| Arena Football League | ||||||||
| season 10 | ||||||||
| previous season = 1995 next season = 1997 | ||||||||
The 1996 Arena Football League season was the 10th season of the Arena Football League. The league champions were the Tampa Bay Storm, who defeated the Iowa Barnstormers in ArenaBowl X. The AFL finally stabilized its scheduled number of games. It expanded to a 14-game season, which would remain until 2003. Previously, the scheduled number of games had not stayed the same for more than three years.
Team Movement[]
The Texas Terror were welcomed as an expansion team.
Meanwhile, the Fort Worth Cavalry were relocated to Minneapolis and became the Minnesota Fighting Pike; the Las Vegas Sting moved to Anaheim, California, becoming the Anaheim Piranhas, and the Miami Hooters were renamed to the Florida Bobcats.
Standings[]
| Team | Overall | Division | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wins | Losses | Percentage | Wins | Losses | Percentage | |
| National Conference | ||||||
| Eastern Division | ||||||
| Albany Firebirds | 10 | 4 | 0.714 | 4 | 0 | 1.000 |
| Charlotte Rage | 5 | 9 | 0.357 | 2 | 2 | 0.500 |
| Connecticut Coyotes | 2 | 12 | 0.143 | 0 | 4 | 0.000 |
| Southern Division | ||||||
| Tampa Bay Storm | 12 | 2 | 0.857 | 5 | 1 | 0.833 |
| Orlando Predators | 9 | 5 | 0.643 | 5 | 1 | 0.833 |
| Florida Bobcats | 6 | 8 | 0.429 | 2 | 4 | 0.333 |
| Texas Terror | 1 | 13 | 0.071 | 0 | 6 | 0.000 |
| American Conference | ||||||
| Central Division | ||||||
| Iowa Barnstormers | 12 | 2 | 0.857 | 4 | 2 | 0.667 |
| Milwaukee Mustangs | 10 | 4 | 0.714 | 5 | 1 | 0.833 |
| St. Louis Stampede | 8 | 6 | 0.571 | 3 | 3 | 0.500 |
| Memphis Pharaohs | 0 | 14 | 0.000 | 0 | 6 | 0.000 |
| Western Division | ||||||
| Arizona Rattlers | 11 | 3 | 0.786 | 3 | 2 | 0.600 |
| Anaheim Piranhas | 9 | 5 | 0.643 | 4 | 1 | 0.800 |
| San Jose SaberCats | 6 | 8 | 0.429 | 1 | 4 | 0.200 |
| Minnesota Fighting Pike | 4 | 10 | 0.286 | 1 | 2 | 0.333 |
- Green indicates clinched playoff berth
- Purple indicates division champion
- Grey indicates best regular season record
Playoffs[]
| Quarterfinals | Semifinals | ArenaBowl X | |||||||||||
| 1 | Iowa 12-2 | 52 | |||||||||||
| 8 | St. Louis 8-6 | 49 | |||||||||||
| 1 | Iowa 13-2 | 62 | |||||||||||
| 4 | Albany 11-4 | 55 | |||||||||||
| 4 | Albany 10-4 | 70 | |||||||||||
| 5 | Milwaukee 10-4 | 58 | |||||||||||
| 1 | Iowa 14-2 | 38 | |||||||||||
| 2 | Tampa Bay 14-2 | 42 | |||||||||||
| 2 | Tampa Bay 12-2 | 30 | |||||||||||
| 7 | Anaheim 9-5 | 16 | |||||||||||
| 2 | Tampa Bay 13-2 | 55 | |||||||||||
| 3 | Arizona 12-3 | 54 | |||||||||||
| 3 | Arizona 11-3 | 65 | |||||||||||
| 6 | Orlando 9-5 | 48 | |||||||||||