| Nashville Kats | |||
|---|---|---|---|
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| General information | |||
| Founded | 2024 | ||
| Headquartered | Nashville, Tennessee atNashville Municipal Auditorium | ||
| Colors | Blue, yellow, black, white | ||
| Personnel | |||
| Owners | Fisher Football Ventures, LLC. Jeff Fisher (chairman) Greg Pogue Bobby Devoursney Jon Gruden Michael Waltrip | ||
| Head coach | Darren Arbet | ||
| President | Jeff Fisher | ||
| Home fields | |||
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| League / conference affiliations | |||
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TheNashville Kats are a professionalarena football team located inNashville, Tennessee. They are members ofArena Football One (AF1). The team plays most home games at theNashville Municipal Auditorium, with select games held atF&M Bank Arena inClarksville, Tennessee. The Kats are based ona previous team by the same name that played in theArena Football League. The new incarnation of the team began play in thenew Arena Football League in 2024. In 2025, they became members of the newly formed AF1.
On November 1, 2023, the revival of theArena Football League announced the return of the Nashville Kats and new ownership structure. The team was originally co-owned by Tamara Dadd Alan, founding partner and CEO; Nancy Eckert, founding partner, COO and general counsel; and Chuck McDowell, largest individual stakeholder and chairman of the franchise.Jeff Fisher, formerTennessee Titans Head Coach, was a partner and president of football operations for the organization (also now-commissioner of the league). Sports talk host Greg Pogue also serves as partner and vice president of community relations. Longtime broadcasterEli Gold, former voice of the original AFL forTNN andNBC Sports and also known as the former voice of theAlabama Crimson Tide andNASCAR, was named the new radio voice of the Kats (moving back to TV in 2025). The team play atNashville Municipal Auditorium in Nashville, with one game atF&M Bank Arena inClarksville.[1] They made it to the semi-finals forArenaBowl XXXIII, only to lose to the eventual championBillings Outlaws 35-32.
On September 4, 2024, the Kats, along with the other seven surviving members of the collapsed AFL, joined the newly formedArena Football One. Jeff Fisher was named permanent commissioner of the new league while maintaining his position with the Kats. They compete in the East Division along with theAlbany Firebirds andOrlando Predators. Shortly after switching leagues, head coachDean Cokinos quietly left the team and was named head coach of theBerlin Thunder of theEuropean League of Football. During the schedule revival, Jeff Fisher announced the search for a new head coach. On February 18, 2025, the Kats announced that former four-timeArenaBowl championship head coachDarren Arbet would become the team's newest head coach.
On October 18, 2024, Nashville Arena Sports, LLC, owners of the Kats, filed a lawsuit in Chancery Court forDavidson County, Tennessee, against chairman Chuck McDowell seeking an alleged delinquent payment which was loaned to the franchise. The suit alleged that McDowell failed to pay on a signed $2.5 million (USD)promissory note to the club. They were also seeking to have McDowell expelled from the franchise ownership group.[2] Jeff Fisher announced that the team still planned to play in the league's inaugural season with its current owners despite this latest legal challenge. McDowell and the remaining owners reached a settlement with each other, culminating in a public reconciliation during the Kats' Week 4 game, in which McDowell led a ceremonialcoin toss, and McDowell's amicable exit from the ownership group.[3]
On May 4, 2025, it was announced that Jeff Fisher was officially named as the new majority owner of the Kats. He is joined by partners Pogue and Bobby Devoursney (who will serve as chief executive officer).[4] The next day, the Kats announced the addition ofJon Gruden, former NFL coach and brother of Arena Football Hall of FamerJay Gruden, to the ownership group leading football operations.[5] Former professional auto racerMichael Waltrip was added to the ownership group on June 20.[6]
| Championship victory | Championship appearance | Division champions | Playoff berth |
| Season | League | Conference | Division | Regular season | Postseason results | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Finish | Wins | Losses | Ties | |||||
| 2024 | AFL | N/A | East | 6th | 3 | 4 | 0 | Won Quarterfinals (Orlando) 62-32 Lost Semifinals (Billings) 35-32 |
| 2025 | AF1 | East | 2nd | 6 | 4 | Won Semifinals (SW Kansas Storm) 62-32 Lost Arena Crown (Albany Firebirds) 60-57 | ||
| Total | 9 | 8 | 0 | (includes only regular season) | ||||
| 2 | 2 | 0 | (includes only the postseason) | |||||
| 11 | 10 | 0 | (includes both regular season and postseason) | |||||
 Sports teams based inTennessee | ||
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| Baseball |  | |
| Basketball | ||
| Football | ||
| Hockey | ||
| Roller derby | ||
| Soccer | ||
| College athletics (NCAA Division I) | ||
