Stockton Crusaders
{{Short description|American indoor football team}}
{{Infobox indoor American football team
| name = Stockton Crusaders
| current =
| logo = Stockton Crusaders.png
| helmet =
| founded = 2024
| folded =
| city = Adventist Health Arena
in Stockton, California
| misc = [https://stocktoncrusaders.com StocktonCrusaders.com]
| uniform =
| colors =
| coach = Kurt Bryan
| owner =
| chairman =
| president = Scott McKibben
| general manager = Greg Pearce
| mascot =
| cheerleaders =
| nicknames =
| league =
- Arena Football One (2026–future)
| team_history =
- Stockton Crusaders ({{AFL Year|2026}}–future)
| no_league_champs = 0
| no_conf_champs = 0
| no_div_champs = 0
| league_champs =
| conf_champs =
| div_champs =
| playoff_appearances =
| no_playoff_appearances =
| arena_years =
- Adventist Health Arena ({{AF1 Year|2026}}–present)
}}
The Stockton Crusaders are a future professional indoor football team based in Stockton, California. They were announced as one of the inaugural teams for the new Arena Football One, but will begin play in 2026.
History
The Crusaders are the second official Stockton-based team to play in the AFL system and the first since the Stockton Lightning who played in af2 from 2006 to 2009. The team was planned to begin play in 2025 alongside the rest of the AF1, but the Crusaders, along with Monterrey, announced that they would be pushing their seasons back to 2026. The logo was made using Artificial intelligence
Arena Football One's predecessor, the 2024 revival of the Arena Football League, had initially announced a team in California's Central Valley.{{Cite web |title=16 ORG. LOCATIONS REVEALED Chicago, Philly Get Teams |date=July 18, 2023 |url=https://www.tmz.com/2023/07/18/arena-football-league-afl-team-locations-revealed-philadelphia-chicago/ |access-date=2023-07-18 |language=en-CA}} With a leaked social media page indicating this team would be named the California Grizzlies, this team was originally to play {{convert|233|mi|km}} southeast of Stockton, in Bakersfield; its owner, Tim Carbajal, owned a semi-pro outdoor team in that city. Ultimately, Carbajal was unable to secure a lease agreement with Mechanics Bank Arena, and the Grizzlies never made it to play.{{Cite web |last=McKenna |first=Dave |date=August 1, 2023 |title=Arena Football League Relaunch Comes As Surprise To Cities That Will Allegedly Have Teams |url=https://defector.com/arena-football-league-relaunch-comes-as-surprise-to-cities-that-will-allegedly-have-teams |access-date=August 2, 2023 |website=Defector |language=en}} The team logo eventually went with the Oregon Blackbears. Carbajal is now part-owner of the Arizona Bandits of AF1.
=Birth of the Crusaders=
The Stockton Crusaders were founded in June of 2024. On September 9, 2024, the Crusaders announced their intentions to join the newly-formed Arena Football One. Its head coach Kurt Bryan was a co-creator of the A-11 offense briefly used in outdoor football.{{Cite web |date=2024-09-09 |title=AF1 Announces Stockton Crusaders as Expansion Team for 2025, later pushed to 2026. |url=https://theaf1.com/2024/09/09/af1-announces-stockton-crusaders-as-expansion-team-for-2025/ |access-date=2024-09-09 |website=TheAF1.com}} Team president Scott McKibben had previously been chairman of the Oakland Coliseum authority.{{cite news |url=https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/Oakland-Coliseum-chief-resigns-over-role-in-14294608.php |title=Oakland Coliseum chief resigns over role in RingCentral naming rights deal |last=Matier |first=Phil |date=2019-08-10 |newspaper=San Francisco Chronicle |access-date=2020-01-17}}
On November 18, 2024, the AF1 league announced that the Crusaders and Monterrey Kings will sit out the 2025 season and debut in 2026.{{Cite web |date=2024-11-18 |title=Monterrey and Stockton Delay Entry to 2026 |url=https://www.theaf1.com/news/monterrey-and-stockton-delay-entry-to-2026 |access-date=2024-11-18 |website=TheAF1.com}}
Current roster
| class="toccolours" style="text-align: left;"
|+ colspan="7" style="{{NFLPrimaryStyle|Stockton Crusaders|border=2}};text-align:center;"| Stockton Crusaders roster |
style="font-size: 95%;vertical-align:top;" | Quarterbacks
Running backs
Wide receivers
| style="width: 25px;" | | style="font-size: 95%;vertical-align:top;" | Offensive linemen
Defensive linemen
| style="width: 25px;" | | style="font-size: 95%;vertical-align:top;" | Linebackers
Defensive backs
Special teams
| style="width: 25px;" | | style="font-size: 95%;vertical-align:top;" | Reserve lists
{{ubl |Rookies in italics |Roster updated November 19, 2024 |0 Active, 0 Inactive }} |
Staff
{{NFL final staff
|Year=
|TeamName=Stockton Crusaders
|Front Office=
- Owner - TBA
- President - Scott McKibben
- General manager - Greg Pearce
|Head Coaches=
- Head coach - Kurt Bryan
|Offensive Coaches=
- Offensive coordinator - TBA
- Offensive coach - TBA
|Defensive Coaches=
- Defensive coordinator – TBA
}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{Official website|https://stocktoncrusaders.com/}}
{{Arena Football One (2025)}}
{{Central Valley Sports}}
{{California sports}}
Category:American football teams established in 2024
Category:2024 establishments in California