The East Division was a division of 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 ...

's American Conference. It was first formed in 1995 as part of the National Conference when expansion led to the creation of divisions. Since the division's enfranchisement in 1995, as the Eastern Division of the National Conference, the division sent representatives to five ArenaBowls (most recently the Philadelphia Soul in 2013's

ArenaBowl XXVI ArenaBowl XXVI was the 26th edition of the championship in the Arena Football League. The National Conference champion Arizona Rattlers, defeated the American Conference champion Philadelphia Soul, 48–39. The game was played on August 17, 2013 ...

), with two wins (most recently the Philadelphia Soul in 2008's ArenaBowl XXII).

Division lineups

1995–1996 *

Albany Firebirds The Indiana Firebirds were a team in the Arena Football League. The team was based in Indianapolis, Indiana. Home games were played at the Conseco Fieldhouse, also the home of the Indiana Pacers of the National Basketball Association and Indiana ...

Charlotte Rage The Charlotte Rage were a professional arena football team based out of Charlotte, North Carolina. They were members of the Arena Football League from 1992 to 1996. They played their home games at the Charlotte Coliseum from 1992 to 1994 and th ...

Connecticut Coyotes The Connecticut Coyotes were an arena football franchise based in Hartford, Connecticut. The Coyotes played in the Eastern Division of the National Conference in the Arena Football League. History On June 22, 1994, the Arena Football League aw ...

Eastern Division in the National Conference. Albany moved in from American Conference. Connecticut Coyotes enfranchised. 1997 *Albany Firebirds (from American Conference) *

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 A ...

* New Jersey Red Dogs *

New York Cityhawks The Toronto Phantoms were a professional arena football team based in Toronto, Ontario. The team was a member of the Eastern Division of the National Conference of the Arena Football League (AFL). The team also previously operated in New York C ...

Charlotte and Connecticut folded. Nashville, New Jersey, and New York are enfranchised. 1998 *Albany Firebirds *New Jersey Red Dogs *New York Cityhawks Nashville moved to National Conference's Southern Division. 1999–2000 *Albany Firebirds * Buffalo Destroyers *New England Sea Wolves *New Jersey Red Dogs Buffalo Destroyers enfranchised. New York moved to

Hartford, Connecticut Hartford is the capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It was the seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960. It is the core city in the Greater Hartford metropolitan area. Census estimates since t ...

as New England Sea Wolves. 2001 *Buffalo Destroyers *

Carolina Cobras The Carolina Cobras were an expansion franchise in the Arena Football League. The team was formed prior to the 2000 season, which endured a player strike. The team was originally based in Raleigh, North Carolina, but moved to Charlotte followi ...

*New Jersey Gladiators *

New York Dragons The New York Dragons were a professional arena football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Dragons participated in the Arena Football League's (AFL) National Conference as a member of the Eastern Division. The team was founded i ...

Toronto Phantoms The Toronto Phantoms were a professional arena football team based in Toronto, Ontario. The team was a member of the Eastern Division of the National Conference of the Arena Football League (AFL). The team also previously operated in New York C ...

As Indiana Firebirds, Albany moved to

Indianapolis, Indiana Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Mar ...

as part of the American Conference's Central Division. Carolina moved in from Southern Division. Iowa Barnstormers moved to

Uniondale, New York Uniondale is a census-designated place (CDP), as well as a suburb in Nassau County, New York, on Long Island, in the Town of Hempstead. The population was 32,473 at the 2020 United States Census. Uniondale is home to Hofstra University's nort ...

as New York Dragons. New England moved to Toronto as the Phantoms. New Jersey Red Dogs renamed the Gladiators. 2002 *Buffalo Destroyers *New Jersey Gladiators *New York Dragons *Toronto Phantoms Carolina moved back to Southern Division. 2003 *Buffalo Destroyers *

Detroit Fury The Detroit Fury were an arena football team based in Auburn Hills, Michigan. History The team was a member of the Arena Football League from 2001 to 2004 and played at The Palace of Auburn Hills, also the home of the NBA's Detroit Pistons. The ...

*Las Vegas Gladiators *New York Dragons Detroit moved in from Central Division. New Jersey moved to Las Vegas. Toronto Phantoms folded. 2004 *Carolina Cobras *

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 ...

Dallas Desperados The Dallas Desperados were a professional arena football team based in Dallas, Texas. The Desperados played in the Eastern Division of the Arena Football League from 2002 to 2008. The franchise began play in as an expansion team, and have post ...

*New York Dragons *

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 ...

Buffalo moved to

Columbus, Ohio Columbus () is the state capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the 14th-most populous city in the U.S., the second-most populous city in the Midwest, after Chicago, an ...

. Dallas moved in from Central Division. Detroit moved back to Central Division as well. Las Vegas moved to American Conference's Western Division. Philadelphia Soul enfranchised. 2005–2007 *Columbus Destroyers *Dallas Desperados *New York Dragons *Philadelphia Soul Carolina Cobras folded. 2008 *Cleveland Gladiators *Columbus Destroyers *Dallas Desperados *New York Dragons *Philadelphia Soul Las Vegas moved back from Western Division as Cleveland Gladiators. After the 2008 season, Columbus, Dallas, and New York folded while Philadelphia is suspended and the AFL is put on a one-year hiatus. Also, the Cleveland Gladiators joined the Central Division (now part of the National Conference) for the 2010 season when that division was known as the Midwest Division. 2010 * Bossier-Shreveport Battle Wings *

Dallas Vigilantes The Dallas Vigilantes were an Arena Football League (AFL) team based in Dallas, Texas. Like its AFL predecessor, the Dallas Desperados, the Vigilantes played at the American Airlines Center. The Vigilantes and the Jacksonville Sharks began play ...

Oklahoma City Yard Dawgz The Oklahoma City Yard Dawgz were an arena football team. The team began play as a 2004 expansion team of the Arena Football League's minor league af2 before becoming a member of the AFL in 2010. Formerly a tenant of the Ford Center from 2004 ...

Tulsa Talons Tulsa () is the second-largest city in the state of Oklahoma and 47th-most populous city in the United States. The population was 413,066 as of the 2020 census. It is the principal municipality of the Tulsa Metropolitan Area, a region with ...

The Eastern Division moved to the American Conference as Southwest Division for this season. Dallas Vigilantes enfranchised while the other three teams come from the defunct af2. 2011–2012 *Cleveland Gladiators * Milwaukee Mustangs *Philadelphia Soul *

Pittsburgh Power The Pittsburgh Power were a professional arena football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. The team belonged to the East Division of the American Conference (AC) in the Arena Football League (AFL). Founded in 2011, the Power ...

The Southwest Division changed its name back to Eastern Division. Bossier-Shreveport moved to New Orleans as the VooDoo. Cleveland Gladiators and Milwaukee Iron (renamed Mustangs) moved in from the Central Division (known as Midwest in 2010). Dallas and Tulsa moved to Central Division. Oklahoma City folded. Philadelphia Soul returned. Pittsburgh Power enfranchised. 2013 *Cleveland Gladiators *Philadelphia Soul *Pittsburgh Power Milwaukee Mustangs suspended operations. 2014 *Cleveland Gladiators *

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 ...

*Philadelphia Soul *Pittsburgh Power Iowa joined the East Division after the League's expansion into Los Angeles and Portland, and the removal of the

Utah Blaze The Utah Blaze was a professional arena football team based in Salt Lake City, Utah and competed in the West Division of the Arena Football League. Home games were played at the EnergySolutions Arena. In 2013, the team did not submit proper do ...

and

Chicago Rush The Chicago Rush were a professional arena football team based in Rosemont, Illinois. The team played at the Allstate Arena from 2001 to 2013. They were a member of the Central Division of the National Conference of the Arena Football League ( ...

. 2015 *Cleveland Gladiators *

New Orleans VooDoo Louisiana Voodoo (french: Vaudou louisianais, es, Vudú de Luisiana), also known as New Orleans Voodoo, is an African diasporic religion which originated in Louisiana, now in the southern United States. It arose through a process of syncretis ...

*Philadelphia Soul Iowa left to play in the

Indoor Football League The Indoor Football League (IFL) is a professional indoor American football league created in 2008 out of the merger between the Intense Football League and United Indoor Football. It has one of the largest number of currently active teams am ...

and Pittsburgh folded because of low attendance. Due to the reduced number of participating teams, all AFL conferences and divisions were discontinued after the

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the April ...

season.

Division champions

* † – Despite winning the division in 2004, the New York Dragons failed to qualify for the playoffs.

Wild Card qualifiers

Season results

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:East Division (AFL) Arena Football League divisions Cleveland Gladiators Philadelphia Soul Pittsburgh Power 1995 establishments in the United States New Orleans VooDoo Indiana Firebirds Charlotte Rage Connecticut Coyotes Nashville Kats Toronto Phantoms Columbus Destroyers Carolina Cobras New York Dragons Detroit Fury Dallas Desperados Bossier–Shreveport Battle Wings Dallas Vigilantes Oklahoma City Yard Dawgz San Antonio Talons Milwaukee Mustangs (2009–2012) Iowa Barnstormers