Knoxville NightHawks

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.

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 colorsRoyal Blue, Green, Silver, White
       
NicknamesNightHawks
MascotAce
Personnel
Owner(s)Southern Sports and Entertainment LLC (Jeff Knight, CEO)
ChairmanJeff Knight
PresidentJoe Stroud
Head coachCosmo DeMatteo
Team history
  • Knoxville NightHawks (2011–2013)
Championships
League championships (0)
Conference championships (0)
Division championships (0)
Home arena(s)

Franchise history

2012
Main article: 2012 Knoxville NightHawks season

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
Main article: 2013 Knoxville NightHawks season

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

Final roster
Knoxville NightHawks roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

  •  6 Daccus Turman

Wide receivers

 Offensive linemen
  • 72 Dominique Bacon
  • 55 R. J. Bibbs
  • 78 Carnell Stewart

Defensive linemen

  • 62 Adrien Cole
  • 99 Armand Johnson
  • 91 Justin Wells
Linebackers
  • 33 Roosevelt Falls
  •  7 Sam Fehoko

Defensive backs

  •  3 Ginikachi Ibe
  •  2 Kirkland Davidson
  • 23 Derrick Furlow
  • 22 Victor Rogers

Kickers

  • 18 Armando Cuko
Injured reserve
  • currently vacant

Exempt list

  • currently vacant

Practice squad

  • currently vacant

rookies in italics
updated June 15, 2014[10]
20 Active, 0 Inactive, 0 PS

→ More rosters

Awards and honors

The following is a list of all NightHawks players who won league awards:

SeasonPlayerPositionAward
2012Ginikachi IbeDBDefensive Rookie of the Year
2013Armando CukoKSpecial Teams Player of the Year

Coaches of note

Head coaches
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
Knoxville NightHawks staff
Front office
  • Founder/owner –

Head coach

  • Head coach – Cosmo DeMatteo

Offensive coaches

  • Offensive coordinator –
  • Running backs -
  • Wide receivers –
  • Offensive line –
  

Defensive coaches

  • Defensive coordinator –
  • Defensive line –
  • Linebackers –
  • Secondary –

Season-by-season results
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
  1. "Nighthawks Newest Professional Franchise in Knoxville". www.oursportscentral.com. OurSports Central. September 15, 2011. Retrieved August 6, 2012.
  2. Dave Link (September 15, 2011). "Indoor football team to give it a go". Knoxville News Sentinel. Retrieved August 6, 2012.
  3. "Chris MacKeown named coach of Knoxville Nighthawks". Knoxville News Sentinel. October 4, 2011. Retrieved August 6, 2012.
  4. "NightHawks sign Bradwell". Knoxville News Sentinel. October 18, 2011. Retrieved August 6, 2012.
  5. "Veteran QB Colston Is Nighthawks First Signee". www.oursportscentral.com. OurSports Central. October 11, 2011. Retrieved August 6, 2012.
  6. Dave Link (March 10, 2012). "Nighthawks drop indoor debut, 70-45". Knoxville News Sentinel. Retrieved August 6, 2012.
  7. Dave Link (June 10, 2012). "Nighthawks coach Chris MacKeown doesn't expect return engagement". Knoxville News Sentinel. Retrieved August 6, 2012.
  8. "Nighthawks Name Cosmo DeMatteo New Head Coach". www.oursportscentral.com. OurSports Central. October 10, 2012. Retrieved October 10, 2012.
  9. h http://knoxvillenighthawks.com/schedule.html Knoxville Nighthawks Schedule
  10. "Roster". Archived from the original on 2013-09-28. Retrieved 2012-09-25.
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