Prior to 2023, the Empire had won back-to-back NAL titles in 2021 and 2022. A previous franchise also operating under the Empire name won the Arena Football League title in 2019.

The Albany Firebirds came up just short of an Arena Football League championship in 2024. This week, Albany’s road to a title in its new league, Arena Football One, begins in earnest as players ...

The 35-year-old Hollis, who started playing arena football in 2014, first came to Albany in 2022 and was part of the Empire’s second consecutive NAL championship. He came back to the Empire for ...