Idaho Horsemen
| Idaho Horsemen | |
|---|---|
 Current season | |
| Established 2018 Play in Nampa, Idaho at Ford Idaho Center GoHorsemen.com | |
 | |
| League/conference affiliations | |
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Current uniform | |
| Team colors | Royal blue, grey, white |
| Mascot | Tucker |
| Personnel | |
| Owner(s) | Platinum Events & Security LLC |
| President | Chris Reynolds |
| General manager | Chris Reynolds |
| Head coach | Chris Reynolds |
| Team history | |
| |
| Championships | |
League championships (2)
| |
| Conference championships (0) | |
| Division championships (0) | |
| Playoff appearances (4) | |
| |
| Home arena(s) | |
| |
The Idaho Horsemen are a professional indoor football team based out of Nampa, Idaho, with home games at the Ford Idaho Center. They are owned by Chris Reynolds from Platinum Events & Security LLC. In 2019, the team owners founded the American West Football Conference.[1] They joined the National Arena League before the 2024 season.
History
[edit]The Horsemen were first announced by owner Chris Reynolds in late 2017, with the expressed interest in joining either the Indoor Football League or Champions Indoor Football. However, due to instability with both leagues, Reynolds took a "wait-and-see approach" before making a decision[2] with the intent to start play in 2019.[3]
On October 15, 2018, the Horsemen announced that they had started their own league, the American West Football Conference, and added three other teams to the league, the Reno Express, the Tri-Cities Fire, and Wenatchee Valley Skyhawks.[4]
On March 23, 2019, the Idaho Horsemen played their first game at the Ford Idaho Center in front of 2054 spectators[citation needed] against the Wenatchee Valley Skyhawks. The Horsemen scored on their first drive in five plays on a run by quarterback Hayden Wright. The Horsemen went on to win 33–22. The Horsemen went undefeated in their first season at 12–0 and earned the right to host the AWFC championship game.[5] They defeated the Reno Express 40–20 to win the league championship.[6]
Prior to the planned start of the 2020 AWFC season, the Tri-Cities Fire folded leading to the Horsemen announcing they would play an independent schedule.[7] The league then tried to move forward with three teams — Idaho, Wenatchee, and the expansion Yakima Canines — following the withdrawal of the Reno Express from the league with non-league teams filling for the newly vacant dates.[8] The AWFC then postponed the 2020 season due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic[9] and then cancelled the season entirely due to the unavailability of arenas during the pandemic.[10]
After winning the 2023 AWFC championship, the Horsemen were announced as joining the National Arena League (NAL) for the 2024 season.[11]
Season-by-season records
[edit]| League champions | Playoff berth | League leader |
| Season | League | Regular season | Postseason results | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Finish | Wins | Losses | |||
| 2019 | AWFC | 1st | 12 | 0 | Won American West Bowl I (Reno) 40–20 |
| 2020 | AWFC | Season canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic | |||
| 2021 | AWFC | 3rd | 6 | 4 | Won Semifinal (Oregon) 55–37 Lost American West Bowl II (Tri-City) 27–36 |
| 2022 | AWFC | 2nd | 6 | 3 | Lost Semifinal (Wenatchee) 80–70 |
| 2023 | AWFC | 1st[a] | 3 | 1 | Won American West Bowl IV (Oregon) 42–20 |
| 2024 | NAL | 1 | 7 | ||
| Total | 29 | 15 | All-time regular season record | ||
| 3 | 2 | All-time postseason record | |||
| 32 | 17 | All-time regular season and postseason record | |||
Current roster
[edit]Quarterbacks
|
Offensive linemen
|
Linebackers
|
Reserve lists
|
Staff
[edit]|
Front office
Head coaches
Offensive coaches
|
Defensive coaches
|
Head coaches
[edit]| Name | Tenure | Regular season | Playoffs | Awards | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | Win% | W | L | |||
| Chris Reynolds | 2019–present | 38 | 16 | .704 | 3 | 2 | |
References
[edit]- ^ "AWFC History". AWFC. Retrieved February 27, 2020.
Platinum Events & Security LLC. the same owner of the Idaho Horsemen Football Organization came to the idea of launching the AWFC after vetting many different leagues across the country.
- ^ Indoor Football team coming to Treasure Valley, 6 On Your Side YouTube, January 30, 2018
- ^ "Pro football team proposed at Idaho Center. Tickets on sale. Cheerleader tryouts soon". Idaho Statesman. January 30, 2018.
- ^ "A DECISION HAS BEEN MADE". AWFC Insider. October 15, 2018.
- ^ "Idaho Horsemen end regular season with perfect record (12-0)". KBOI-TV. June 25, 2019.
- ^ "Perfection achieved: Idaho pro football team caps undefeated season with a title". Idaho Statesman. July 28, 2019.
- ^ "Idaho Horseman Facebook post February 26, 2020". Facebook. February 26, 2020.
- ^ "THE TRI-CITIES FIRE UN-EXPECTANTLY CLOSES UP SHOP!". AWFC. February 28, 2020.
- ^ "2020 AWFC Season Postponed due to Coronavirus". www.americanwestfootballconference.com. March 13, 2020. Retrieved July 18, 2020.
- ^ "THE AWFC CANCELS THE 2020 SEASON DUE TO COVID-19". American West Football Conference. July 31, 2020. Retrieved July 31, 2020.
- ^ "IDAHO REVEALED AS THE NEXT NAL FRANCHISE TO JOIN IN 2024". NAL. September 21, 2023.
- ^ "2023 AWFC standings". AWFC. Retrieved August 10, 2023.