| Albany Empire | |
|---|---|
 The current logo for the Albany Empire | |
|
Founded: |
2018 |
|
Arena: |
Times Union Center |
|
Location: |
Albany, New York |
|
Team Colors: |
Fiery Reddish Orange, Dark Navy Blue, Gray |
|
Owner(s): |
George Randolph Hearst III, Dan Nolan, Ed Swyer |
|
Current Head Coach: |
Rob Keefe |
|
Division Titles: |
0 |
|
Championships: |
1 |
The Albany Empire is a franchise primarily recognized by the Arena Football League. It made its debut during the 2018 season, and is the second team in league history to be based in Albany, New York. It is owned in part by the owners of the Philadelphia Soul, who aid in running the business side of operations, keeping football operations separate.
AFL Debut (2018-Present)[]
The Empire entered the league with a lot of pressure surrounding the history of their city's roots within the AFL. In addition to a late signing in former AFL MVP Tommy Grady and hiring a head coach in Rob Keefe—who has a near 2-1 win-loss ratio—the team was expected to be a contender almost outright. With the league down to a historically-low total of four teams, the number of games in the regular season reduced to twelve, and the decision to guarantee a playoff spot for every team, the Empire would use their first regular season as a way of tinkering with their strategies until the postseason.
The uniforms for the Albany Empire during their inaugural season.
Their first test came against the defending Arena Bowl champion Philadelphia Soul, to whom they lost by a margin of 35-56. By the start of Week 2, the team signed multiple-time All-Arena wide receiver Joe Hills to the team, which immediately kickstarted their offense to another level, though not enough to defeat the Baltimore Brigade in their next game. Things began to take a turn for the better afterwards, as the Empire won their next five games, including two of three matches against the Washington Valor where they outscored them 95-44. The team would lose the next two games against the Philadelphia Soul and Baltimore Brigade by a combined four points. With consecutive victories against the three other teams in their final meetings, the Empire ended the regular season with a league-best 8-4 record.
As the top seed, the team would face the lowest seed Washington Valor in the playoffs in a new postseason system that had teams face each other twice in a point-aggregate system. Whichever team accumulated the most points in both games would advance to the Arena Bowl, no matter the outcome to the games. In the first game, the Empire managed to win against the Valor on the road, but only managed to gain a single point more in a 57-56 overtime victory. Now with home-field advantage, the Empire were heavy favorites to advance to the Arena Bowl, despite the 1-point difference. In what may be one of the biggest upsets in AFL history, the Valor, a team that posted a 2-10 regular season record, defeated the Empire on the road by a score of 40-47, giving them a 6-point advantage and the right to advance to the Arena Bowl, ending the Empire's inaugural season.
Roster (As of 7/22/2019)[]
| Quarterbacks |
|---|
| Tommy Grady |
| Mason Espinosa |
| Fullbacks |
|---|
| Mykel Benson |
| Wide Receivers |
|---|
| AJ Coney |
| Malachi Jones |
| Collin Taylor |
| Quentin Sims |
| Demetres Stephens |
| Jack Bramswig ▲ |
| Christian Briggs ▲ |
| Offensive Linemen |
|---|
| Ryan Cave |
| Moqut Ruffins |
| Damian Love |
| Jordan Mudge |
| Jakobi Smith |
| Hayworth Hicks ▲ |
| Defensive Linemen |
|---|
| Harold Brantley III |
| Rodney Fritz |
| DaVonte Lambert |
| Joe Sykes |
| Brandon Sesay ▲ |
| Monte Taylor ▲ |
| Linebackers |
|---|
| Jeramie Richardson |
| Terence Moore |
| Aaron Tiller |
| Defensive Backs |
|---|
| Tevin Homer |
| Maurice Leggett |
| Cheatham Norrils |
| Al Phillips |
| Christian Love ▼ |
| Terrance Smith ▼ |
| Arkeith Brown ▲ |
| Brad Muhammad ▲ |
| Kickers |
|---|
| Adrian Trevino |
[▲ - Injured List; ▼ - Suspended List]
Overall Statistics[]
| Overall Record | 22-7 |
|---|---|
| Home Record | 11-5 |
| Away Record | 11-2 |
| Overtime Record | 1-0 |
| Playoff Record | 4-1 |
| Total Seasons in AFL | 2 |
| Most Points Scored in a Game | 74 (6/16/18) |
| Least Points Scored in a Game | 35 (4/14/18) |
| Best Single-Season Record | 10-2 (2019) |
| Worst Single-Season Record | 8-4 (2018) |
| Longest Winning Streak | 7 |
| Longest Losing Streak | 2 |
| Longest Home Winning Streak | 3 |
| Longest Road Winning Streak | 9 |