There’s a new game in town and it is called the Alliance of American Football.
The AAF has chosen Phoenix as one of their first markets to introduce their new brand of professional football. They will play their games at the newly renovated Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Arizona. Yes, professional football will be back in the City of Tempe for the first time since 2005! Personally, this is something that interests me a LOT. Partly because I’m still a little bitter that professional football left the east valley so many years ago. This should be a GREAT fit for the area and for what they are trying to do with Sun Devil Stadium. We have the beautiful new stadium, the infrastructure, freeway access, restaurants, hotels, shops and anything needed to support a “community focused” institution, just like what the AAF is talking about becoming.

The new AAF team will be coached by Rick Neuheisel. Rick played football at McClintock High School and maintains very deep connections to the community. Rick is also a CBS Sports analyst and has an XM radio show. I guess it is a good time to welcome another sports analyst to coach in Tempe!
Fans / Community Key to Alliance of American Football:
If you read a press release from the AAF or watch the video below, you are sure to get the message that each of the communities where the teams will play are going to be an integral part of the organization.
There has been mention of players being chosen by region. We will see players living in the communities where they work / play. We will have players who actively give their time in their own communities. One of the goals of the league sounds like it will be to have their football players embedded in their community. The AAF wants to provide a local community feel to each team.
The AAF is partnering with the fans and is looking to locate in cities where fan engagement is high. There will even be a fan engagement bonus where players and fans will both be rewarded for engaging and interacting with one another. It will be interesting to see how they pull this off. In the digital age in which we live, there’s some very real possibilities here.
AAF Bringing New Game – Familiar Faces
Since the official announcement of the new Alliance of American Football league is very new, we certainly don’t have all of the details. So far, we hear that there will be eight teams making up the first season for the Alliance of American Football. Here’s a list of the teams currently announced and their head coaches:
Phoenix – Rick Neueisel
Salt Lake City – Dennis Erickson
Orlando – Steve Spurrier
Atlanta – Brad Childress
Memphis – Mike Singletary
We will see household names from college football, professional football players and underdogs come together to play in the Alliance of American Football.
We are hearing that the AAF wants to be a new brand of football with a new brand of professional athlete. According to the “new breed of football executives” at the Alliance, they are looking to have a streamlined football experience with more football in less time. There will be no kickoffs and there will be a 30 second play clock among other changes. They are going to bring more pure football and fewer commercials than what we are currently used to.
The first Alliance of American Football game will be live on CBS February 9th, 2019 at 8PM. Mark your calendars!
Will having the AAF play their games in Tempe be a benefit to ASU football and ASU players? This could be an interesting dynamic, as well.
The Alliance executives say they are looking to revolutionize the way employers treat employees. We have already heard talk of the AAF helping the athletes with financial education along with world class training and nutritional education. The emphasis is said to also be on making better people on and off the field. Heck, I bet they will even help educate them on the benefits of owning their own home! Of course, we are happy to help! 🙂
Here’s the official launch announcement from the Alliance. It has a LOT of details about the new league. Take a look!