 2009 season, with the possibility of the team's name being changed to the Midsouth Mafia. These plans never came to fruition.

Season-by-season

, - ,

2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...

, , 3 , , 13 , , 0 , , 7th NC South Central , , -- , - ,

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

, , 5 , , 11 , , 0 , , 4th NC Central , , -- , - ,

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

, , 6 , , 10 , , 0 , , 3rd NC Central , , -- , - ,

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

, , 10 , , 6 , , 0 , , 2nd AC Mid-South , , Lost Round 1 (

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

35, Memphis 33) , - ,

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

, , 13 , , 3 , , 0 , , 1st NC Midwest , , Won Round 2 (Memphis 71, Amarillo 30)
Won National Conference Championship (Memphis 58,

Rio Grande Valley Lower Rio Grande Valley (), often referred to as the Rio Grande Valley (RGV) of South Texas, is a region located in the southernmost part of Texas, along the northern bank of the Rio Grande. It is also known locally as the Valley or the 956 (the ...

49)
Won

ArenaCup The ArenaCup was the af2's championship game. For the league's first five years, it was held at the arena of the higher seeded team. However, the 2005 ArenaCup was the first to be played at a neutral site in Bossier City, Louisiana. The 2006 Ar ...

VI (Memphis 63,

Louisville Louisville is the most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeast, and the 27th-most-populous city in the United States. By land area, it is the country's 24th-largest city; however, by populatio ...

41) , - ,

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

, , 11 , , 5 , , 0 , , 2nd AC Southern , , Won Round 1 (Memphis 83,

61)
Lost Round 2 ( Green Bay 67, Memphis 50) , - !Totals , , 52 , , 50 , , 0 , colspan="2", (including playoffs)

References

External links

Memphis Xplorers on ArenaFan.com

Trademark application
Xplorers American football teams in Tennessee DeSoto County, Mississippi Defunct af2 teams Sports in Southaven, Mississippi American football teams established in 2001 American football teams disestablished in 2006 2001 establishments in Mississippi 2006 disestablishments in Mississippi {{Mississippi-sport-team-stub