2013 Arena Football League season
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The 2013 Arena Football League season was the 26th season in the history of the league. The regular season began on March 23, 2013, with a five-game slate, the first of which to kick off being between the Utah Blaze and the Pittsburgh Power, and ended on July 27, 2013, with the Utah Blaze and Cleveland Gladiators as the last game to kick off. The Arizona Rattlers defeated the Philadelphia Soul by a 48–39 score in ArenaBowl XXVI to conclude the league's playoffs.
League business
Teams
The league dropped to 14 teams during the offseason. The Kansas City Command ceased operations on August 23, 2012, as well as the Georgia Force on October 14, 2012. The Milwaukee Mustangs suspended operations for 2013, eyeing a return to play in the 2014 season.
Television
It was announced on November 13, 2012, that the league had reached an agreement with CBS Sports Network to air 19 regular-season games, as well as two playoff games. The network was scheduled to air the league's "game of the week" each Saturday. The main CBS network was to televise ArenaBowl XXVI on August 17, 2013.
Regular season standings
| Team | W | L | PCT | PF | PA | DIV | CON | Home | Away |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| American Conference | |||||||||
| East Division | |||||||||
| (2) Philadelphia Soul | 12 | 6 | .667 | 1052 | 839 | 2–2 | 6–3 | 5–4 | 7–2 |
| Cleveland Gladiators[a] | 4 | 14 | .222 | 847 | 1047 | 2–2 | 3–7 | 3–6 | 1–8 |
| Pittsburgh Power | 4 | 14 | .222 | 726 | 1014 | 2–2 | 4–8 | 1–8 | 3–6 |
| South Division | |||||||||
| Team | W | L | PCT | PF | PA | DIV | CON | Home | Away |
| (1) Jacksonville Sharks[b] | 12 | 6 | .667 | 941 | 883 | 6–0 | 11–0 | 6–3 | 6–3 |
| (3) Orlando Predators[c] | 7 | 11 | .389 | 965 | 1032 | 2–4 | 5–7 | 4–5 | 3–6 |
| (4) Tampa Bay Storm | 7 | 11 | .389 | 959 | 980 | 2–4 | 4–6 | 2–7 | 5–4 |
| New Orleans VooDoo | 5 | 13 | .278 | 833 | 1069 | 2–4 | 4–6 | 3–6 | 2–7 |
| National Conference | |||||||||
| Central Division | |||||||||
| Team | W | L | PCT | PF | PA | DIV | CON | Home | Away |
| (2) Chicago Rush[d] | 10 | 8 | .556 | 973 | 947 | 2–2 | 5–5 | 3–5 | 7–3 |
| San Antonio Talons | 10 | 8 | .556 | 782 | 884 | 2–2 | 3–8 | 4–5 | 6–3 |
| Iowa Barnstormers | 6 | 12 | .333 | 827 | 913 | 2–2 | 3–7 | 2–7 | 4–5 |
| West Division | |||||||||
| Team | W | L | PCT | PF | PA | DIV | CON | Home | Away |
| (1) Arizona Rattlers | 15 | 3 | .833 | 1203 | 866 | 4–2 | 9–3 | 8–1 | 7–2 |
| (3) Spokane Shock | 14 | 4 | .778 | 1198 | 896 | 4–2 | 8–2 | 7–2 | 7–2 |
| (4) San Jose SaberCats | 13 | 5 | .722 | 1033 | 877 | 3–3 | 6–4 | 8–2 | 5–3 |
| Utah Blaze | 7 | 11 | .389 | 896 | 988 | 1–5 | 3–8 | 4–5 | 3–6 |
Eight teams qualify for the playoffs: four teams from each conference, of which two are division champions and the other two have the best records of the teams remaining.
Key: Conference and division champion • Division champion • Clinched playoff berth
Tie-breakers
- a Cleveland finished in second place in the East Division based on their greater point differential in head-to-head competition with Pittsburgh.
- b Jacksonville clinched the American Conference's No. 1 seed based on their win over Philadelphia.
- c Orlando clinched the American Conference's No. 3 seed based on a greater conference record than Tampa Bay.
- d Chicago clinched the Central Division based on their greater point differential in games against common opponents with San Antonio.
Playoffs
| Conference Semifinals | Conference Championship | ArenaBowl XXVI | ||||||||||||
| 1 | Jacksonville | 69 | ||||||||||||
| 4 | Tampa Bay | 62 | ||||||||||||
| 1 | Jacksonville | 59 | ||||||||||||
| American Conference | ||||||||||||||
| 2 | Philadelphia | 75 | ||||||||||||
| 2 | Philadelphia | 59 | ||||||||||||
| 3 | Orlando | 55 | ||||||||||||
| A2 | Philadelphia | 39 | ||||||||||||
| N1 | Arizona | 48 | ||||||||||||
| 1 | Arizona | 59 | ||||||||||||
| 4 | San Jose | 49 | ||||||||||||
| 1 | Arizona | 65 | ||||||||||||
| National Conference | ||||||||||||||
| 3 | Spokane | 57 | ||||||||||||
| 2 | Chicago | 47 | ||||||||||||
| 3 | Spokane | 69 |
- Note: Due to "arena conflicts," the Chicago Rush did not host the playoff game.
Conference semifinals
| Conference | Date | Kickoff | Away | Home | Final score | Game site | Recap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| National | August 1 | 10:00 p.m. EDT | Chicago Rush | Spokane Shock | Spokane, 67–49 | Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena | |
| American | August 3 | 7:00 p.m. EDT | Tampa Bay Storm | Jacksonville Sharks | Jacksonville, 69–62 | Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena | |
| American | August 3 | 7:05 p.m. EDT | Orlando Predators | Philadelphia Soul | Philadelphia, 59–55 | Wells Fargo Center | |
| National | August 4 | 8:00 p.m. EDT | San Jose SaberCats | Arizona Rattlers | Arizona, 59–49 | US Airways Center |
Conference championships
| Conference | Date | Kickoff | Away | Home | Final score | Game site | Recap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| American | August 10 | 7:00 p.m. EDT | Philadelphia Soul | Jacksonville Sharks | Philadelphia, 75–59 | Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena | |
| National | August 10 | 9:00 p.m. EDT | Spokane Shock | Arizona Rattlers | Arizona, 65–57 | US Airways Center |
ArenaBowl XXVI
| Date | Kickoff | Away | Home | Final score | Game site | Recap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| August 17 | 1:00 p.m. EDT | Philadelphia Soul | Arizona Rattlers | Arizona, 48–39 | Amway Center |