September 05, 2007
Shane Matthews to coach AAFL's
Florida
team
GAINESVILLE - Former
Florida
quarterback Shane Matthews will be the head coach of the Florida team in the new All-American Football
League.
The league, which will consists of former college
players who have earned their degrees, will begin play on Aug. 12.
Joining Matthews on the Florida staff will be former
UF running back Terry Jackson and former Florida coaches Jerry "Red"
Anderson and Jim Collins.
Teams from six states - Florida, Texas, Michigan, Arkansas, Alabama and Tennessee - will comprise
the new league. The Florida
team will play three games at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium.
A minimum of 10 former Gators will be on the Florida team. So far, the roster includes:
Steve Rissler, Fred Weary, Willie Jackson, Travis McGriff, Judd Davis, Chris
Doering, Doc Pollard and Tony George.
"This is a dream job for me,'' Matthews said at a
news conference Wednesday in
Gainesville. "We're going to have some fun and we're
going to win.''
Gainesville-based AAFL team to feature former
Gators
By NICK
ZACCARDI , Alligator Staff Writer
Come April, the Gators will share The Swamp with the All American
Football League.
The AAFL, a professional league advertising a college atmosphere, opens
its inaugural season this spring with Ben Hill Griffin Stadium as one of
six team sites based in college towns.
The other teams are affiliated with Alabama, Arkansas, Tennessee, Texas
and Michigan.
The league hopes to attract fans by offering
minor-league rosters packed with former area-college standouts.
The only catch: they must have graduated.
For example, Gainesville's team signed former Gators receivers Willie
Jackson, Chris Doering and Travis McGriff on Wednesday.
"The initial concept in this league is what's so intriguing for a
player," said McGriff, a player spokesman for the AAFL. "It is an
extension of college football. It will mirror that, not the NFL."
Former UF quarterback Shane Matthews was announced as Team Florida's
coach at a press conference Wednesday.
The league does not have team names, but Team Florida's colors are
orange and blue.
Florida plays three of five home games in Gainesville and practices
there, too.
Team management is talking with Jacksonville, Orlando and Tampa, cities
that might host the other two home games.
Unlike defunct leagues like the USFL and XFL, Matthews believes the
special nature of the AAFL, which emphasizes college rivalries and uses
college rules, will keep it running.
"We're carrying on the passion of college football," Matthews said. "The
fans are going to be able to relate to the players on these teams.
They're going to be players they have seen and rooted for over their
college careers."
AAFL CEO Marcus Katz, who made millions in the student loan business,
bankrolled the league.
Katz, a Georgia fan, remembers wondering whatever happened to this
ex-Bulldog or that ex-Gator.
The questions eventually led to the birth of his brainchild in the
summer of 2006.
He knows about the failures of past upstart leagues, and he also knows
what it will take to keep this venture alive.
"It's really up to the fans," Katz said. "If the fans come to the games
and if they care who wins, it will be successful. Nobody will know for
sure until it happens."
The league mandates at least 10 players on the 42-man roster must be
former Gators and another 10 must have played college football at other
Florida schools.
On Wednesday, nine former Gators signed contracts that will pay them
$50,000 to play 10 games this season.
Those included Tony George, Fred Weary, Ran Carthon, Eli Williams, Judd
Davis, Steve Rissler, Jackson, Doering and McGriff.
Team Florida will likely look to Florida State and Miami alumni to fill
its roster.
Carthon, who spent the last two seasons with the Indianapolis Colts and
the Detroit Lions, came back to Gainesville to earn his degree this
semester.
The sociology major is six credits short of graduating.
"It was just real weird coming back," Carthon said. "Just getting on
campus, I felt old. ... I'm 26 years old, but it made me feel like I was
96."
