San Antonio Commanders

The San Antonio Commanders were a professional American football franchise based in San Antonio, Texas, and one of the eight members of the Alliance of American Football (AAF). The league began play in February 2019. The team played their home games at the Alamodome. The team was led by head coach Mike Riley.

On April 2, 2019, the league's football operations were reportedly suspended, and on April 4 the league allowed players to leave their contracts to sign with NFL teams. The league filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy on April 17, 2019. The league left debts of over $1.4 million to three local hotels and $200,000 to a catering business.

History
The Alliance San Antonio charter team of the Alliance of American Football spring league was announced on June 21, 2018. Also, the league announced former San Diego Chargers coach Mike Riley as head coach and former Dallas Cowboys fullback Daryl Johnston as General Manager of the team. The western four teams' names and logos were revealed on September 25 with San Antonio as the Commanders. The name is a tribute to San Antonio's military history, with maroon and silver representing the city and the small swords carried by military officers, respectively.

The final 52-man roster was set on January 30, 2019. The team's first game was a 15–6 win at home against the San Diego Fleet on Saturday, February 9, 2019.

The Commanders, who drew an average of approximately 27,720 fans to each home game, were by far the best-attended team in the AAF.

The league was suspended on April 2, 2019, with about 20 minutes left in the Commanders' practice. "It ended in the blink of an eye. Like that," Riley said later.

The next year, the XFL began discussions about relocating one of its eight teams to San Antonio; this would eventually bear fruit with the San Antonio Brahmas in 2023.

Allocation pool
The team's assigned area, which designated player rights, included the following:

Colleges
 * Abilene Christian
 * Angelo State
 * Baylor
 * Houston
 * Houston Baptist
 * Incarnate Word
 * Lamar
 * Midwestern State
 * North Texas
 * Oklahoma
 * Prairie View A&M
 * Rice


 * Sam Houston
 * SMU
 * Stephen F. Austin
 * Tarleton State
 * TCU
 * Texas
 * Texas A&M
 * Texas A&M–Kingsville
 * Texas–Permian Basin
 * Texas Southern
 * Texas State
 * Toledo
 * UTSA
 * West Texas A&M

National Football League (NFL)
 * Dallas Cowboys
 * Houston Texans
 * Kansas City Chiefs
 * Philadelphia Eagles

Canadian Football League (CFL)
 * Saskatchewan Roughriders

Regular season
All times Central † Changed from original time and network.

Week 1: San Diego
With the win, the Commanders started 1–0.

Week 2: Orlando
First loss in Commanders history. San Antonio fell to 1-1.

Week 3: at San Diego
First time in Commanders history with consecutive losses. Commanders drop to 1-2.

Week 4: at Birmingham
First road win in Commanders history. Commanders improve to 2-2.

Week 5: at Arizona
First time in Commanders history with consecutive wins. Commanders improve to 3-2.

Week 6: at Atlanta
Commanders improve to 4-2.

Week 7: Salt Lake
Commanders improve to 5-2. Also, this game marks the first time in league history that single game attendance was above 30,000.

Media
In addition to league-wide television coverage through NFL Network, CBS Sports Network, TNT, and B/R Live, Commanders' games were also broadcast on local radio by KZDC, an ESPN Radio affiliate. The team also had a television agreement with local station KMYS of the Sinclair Broadcast Group to carry all Commanders' games that were not broadcast nationally.