1973 ACFL League Meetings

Last offseason, the ACFL and SFL merged to expand the ACFL to 14 teams. The first season was an overall success with the new markets bringing eyes to the ACFL. While there was still a bit of a talent gap between the ACFL teams and the former SFL teams, the Atlanta Redtails and Birmingham Ironclads each showed they could compete with the Redtails getting to the Semi-Final. They fell short against the Washington Stars, who would go on to win the title this season. Overall, the deal seems to be a success as the ACFL is rising up again as a big attractive landing spot for players coming out of college.

Commissioner Don Soriano has also continued pushing for more systematic changes to increase league parity, something that Soriano has gone on record to praise about the NAAF. However, there is still some convincing that needs to happen amongst the ACFL owners as Stephen Van Fossen, who continues to have an unwavering vendetta against the NAAF, is keeping enough people on his side to block most changes. It is a work in progress, but Soriano hopes to continue to convince other owners that his plan is one for the better in the long run. He hopes that based on how far behind the majority of SFL teams are skillswise to the rest of ACFL teams, may help in getting the new ownerships on his side. 

Another thing working against Soriano is the situation in Pittsburgh. The Hammers, after losing the lease at Riverfront Stadium of Pittsburgh, have seen a rapid decline in the team’s financial performance. Considering the situation they were already in, it isn’t a big surprise that the team is facing a potential shutdown. More investors have pulled out leaving the team in a place where the organization was unable to properly pay players. At this point, Soriano is looking at options for what they can do with the team to give them a financial boost, but the historic franchise may be coming up on its final days. The instability of the weaker teams, which includes teams like Pittsburgh and the Richmond Lions, gives another reason for richer teams to go against balancing changes. They don’t exactly want to have to spend money on other teams just to keep them afloat. If Soriano can sort out these tougher situations, he may finally be able to move on to his bigger ideas.