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The Wheeling Miners are an indoor football team based in Wheeling, West Virginia. They are current members of the American Arena League 2 and play their home games at the WesBanco Arena starting in 2024. They replaced the now-defunct West Virginia Roughriders. On June 21, 2024, it was announced that they will join the National Arena League for 2025 and beyond.
| Wheeling Miners | |
|---|---|
| Established 2023 Play in WesBanco Arena in Wheeling, West Virginia GoWVMiners.com | |
 | |
| League/conference affiliations | |
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Current uniform | |
| Team colors | Navy blue, gold, white |
| Personnel | |
| Owner(s) | Chris Duffy Dempsey Fields Darryl Seabridge Craig McIntyre Jennifer McIntyre |
| General manager | Joshua Resignalo |
| Head coach | Joshua Resignalo |
| Team history | |
| |
| Championships | |
League championships (1)
| |
| Conference championships () | |
Division championships (1)
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| Playoff appearances (1) | |
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| Home arena(s) | |
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History
edit
The team were originally to have been known as the West Virginia Miners and were to have played in the American Indoor Football league. On July 14, 2023, the AIF announced that Wheeling, West Virginia, would become the fourth city in the newly-revived league to host a new expansion franchise owned by Chris Duffy, Dempsey Fields, and Darryl Seabridge. Head coach and general manager is Joshua Resignalo.[1] Just three days later, the name, logos and colors were unveiled as those of the West Virginia Miners,[2][3] sharing its name with the defunct Prospect League summer collegiate baseball franchise. They are the latest team be set to play at the WesBanco Arena. Past teams include the Ohio Valley Greyhounds and West Virginia Roughriders.
Just a couple of months later, the AIF dropped the Miners from their website and the team began looking for a new league. On November 1, 2023, the announced their intention to play in the American Arena League's AAL2 and were renamed the Wheeling Miners.[4][5]
On June 21, 2024, the Miners announced that they have become new members of the National Arena League. Mere weeks later, on July 6, 2024, the Miners dismantled the Peach State Cats 61-14 to win the AAL2 Championship before leaving for the NAL.
References
edit- ^ Ohio Valley Athletics (July 31, 2023). "Indoor Football Returning to the Ohio Valley". aif-proindoorfootball.com.
- ^ American Indoor Football (July 31, 2023). "American Indoor Football (AIF) Announces Wheeling, WV Team Name and Venue for the 2024 Indoor Season". aif-proindoorfootball.com.
- ^ John Lynch, Scott Nolte (July 31, 2023). "West Virginia has a new indoor football team, what's the name?". WTRF.com.
- ^ "Weekly Sports League and Franchise Report November 6, 2023". OurSports Central.
- ^ Wheeling Miners staff (November 9, 2023). "Wheeling Miners". Facebook.com.