 | |
| Founded | 2011 |
|---|---|
| Folded | 2019 |
| Team history |
|
| Based in | RP Funding Center inLakeland, Florida |
| Home arenas |
|
| Cheerleaders | Reel Girls |
| Mascot | Timmy the Tarpon |
| League |
|
| Colors | Royal blue, red, sea blue, grey, orange, white |
| Personnel | |
| Head coach | Michael Taylor |
| General manager | Michael Taylor |
| Owner | A-League Sports[1] |
| Championships | |
| League titles (2) |
|
| Conference titles (1) |
|
| Playoff appearances (6) | |
| |
| Website | LakelandTarpons.com |
TheFlorida Tarpons were a professionalindoor football team based inLakeland, Florida, out of theRP Funding Center. Originally established inEstero, Florida, and playing out ofGermain Arena, they began play in2012 as anexpansion team of theUltimate Indoor Football League (UIFL). The Tarpons joined theX-League Indoor Football (X-League) during the 2015 season when the UIFL merged with the X-League. They played in theArena Pro Football (APF) league in 2017 before the league became theAmerican Arena League (AAL) for 2018. For 2019, there was an ownership transition that formed their own Florida-based league, called the A-League, and the team rebranded as theLakeland Tarpons.[2] The team was removed from the A-League schedule at the start of the 2019 season.
The Tarpons were Estero's second indoor football team; their first sincearenafootball2'sFlorida Firecats which played from 2001 until the af2's demise in 2009. In addition, they are the fourth indoor football team in theCape Coral-Fort Myers metropolitan area, with them and the Firecats joining the unrelatedFort Myers Tarpons which played in theNational Indoor Football League's final season of 2007 and theFlorida Stingrays which played the 2008American Indoor Football Association season. (Both teams played at theLee County Civic Center). The founders of the Tarpons are Andrew and Leah Haines and Michael & Anna Taylor. The Tarpons moved to Lakeland prior to the 2019 season.
In July 2011, the Florida Tarpons were announced as an expansion team for the2012 UIFL season.[3] On July 6, 2011, the Tarpons named, UIFL Co-Founder, Michael Taylor, as the team's inaugural head coach.[4] The Tarpons went undefeated during the regular season, and advanced toUltimate Bowl II after defeating theLakeland Raiders in the UIFL South Finals. The Tarpons lost Ultimate Bowl II to theCincinnati Commandos.[5] Four players from the Tarpons 2012 roster were invited/signed to NFL Rookie Mini Camps: DL Joshua Long, WR Dwayne Frampton, DB Willie Williams, and DB E.J. Whitley. WRCarlos Singleton signed with theTampa Bay Storm of theArena Football League after the Tarpons season ended.[6]
On October 7, 2015, the Tarpons announced that they were joiningAmerican Indoor Football.[7] On July 18, 2016, the AIF ceased operations, leaving the Tarpons without a league.
On October 20, 2016, the Tarpons were added to theArena Developmental League (ADL) for the league's inaugural 2017 season.[8] However, on November 10, the Tarpons announced they had joined the newArena Pro Football (APF) instead and the ADL was soon renamed National Arena League upon the addition of theJacksonville Sharks.
The Tarpons would play their first APF game against theAlabama Outlawz, also formerly of the X-League. The Tarpons won 42–18. At the end of the season, the Tarpons and theRichmond Roughriders played for the APF championship, losing to the Roughriders 61–75.
During the 2017 APF season, the league announced it would be merging with theCan-Am Indoor Football League to create theAmerican Arena League (AAL) for the 2018 season. By the end of the 2017 season, the Tarpons and Roughriders were to only teams that had played a complete season in the APF and both teams joined the AAL. The Tarpons relocated toLakeland, Florida, and theRP Funding Center after their lease in Estero expired.[9] The Tarpons opened the season on the road with a 48–21 loss to theAtlanta Havoc.[10] The following week they traveled to play theHigh Country Grizzlies, but the game was cancelled at the last minute due to winter weather and the game was not rescheduled.[11] They played their first game atRP Funding Center on April 14, a 58–20 loss in a rematch with the previous season's APF champions, theRichmond Roughriders.[12] The Tarpons would not win their first game until a 50–20 win over an AAL-affiliated travel-only team, the Austin Wild, on May 5.[13] After another win over an AAL travel-only team, the Peach State Cats, the Tarpons were to travel to play theGeorgia Doom in Macon, Georgia. However, the Tarpons then cancelled all remaining away games and announced their final game of the season would be at home against theUpstate Dragons on May 26.[14] The Dragons then announced they would not travel to Lakeland and the Tarpons would then play the semi-professional Gulf Coast Tigers, thus ending their AAL season with a 2–3 record in league games actually played and a final league record of 3–5 after the various forfeits.[15]
After one season in central Florida, the team rebranded as the Lakeland Tarpons.[16] The Tarpons' ownership was also reorganized, with Micheal Taylor joined by former owner Andrew Haines, as well as Gary Tufford, Kacee Smith, and other locals.[17][18] The new ownership group then announced on September 13, 2018, that they were launching their own league, called theA-League, to begin play in 2019 with several Florida-based teams, including the Gulf Coast Fire, Manatee Neptunes and Sarasota BigCats.[1][2] However, the season was initially pushed back and then scheduled to only have games atRP Funding Center andHertz Arena over several weeks in May and June 2019. In May 2019, the Tarpons and all games at RP Funding Center were removed from the schedule. The Gulf Coast Fire went undefeated and won the league championship, but after the season ended all other A-League websites, including the Tarpons, were redirected the Fire's website, which itself eventually suspended.
A Gulf Coast Tarpons was announced as a team in theInternational Football Alliance, but was removed shortly after announcement.[19][20]
SeeCategory:Florida Tarpons players
The following is a list of all Tarpons players who have won league awards:
| Season | Player | Position | Award |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Terrance Jones | DB | UIFL South Defensive Player of the Year |
| 2012 | Ross Gornall | K | UIFL South Special Teams Player of the Year |
| 2012 | Chris Wallace | QB | 1st Team All-UIFL North |
| 2012 | Carlos Singleton | WR | 1st Team All-UIFL North |
| 2012 | Donald Fusilier | WR | 1st Team All-UIFL North |
| 2012 | James Barker | OL | 1st Team All-UIFL North |
| 2012 | Greg Walls | OL | 1st Team All-UIFL North |
| 2012 | Josh Long | DL | 1st Team All-UIFL North |
| 2012 | Darrell Roseman | DL | 1st Team All-UIFL North |
| 2012 | Harriel Moore | LB | 1st Team All-UIFL North |
| 2012 | Tavares Woodley | LB | 1st Team All-UIFL North |
| 2012 | Terrance Jones | DB | 1st Team All-UIFL North |
| 2012 | Ross Gornall | K | 1st Team All-UIFL North |
| 2012 | Sean Callahan | OL | Honorable Mention All-UIFL North |
| 2012 | E.J. Whitley | DB | Honorable Mention All-UIFL North |
| 2012 | Steven Turner | All-purpose | Honorable Mention All-UIFL North |
| 2015 | Javarous Faulk | DL | X-Bowl MVP |
| League Champions | Conference Champions | Division Champions | Playoff Berth | League Leader |
| Season | Team | League | Conference | Division | Regular season | Postseason results | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Finish | Wins | Losses | Ties | ||||||||
| 2012 | 2012 | UIFL | South | 1st | 11 | 0 | Won UIFL South Finals (Raiders) 60–29 LostUltimate Bowl II (Commandos) 44–61 | ||||
| 2013 | 2013 | UIFL | 1st | 5 | 1 | WonUltimate Bowl III (Fury) 40–32 | |||||
| 2014 | 2014 | UIFL | 2nd | 4 | 4 | LostUltimate Bowl IV (Fury) 23–60 | |||||
| 2015 | 2015 | X-League | 1st | 6 | 2 | Won X-Bowl II (Marine Raiders) 65–23[21] | |||||
| 2016 | 2016 | AIF | Southern | 2nd | 7 | 1 | 0 | Won Southern Semifinal (Steam) 71–20 Lost Southern Championship (Lions) 66–79 | |||
| 2017 | 2017 | APF | 2nd | 5 | 1 | 0 | Lost Championship (Roughriders) 61–75 | ||||
| 2018 | 2018 | AAL | DNF | 2[a] | 3[b] | 0 | |||||
| Totals | 40 | 12 | 0 | All-time regular season record (2012–2018) | |||||||
| 4 | 4 | — | All-time postseason record (2012–2018) | ||||||||
| 44 | 16 | 0 | All-time regular season and postseason record (2012–2018) | ||||||||
| Name | Term | Regular season | Playoffs | Awards | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | T | Win% | W | L | |||
| Michael Taylor | 2012–2018 | 40 | 12 | 0 | .769 | 4 | 4 | UIFL South Coach of the Year (2012) |