By Michael Heilman

The Spokane Shock are making their long-awaited return, this time joining the Indoor Football League for the 2020 season. You can rewatch today’s press conference courtesy of NBC KHQ-TV 6 here.

The new owner of the Spokane Shock is Sam Adams, who was a former defensive tackle in the NFL. During his NFL career, he played for various teams, including the Seattle Seahawks, and he was apart of the Baltimore Ravens Superbowl thirty-five winning team.

Adams confirmed that Billy Back will coach the Shock next season. Back previously coached the Carolina Cobras of the National Arena League, where he led the team to two NAL championship games, winning the NAL championship in 2018. Adams also confirmed that several former players will also return to the Shock.

The Spokane Shock was formed in 2005 when they played in the Arena Football 2 league. The Shock won the West Division title four-time including winning the Arena Cup twice in 2006 and 2009. After the AF2 folded, the Shock then joined the relaunch of the Arena Football League in 2010. That season, the Shock would go on to win Arena Bowl 23 over the Tampa Bay Storm 69-57. The Shock is the only team in AFL history to win both the Arena Cup and Arena Bowl titles. From there, the Shock continued to play in the AFL until after the 2015 season.

When the Shock were in the process of joining the IFL in 2016, they could not take the Shock name as the AFL owned it. The Shock were forced to change their name for the 2016 season and rebrand themselves as the Spokane Empire. The Empire would win the IFL Intense Conference in 2016 before falling to the Sioux Falls Storm in the IFL United Bowl. The Empire would play one more year in 2017, finishing with a record of 8-8, missing the playoffs. The team folded shortly after the 2017 IFL season.

In the closing press conference, Adams said, “We want you to know that we appreciate you. We want you to be a part of our community, and we want to support the city of Spokane,” Adams added, “We are here for the next 20-30 years.”