The Southern Division is one of four divisions of the Arena Football League

Arena Football League

The Arena Football League is the highest level of professional indoor American football in the United States. It is currently the second longest running professional football league in the United States, after the National Football League. It was founded in 1987 by Jim Foster...

. It's also one of two divisions within the "American Conference", although they have been part of the "National Conference" from 1995 through 2008. The Southern Division has been marked for its entire existence as being the most brutal and competitive division in the AFL. The Southern Division was formed in 1992 when the AFL first split into three divisions. The League used only conferences in 1993 and 1994, but returned to division play in 1995. The Southern Division has produced 10 ArenaBowl

ArenaBowl

The ArenaBowl is the Arena Football League's championship game. From 1987 to 2004, the ArenaBowl was hosted by either the team with the better regular-season record or the higher seeding in the playoffs. From ArenaBowl XIX in 2005 until ArenaBowl XXII in 2008, the game was played at a neutral site...

 teams and 5 champions. Rivalries such as the Tampa Bay Storm and Orlando Predators, known as the "War On I-4," used to define this division, but the Georgia Force had risen to the top and dominated in recent years before their folding.

Division lineups

1992

• Charlotte Rage
  Charlotte Rage
  The Charlotte Rage was a team in the Arena Football League.-History:They competed in the 1992-1996 seasons. They played their home games at the Charlotte Coliseum, then also home of the Charlotte Hornets of the National Basketball Association....
  
  
• New Orleans Night
  New Orleans Night
  The New Orleans Night was an Arena Football League team that competed in the 1991 and 1992 AFL seasons and were based in New Orleans, Louisiana. The team was officially announced at a press conference on March 18, 1991...
  
  
• Orlando Predators
  Orlando Predators
  The Orlando Predators are an Arena Football League team based in Orlando, Florida that was founded in 1991. Their playoff streak is currently 19 seasons in a row, as of the season, becoming the ArenaBowl champions in 1998 and 2000...
  
  
• Tampa Bay Storm
  Tampa Bay Storm
  The Tampa Bay Storm are an Arena Football League team based in the Tampa Bay Area of Florida. They play their home games in the St. Pete Times Forum in Tampa....
  
  

Creation of the Southern Division. Charlotte Rage enfranchised. In 1993, New Orleans Night folded upon suspension of the Southern Division while the league has been realigned into the American/National conference structure.

1995

• Miami Hooters
• Orlando Predators
• Tampa Bay Storm

The Southern Division returns, now part of the National Conference. Three of the National Conference teams, Miami, Orlando, and Tampa Bay reformed this division.

1996

• Florida Bobcats
  Florida Bobcats
  The Florida Bobcats are a defunct Arena Football League team. They had been previously known as the Sacramento Attack and the Miami Hooters.-Sacramento Attack :...
  
  
• Orlando Predators
• Tampa Bay Storm
• Texas Terror
  Houston Thunderbears
  The Houston ThunderBears were a team in the Arena Football League that operated from 1996-2001. The team was based in Houston, Texas. Home games were played at the Compaq Center. The team was known as the Texas Terror their first two years in existence before changing the name to the Thunderbears...
  
  

Miami Hooters renamed Florida Bobcats. Texas Terror enfranchised.

1997

• Florida Bobcats
• Orlando Predators
• Tampa Bay Storm

Texas Terror moved to the American Conference's Central Division.

1998 and 1999

• Florida Bobcats
• Nashville Kats
  Nashville Kats
  The Nashville Kats were an Arena Football League team, located in Nashville, Tennessee. They were last coached by Pat Sperduto, who coached the team's original incarnation to two ArenaBowl appearances prior to the original franchise's move to Atlanta in 2002...
  
  
• Orlando Predators
• Tampa Bay Storm

Nashville moved in from the National Conference's Eastern Division.

2000

• Carolina Cobras
  Carolina Cobras
  Not to be confused with the Los Angeles Cobras, who played in the 1988 AFL season.The Carolina Cobras were an expansion franchise in the Arena Football League...
  
  
• Florida Bobcats
• Nashville Kats
• Orlando Predators
• Tampa Bay Storm

Carolina Cobras enfranchised.

2001

• Florida Bobcats
• Nashville Kats
• Orlando Predators
• Tampa Bay Storm

Carolina moved to Eastern Division.

2002 and 2003

• Carolina Cobras
• Georgia Force
  Georgia Force
  The Georgia Force are an Arena Football League team based in Gwinnett County, Georgia, United States that plays in the South Division of the American Conference. The team is owned by Doug MacGregor and Donn Jennings...
  
  
• Orlando Predators
• Tampa Bay Storm

Carolina moved back from Eastern Division. Florida Bobcats folded. Nashville moved to Atlanta as Georgia Force.

2004 and 2005

• Austin Wranglers
  Austin Wranglers
  The Austin Wranglers were an arena football team based in Austin, Texas. They played four seasons in the Arena Football League from 2004 to 2007 and spent one season in AF2, the AFL's developmental league, in 2008. They made playoff appearances in the AFL in 2006 and in AF2 in 2008...
  
  
• Georgia Force
• New Orleans VooDoo
  New Orleans VooDoo
  The New Orleans VooDoo are an Arena Football League team based in New Orleans, Louisiana. They play their home games in New Orleans Arena....
  
  
• Orlando Predators
• Tampa Bay Storm

Austin Wranglers and New Orleans VooDoo enfranchised. Carolina moved back to Eastern Division.

2006

• Austin Wranglers
• Georgia Force
• Kansas City Brigade
• Orlando Predators
• Tampa Bay Storm

Kansas City Brigade enfranchised. New Orleans VooDoo suspended due to Hurricane Katrina

Hurricane Katrina

Hurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was a powerful Atlantic hurricane. It is the costliest natural disaster, as well as one of the five deadliest hurricanes, in the history of the United States. Among recorded Atlantic hurricanes, it was the sixth strongest overall...

.

2007

• Austin Wranglers
• Georgia Force
• New Orleans VooDoo
• Orlando Predators
• Tampa Bay Storm

Kansas City moved to Central Division. New Orleans reactivated.

2008

• Georgia Force
• New Orleans VooDoo
• Orlando Predators
• Tampa Bay Storm

Austin Wranglers moved to af2

Af2

AF2 was the name of the Arena Football League's developmental league; it was founded in 1999 and played its first season in 2000. Like parent AFL, the AF2 played using the same arena football rules and style of play. League seasons ran from April through July with the postseason and ArenaCup...

. In 2009, the AFL has been put on a one-year hiatus while Georgia Force and New Orleans are suspended.

2010

• Alabama Vipers
• Jacksonville Sharks
  Jacksonville Sharks
  The Jacksonville Sharks were a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. They competed for part of the 1974 season in the World Football League, a failed attempt to launch a major professional football league in the United States in competition with the National Football...
  
  
• Orlando Predators
• Tampa Bay Storm

The Southern Division moved to the American Conference. Alabama moved in from af2. Jacksonville Sharks enfranchised.

2011

• Georgia Force
• Jacksonville Sharks
• New Orleans VooDoo
• Orlando Predators
• Tampa Bay Storm

Alabama moved to Duluth as Georgia Force. New Orleans reactivated.

Division Champions

• 1992: Orlando Predators (9-1)
• 1995: Tampa Bay Storm (10-2)
• 1996: Tampa Bay Storm (12-2)
• 1997: Orlando Predators (10-4)
• 1998: Tampa Bay Storm (12-2)
• 1999: Tampa Bay Storm (11-3)
• 2000: Orlando Predators (11-3)
• 2001: Nashville Kats (10-4)
• 2002: Orlando Predators (7-7)
• 2003: Tampa Bay Storm (12-4)
• 2004: New Orleans VooDoo (11-5)
• 2005: Georgia Force (11-5)
• 2006: Orlando Predators (10-6)
• 2007: Georgia Force (13-3)
• 2008: Georgia Force (10-6)
• 2010: Jacksonville Sharks (12-4)