2024 National Arena League season

2024 NAL season
2024 NAL season
League	National Arena League
Sport	Indoor American football
Duration	March 15 – June 8
Number of teams	6
Regular season
Season champions	Omaha Beef
2024 NAL Championship
Champions	Omaha Beef
Runners-up	Sioux City Bandits
Finals MVP	Tommy Armstrong Jr.
NAL seasons
	← 2023

The 2024 National Arena League season was the seventh season of the National Arena League (NAL). The league will include six teams, five of which are new, with only the Carolina Cobras returning from the previous season.

Offseason

In August 2023, the league announced it had added the Omaha Beef^[1] and Sioux City Bandits^[2] from Champions Indoor Football for the 2024 season. On August 22, 2023, the Jacksonville Sharks announced they were joining the Indoor Football League (IFL).^[3] The league added the expansion Colorado Spartans, based out of Loveland, Colorado, on August 31.^[4] Also on August 31, the Warbirds, which had been renamed as the West Texas Desert Hawks, were announced as joining the relaunched Arena Football League.^[5] On September 14, the Topeka Tropics, another CIF team, were accepted into the NAL.^[6] On September 21, the two-time American West Football Conference champions Idaho Horsemen joined the NAL.^[7] On September 26, the San Antonio Gunslingers were announced as also joining the IFL.^[8] The next day, the North Texas Bulls announced their membership in the NAL.^[9] On October 16, the Oklahoma Flying Aces were as announced as the eighth and final team for the 2024 NAL season.^[10] On February 17, 2024, the league announced that they had terminated the membership of the Bulls.^[11] On February 28, 2024, the league terminated the Tropics membership,^[12] prompting the team's planned owner to back out of the purchase agreement in protest and the current owners to release an open letter begging for new investors.^[13]

Teams

Team	Location	Arena	Capacity	Founded	Joined	Head coach
Carolina Cobras	Greensboro, North Carolina	Greensboro Coliseum Complex	12,000	2017	2018	Brandon Negron
Colorado Spartans	Loveland, Colorado	Blue Arena	7,500	2023	2024	Fred Shaw
Idaho Horsemen	Nampa, Idaho	Ford Idaho Center	12,279	2018^[a]	2024	Chris Reynolds
Oklahoma Flying Aces^[b]	Enid, Oklahoma	Chisholm Trail Coliseum	8,000	2018^[c]	2024	Richard Davis
Omaha Beef	Omaha, Nebraska	Liberty First Credit Union Arena	4,600	2000^[d]	2024	Mike Tatum
Sioux City Bandits	Sioux City, Iowa	Tyson Events Center	6,941	2000^[e]	2024	Erv Strohbeen

^ In the American West Football Conference.
^ The Oklahoma Flying Aces suspended operations mid-season amid ownership restructuring.
^ In Champions Indoor Football.
^ In the Indoor Professional Football League.
^ In the original Indoor Football League.

Standings

2024 National Arena League Standings^[14]
Team	Win	Loss	PCT	GB	PF	PA	STK
⁽¹⁾Omaha Beef	8	0	1.000	–	381	238	W8
⁽²⁾Sioux City Bandits	5	3	.625	3	321	300	W2
Carolina Cobras	5	4	.556	3.5	392	378	L2
Colorado Spartans	4	5	.444	4.5	381	375	W1
Idaho Horsemen	1	7	.125	7	229	373	L4
Oklahoma Flying Aces†	0	4	.000	–	120	170	L4
Legend
⁽¹⁾ – hosting Championship game
⁽²⁾ – clinched Championship game
† – did not finish the season
All other teams eliminated from postseason

Season schedule

Regular season

All times shown are local to the home team.

Week 1

Date	Time	Away Team	Result		Home Team	Stadium	Notes	Ref
March 15	7:10 p.m. CT	Oklahoma Flying Aces	24	37	Sioux City Bandits	Tyson Events Center
March 15	7:00 p.m. MT	Carolina Cobras	51	49	Idaho Horsemen	Ford Idaho Center

Week 2

Date	Time	Away Team	Result		Home Team	Stadium	Notes	Ref
March 24	3:00 p.m. ET	Omaha Beef	54	43	Carolina Cobras	Greensboro Coliseum Complex

Week 3

Date	Time	Away Team	Result		Home Team	Stadium	Notes	Ref
March 30	6:30 p.m. CT	Colorado Spartans	32	45	Omaha Beef	Liberty First Credit Union Arena
April 1	7:30 p.m. ET	Idaho Horsemen	6	42	Carolina Cobras	Greensboro Coliseum Complex

Week 4

Date	Time	Away Team	Result		Home Team	Stadium	Notes	Ref
April 6	7:00 p.m. ET	Colorado Spartans	35	44	Carolina Cobras	Greensboro Coliseum Complex
April 6	7:10 p.m. CT	Oklahoma Flying Aces	24	42	Sioux City Bandits	Tyson Events Center

Week 5

Date	Time	Away Team	Result		Home Team	Stadium	Notes	Ref
April 13	7:10 p.m. CT	Colorado Spartans	61	62	Sioux City Bandits	Tyson Events Center

Week 6

Date	Time	Away Team	Result		Home Team	Stadium	Notes	Ref
April 19	7:00 p.m. CT	Idaho Horsemen	14	63	Omaha Beef	Liberty First Credit Union Arena
April 19	7:00 p.m. MT	Carolina Cobras	38	55	Colorado Spartans	Blue Arena

Week 7

Date	Time	Away Team	Result		Home Team	Stadium	Notes	Ref
April 27	7:00 p.m. MT	Oklahoma Flying Aces	36	49	Idaho Horsemen	Ford Idaho Center
April 28	3:00 p.m. ET	Sioux City Bandits	24	55	Carolina Cobras	Greensboro Coliseum Complex

Week 8

Date	Time	Away Team	Result		Home Team	Stadium	Notes	Ref
May 4	6:30 p.m. CT	Oklahoma Flying Aces	36	42	Omaha Beef	Liberty First Credit Union Arena
May 5	5:00 p.m. MT	Colorado Spartans	34	33	Idaho Horsemen	Ford Idaho Center

Week 9

Date	Time	Away Team	Result		Home Team	Stadium	Notes	Ref
May 11	6:30 p.m. CT	Sioux City Bandits	6	33	Omaha Beef	Liberty First Credit Union Arena

Week 10

Date	Time	Away Team	Result		Home Team	Stadium	Notes	Ref
May 17	7:00 p.m. MT	Idaho Horsemen	18	55	Colorado Spartans	Blue Arena
May 18	7:10 p.m. CT	Omaha Beef	34	32	Sioux City Bandits	Tyson Events Center

Week 11

Date	Time	Away Team	Result		Home Team	Stadium	Notes	Ref
May 25	7:00 p.m. ET	Colorado Spartans	39	53	Carolina Cobras	Greensboro Coliseum Complex
May 25	7:00 p.m. MT	Sioux City Bandits	56	34	Idaho Horsemen	Ford Idaho Center

Week 12

Date	Time	Away Team	Result		Home Team	Stadium	Notes	Ref
June 1	7:10 p.m. CT	Carolina Cobras	35	62	Sioux City Bandits	Tyson Events Center
June 1	7:00 p.m. MT	Omaha Beef	56	34	Colorado Spartans	Blue Arena

Week 13

Date	Time	Away Team	Result		Home Team	Stadium	Notes	Ref
June 8	6:30 p.m. CT	Carolina Cobras	31	54	Omaha Beef	Liberty First Credit Union Arena
June 8	7:00 p.m. MT	Idaho Horsemen	26	36	Colorado Spartans	Blue Arena

^[15]

Postseason

NAL Championship

Date	Time	Away Team	Result		Home Team	Stadium	Notes	Ref
June 15	6:30 p.m. CT	Sioux City Bandits	46	47	Omaha Beef	Liberty First Credit Union Arena	Double overtime result	^[16]

Awards

Award	Winner	Position	Team
Most Valuable Player	Tommy Armstrong Jr.	Quarterback	Omaha Beef
Coach of the Year	Brandon Negron	Head Coach	Carolina Cobras
Offensive Player of the Year	Jason Whittaker	Quarterback	Colorado Spartans
Defensive Player of the Year	Rashad Flanders	Defensive back	Idaho Horsemen
Special Teams Player of the Year	Kevin Dido-Weber	Kicker	Carolina Cobras
Offensive Rookie of the Year	Steven Newbold Jr	Wide receiver	Colorado Spartans
Defensive Rookie of the Year	Javaris Thompson	Defensive back	Colorado Spartans

^[17]

References

^ "CIF CHAMPION OMAHA BEEF JOINS THE NAL". National Arena League. August 9, 2023.
^ "NAL ANNOUNCES SIOUX CITY BANDITS AS EXPANSION FRANCHISE". National Arena League. August 8, 2023.
^ "IFL ADDS JACKSONSVILLE SHARKS". Indoor Football League. August 22, 2023.
^ "Colorado Spartans Expansion Team Joins the NAL for 2024". NAL. August 31, 2023.
^ "Arena Football League announces that the West Texas Desert Hawks will be the newest franchise". NewsWest9. August 31, 2023.
^ "NATIONAL ARENA LEAGUE EXPANSION CONTINUES IN KANSAS". NAL. September 14, 2023.
^ "IDAHO REVEALED AS THE NEXT NAL FRANCHISE TO JOIN IN 2024". NAL. September 21, 2023.
^ "IFL ADDS SAN ANTONIO GUNSLINGERS". Indoor Football League. September 26, 2023.
^ "NORTH TEXAS BULLS READY TO RUN WITH THE NAL FOR 2024". NAL. September 27, 2023.
^ "OKLAHOMA ACES JOIN THE NAL FOR THE 2024 SEASON". NAL. October 16, 2023.
^ "NAL BOARD TERMINATES NORTH TEXAS BULLS MEMBERSHIP". NAL. February 17, 2024.
^ "NAL BOARD TERMINATES TOPEKA TROPICS MEMBERSHIP". National Arena League. 28 February 2024. Retrieved 28 February 2024.
^ Self, Matthew (2024-02-22). "Topeka Tropics put out 'heartfelt call' for investors after owner backs out". KSNT via Yahoo! News. Retrieved 2024-02-23.
^ "Stats - National Arena League". www.nationalarenaleague.com. Retrieved 2023-11-29.
^ "National Arena League Reveals 2024 Schedule". www.nationalarenaleague.com. 17 October 2023. Retrieved 2023-11-29.
^ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=foltI8XSYiM&ab_channel=NationalArenaLeague
^ "NAL Announces it's [sic] 2024 Award Winners". June 14, 2024. Retrieved August 20, 2024.

[14] In the American West Football Conference.

[15] The Oklahoma Flying Aces suspended operations mid-season amid ownership restructuring.

[16] In Champions Indoor Football.

[17] In the Indoor Professional Football League.

[18] In the original Indoor Football League.

[1] "CIF CHAMPION OMAHA BEEF JOINS THE NAL". National Arena League. August 9, 2023.

[2] "NAL ANNOUNCES SIOUX CITY BANDITS AS EXPANSION FRANCHISE". National Arena League. August 8, 2023.

[3] "IFL ADDS JACKSONSVILLE SHARKS". Indoor Football League. August 22, 2023.

[4] "Colorado Spartans Expansion Team Joins the NAL for 2024". NAL. August 31, 2023.

[5] "Arena Football League announces that the West Texas Desert Hawks will be the newest franchise". NewsWest9. August 31, 2023.

[6] "NATIONAL ARENA LEAGUE EXPANSION CONTINUES IN KANSAS". NAL. September 14, 2023.

[7] "IDAHO REVEALED AS THE NEXT NAL FRANCHISE TO JOIN IN 2024". NAL. September 21, 2023.

[8] "IFL ADDS SAN ANTONIO GUNSLINGERS". Indoor Football League. September 26, 2023.

[9] "NORTH TEXAS BULLS READY TO RUN WITH THE NAL FOR 2024". NAL. September 27, 2023.

[10] "OKLAHOMA ACES JOIN THE NAL FOR THE 2024 SEASON". NAL. October 16, 2023.

[11] "NAL BOARD TERMINATES NORTH TEXAS BULLS MEMBERSHIP". NAL. February 17, 2024.

[12] "NAL BOARD TERMINATES TOPEKA TROPICS MEMBERSHIP". National Arena League. 28 February 2024. Retrieved 28 February 2024.

[13] Self, Matthew (2024-02-22). "Topeka Tropics put out 'heartfelt call' for investors after owner backs out". KSNT via Yahoo! News. Retrieved 2024-02-23.

[19] "Stats - National Arena League". www.nationalarenaleague.com. Retrieved 2023-11-29.

[20] "National Arena League Reveals 2024 Schedule". www.nationalarenaleague.com. 17 October 2023. Retrieved 2023-11-29.

[21] ttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=foltI8XSYiM&ab_channel=NationalArenaLeague

[22] "NAL Announces it's [sic] 2024 Award Winners". June 14, 2024. Retrieved August 20, 2024.

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v t e National Arena League
Teams	Amarillo Dusters Beaumont Renegades Carolina Cobras Colorado Spartans Columbus Lions Corpus Christi Tritons Harrisburg Stampede Idaho Horsemen Omaha Beef Shreveport Rouxgaroux Sioux City Bandits Wheeling Miners
Venues	Amarillo Civic Center (Amarillo) American Bank Center (Corpus Christi) Blue Arena (Colorado) Columbus Civic Center (Columbus) Ford Arena (Beaumont) Ford Idaho Center (Idaho) Greensboro Coliseum Complex (Carolina) Hirsch Memorial Coliseum (Shreveport) Liberty First Credit Union Arena (Omaha) Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex & Expo Center (Harrisburg) Tyson Events Center (Sioux City) WesBanco Arena (Wheeling)
Former teams	Albany Empire (2021–2023) Corpus Christi Rage (2017) Dayton Wolfpack (2017) Fayetteville Mustangs (2023) Georgia Firebirds (2017) High Country Grizzlies (2017) Jacksonville Sharks (2017–2023) Jersey Flight (2020–2021) Lehigh Valley Steelhawks (2017–2018) Maine Mammoths (2018) Massachusetts Pirates (2018–2020) Monterrey Steel (2017) New York Streets (2019) Oklahoma Flying Aces (2024) Orlando Predators (2019–2023) San Antonio Gunslingers (2022–2023) West Texas Warbirds (2023) West Virginia Roughriders (2020)
Former venues	Albany Civic Center (Georgia) Amway Center (Orlando) Arena Monterrey (Monterrey) Chisholm Trail Coliseum (Oklahoma) Cross Insurance Arena (Maine) Crown Coliseum (Fayetteville) CURE Insurance Arena (Jersey) DCU Center (Massachusetts) Ector County Coliseum (West Texas) Freeman Coliseum (San Antonio) George M. Holmes Convocation Center (High Country) MVP Arena (Albany) PPL Center (Lehigh Valley) VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena (Jacksonville) Westchester County Center (New York)
Seasons	2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024