Ryan Vena (born November 15, 1977) is a former

arena football Indoor American football, or arena football, is a variation of gridiron football played at ice hockey-sized indoor arenas. While varying in details from league to league, the rules of indoor football are designed to allow for play in a smaller ...

quarterback. Vena attended Colgate University in

Hamilton, New York Hamilton is a town in Madison County, New York, United States. The population was 6,690 at the 2010 census. The town is named after American Founding Father Alexander Hamilton. The Town of Hamilton contains a village also named Hamilton, the s ...

and graduated in 2000. Vena started his career in arena football in 2002. He ended his career with over 720 career passing touchdowns. His best years were with the

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Pioneers The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Pioneers were a minor league arena football team that played in the AF2. The team was part of the East Division in the American conference. The Pioneers were an expansion team for the league's 2002 season, and were th ...

. He finished his career with the

Philadelphia Soul Philadelphia soul, sometimes called Philly soul, the Philadelphia sound, Phillysound, or The Sound of Philadelphia TSOP, is a genre of late 1960s–1970s soul music characterized by funk influences and lush instrumental arrangements, often featu ...

in 2011.

College career

Vena received several college athletic scholarships upon his graduation from Chatfield Senior High School in

Littleton, Colorado Littleton is a home rule municipality city located in Arapahoe, Douglas, and Jefferson counties, Colorado, United States. Littleton is the county seat of Arapahoe County and is a part of the Denver–Aurora–Lakewood, CO Metropolitan Stati ...

, and Colgate University was where he ended up. Vena was named to 4 straight All-Patriot League 1st team All-conference selections, and was the 1st and only 3 time Patriot League MVP. Ryan finished his career as the Colgate and Patriot League's all-time leader in total offense with 9,435 yards. He was the first Patriot League quarterback to pass for over 7,000 yards and rush for over 2,000. The holder of 13 Colgate records in total offense and passing, he led Colgate to three straight appearances in the NCAA Division I-AA playoffs, and four straight winning seasons. Ryan was named to the 15th and 25th Anniversary All-Patriot League Teams as the only quarterback selected. And in 2008, Ryan was added to Colgate University Athletics Hall of Honor.

Professional career

af2

In 2002, Vena began his arena football career in the af2, playing for the Albany Conquest for two seasons and a third season in 2006. Vena had his most success playing for the

of the af2 from 2007 to 2009. During that time, the Pioneers played in

ArenaCup VIII The 2007 AF2 season was the eighth season of the AF2. It was preceded by 2006 and succeeded by 2008. The regular season began on Friday, March 30 and ended on July 28. The league champions were the Tulsa Talons, who defeated the Wilkes-Barre/Scr ...

and

ArenaCup X The 2009 AF2 season was the AF2's 10th and final season. It was preceded by 2008. The regular season began on Friday, March 20 and finished on Saturday, July 25. The league champion was the Spokane Shock, who defeated the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Pi ...

, and was named the MVP of

. During the regular season, the Pioneers went 41–7 while Vena was at the helm. In 2007, Vena was named Offensive Player of the Year and the MVP of the ArenaCup.

Columbus Destroyers

Vena began his AFL career with the

Columbus Destroyers The Columbus Destroyers were an Arena Football League (AFL) team based in Columbus, Ohio, with home games in Nationwide Arena. The team was founded in as the Buffalo Destroyers, based in Buffalo, New York, and relocated to Columbus in . They fol ...

in 2004. Vena was the Destroyers primary quarterback, throwing 3,081 passes, 57 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions, Columbus finished the season 6–10. In 2005, he returned and competed with

Matt D'Orazio Matthew Louis D’Orazio (born October 1, 1976) is a former American football quarterback who played in the Arena Football League (AFL). He played college football at Otterbein College. D'Orazio was a member of the Roanoke Steam, Rochester Brigad ...

all season long for the starting quarterback position.

Iowa Barnstormers

When the

Arena Football League The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 season, making it the third longest-running professional football league in ...

returned in 2010, Vena was a member of the

Iowa Barnstormers The Iowa Barnstormers are a professional indoor football team based in Des Moines, Iowa. They are currently members of the Indoor Football League (IFL). They play their home games at Wells Fargo Arena, known in indoor football circles as "The ...

. The Barnstormers began the year with Brian Villanueva. But in the first game of the year against the Chicago Rush, Villanueva threw three interceptions without a touchdown, and Vena came in as a replacement. He started the rest of the season, throwing 3,924 yards, 78 touchdowns, and 22 rushing touchdowns.

Philadelphia Soul

In 2011, Vena moved to the

and began the year as the backup behind Justin Allgood. But after the Soul started the year 1–3, Vena replaced Allgood as the team's starter, and finished out the season and broke the record for most rushing touchdowns in a season by a quarterback at the time, with 23.http://www.arenafan.com/teams/Philadelphia_Soul-99/schedule/

AFL statistics

''Stats from ArenaFan'':

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vena, Ryan 1977 births Living people Albany Conquest players American football quarterbacks Colgate Raiders football players Columbus Destroyers players Iowa Barnstormers players People from Red Bank, New Jersey Philadelphia Soul players Players of American football from New Jersey Sportspeople from Monmouth County, New Jersey Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Pioneers players