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37-824: On November 5, 2010, it was announced that indoor football was to stay at the Von Braun Center in the form of the Alabama Hammers who would be playing in the Southern Indoor Football League (SIFL). The nickname "Hammers" was chosen due to the state bird of Alabama being the yellowhammer. On December 19, 2010, the Hammers announced that Marty Hammond, who had coached the Rio Grande Valley Dorados from 2006 to 2009, as their first ever head coach. On March 19, 2011,

74-453: A mezzanine level or can be configured with seats on the floor for about 800. Across the hall, Rhythm on Monroe offers a variety of selections from pub grub to upscale dining and features a rooftop bar overlooking Huntsville. Major renovations to the high-end exhibit space, North Hall were completed in 2023. According to The Von Braun Center website, Elvis Presley appeared May 30 through June 1, 1975 for an unprecedented five performances. It

111-450: A newly constructed adjacent hotel was added in 2006. The oldest portions of the facility underwent renovation in 2011. The improvements included new seating for the arena, reconstruction of the arena and concert hall lobbies, and a new exterior facade. Another expansion in 2020 created Mars Music Hall and Rhythm on Monroe. Mars Music Hall can be figured with pit-style standing area for about 1,100 with additional night-club style seating on

148-466: A tournament, and are awarded as a cash prize in the form of a scholarship with no GPA or formal scholarly work necessary to claim the money once in college. This in turn has caused the MHSAA to rule high school athletes "ineligible" due to "accepting cash, checks, or any other form of award over $ 25 in value." This rule is highly debated and has questionable means of enforcement. To receive such scholarships,

185-513: Is an entertainment complex, with a maximum arena seating capacity of 9,000, located in Huntsville, Alabama . The original facility debuted in 1975 and has undergone several significant expansions since its opening. In addition to the arena, the VBC complex features multiple exhibit halls, a concert hall, a playhouse, a music venue, and several additional facilities for meetings and exhibitions. It

222-654: Is named in honor of Wernher von Braun , the German - American rocket scientist . After von Braun's work for Nazi Germany in World War II , he was brought to the United States Army 's Redstone Arsenal along with many colleagues via Operation Paperclip . Their work laid the foundation for the United States space program. Planning for the facility began in 1965. The original construction included

259-593: The 2017 event for an unprecedented fourth Masters title. The most recent champion, crowned on April 2, 2023, is American Anthony Simonsen of Las Vegas, Nevada . The USBC Queens, one of four major tournaments on the Professional Women's Bowling Association (PWBA) Tour, is conducted by the USBC. The 2019 event was won by Ukrainian -born Dasha Kovalova, who bowled collegiately at Wichita State University . The USBC Intercollegiate Team Championships (ITC),

296-818: The Alabama Vipers arena football team, the UAH Chargers ice hockey team , and the Alabama Hammers of the Professional Indoor Football League . The arena at one time hosted public ice skating, and youth hockey and figure skating programs, but those activities have since been moved to another facility. On February 10, 2007, the Huntsville Havoc beat the Knoxville Ice Bears 7–6, in front of

333-729: The Milwaukee suburb of Greendale, Wisconsin , in November 2008. The move enabled the USBC to combine its operations with the Bowling Proprietors' Association of America (BPAA). The USBC is the national governing body for ten-pin bowling in the United States. It has approximately 3,000 local associations across the US serving over 2 million members. Among its duties and responsibilities to these members are: Historically,

370-428: The "Von Braun Civic Center", opened on March 14, 1975. The VBC's first expansion was a west-side addition to the exhibit hall, opened in 1980 and originally referred to as West Hall (the combined space is now called simply East Hall). Expanded kitchen facilities for catering were added in 1983. Originally this was a standalone building, but it became incorporated into the construction of North Hall in 1987. North Hall

407-419: The 2007–08 season. In the 2009–10 season, USBC changed the name of its presenting sponsorship to BOWL.com, the organization's website, which was re-launched on August 3, 2009. USBC did not renew its sponsorship for the 2010–11 season. In 2007, USBC acquired the rights to the U.S. Women's Open from the Bowling Proprietors' Association of America (BPAA). The event, which had been on a three-year hiatus following

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444-462: The Champions". The taped telecast was broadcast May 10 and 11 on CBS , marking the first time bowling had been broadcast on regular network television since June 26, 1999. The event featured eight male and eight female bowlers representing youth, college, senior, amateur and professional bowlers who had won recent USBC titles. It was won by Lynda Barnes . The event returned to CBS in 2009, when it

481-547: The Hammers took the field for their first ever game as a franchise, losing 20–67 to the Columbus Lions . The Hammers achieved the first victory in forfeit fashion, as the Mobile Bay Tarpons forfeited their April 29 game. The Hammers finished the regular season with a 4–8 record, failing to qualify for the postseason. Before the season began, the Hammers joined the Professional Indoor Football League after

518-519: The PBA holds each season, is conducted by the USBC as a part of the PBA Tour . The 2013, 2014 and 2015 events were all won by Australian Jason Belmonte , who became the only player in history to win this tournament in three consecutive years. Belmonte's streak was broken in 2016 by American 19-year-old Anthony Simonsen , who made history as the youngest-ever winner of a PBA major tournament. Belmonte won

555-598: The PIFL title over the Richmond Raiders 70–44. The Hammers did not return to their championship form in 2014, losing their first 4 games of the regular season. After the Hammers seemed to have righted the ship with 3-straight wins, they went on another 4-game losing streak. The Hammers finished the season 4–8, tied for 4th placed in the American Conference, failing to qualify for the playoffs. During

592-527: The Propst Arena, after the family that donated $ 5M to the city for the expansion. On Friday, February 5, 2010, a groundbreaking ceremony was held marking further renovations to what is now known as the Mark C. Smith Concert Hall. United States Bowling Congress The United States Bowling Congress ( USBC ) is a sports membership organization dedicated to ten-pin bowling in the United States . It

629-494: The Southern Indoor Football League dissolved. The Hammers went 3–9 in 2012, failing to making the playoffs. For the 2013 season, the Hammers hired former Alabama Vipers coach Dean Cokinos to be their head coach. The Hammers have achieved the level of success expected of coach Cokinos, who has a great winning percentage in lower level indoor football. They won their first championship when they won

666-542: The VBC. The VBC provided space for the Huntsville Museum of Art from its opening until 1998, when the museum moved to a nearby facility. The former museum is now used as office space for VBC staff. This place is also hosting to FRC ( FIRST Robotics Competition ) Rocket City Regional event. On October 23, 2008, it was announced that the VBC Arena would undergo a massive $ 15M renovation and would be renamed

703-688: The arena. In 2024, the VBC began hosting the conference tournament for Men's and Women's basketball for Conference USA . The arena has hosted numerous rock, pop, and country music concerts. Three music videos for the band, Kansas promoting the Monolith Album - featuring a Sci-Fi Native American: On the Other Side, Away from you, and People of the South Wind were film in and on the Von Braun Center. The VBC Concert Hall has been

740-432: The board nominating committee. USBC rule changes occur at the national convention, and take effect for leagues starting after August 1 of each year. Rule changes are published in a new printed guide every two years. Updated rulebooks are available online at bowl.com . The SMART program (Scholarship Management and Accounting Report for Tenpins) was established in 1994 in order to manage and store bowling scholarships until

777-583: The disbanding of the PWBA in 2003, was telecast for five weeks on ESPN in September–October 2007. ESPN again held multi-week broadcasts of the event in 2008, while ESPN2 did the same in 2009. In 2010, USBC reverted to a more traditional format and a one-day stepladder-style TV finals, airing live on ESPN2. That event was held in the Dallas/Fort Worth area, with Kelly Kulick winning. Kulick became

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814-725: The first bowler ever to win the USBC Queens and US Women's Open in the same year. USBC announced in May 2010 that it would not conduct the US Women's Open in 2011, as the BPAA had agreed to resume its association with the tournament. The TV finals took place June 30, 2011, at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas, where Leanne Hulsenberg was crowned champion. In May 2008, USBC conducted a special made-for-TV event called "Bowling's Clash of

851-545: The formation of the USBC, the national governing body for bowling was USA Bowling, which oversaw the participation of Team USA in international events. These four organizations merged to form USBC on January 1, 2005. The USBC Hall of Fame was formed in 2005 by the merger of the ABC Hall of Fame (established 1941) and WIBC Hall of Fame (established 1953). As of 2022, there are 446 Hall of Fame members in five categories: * Category introduced in 2011, with Jeff Richgels as

888-877: The home venue for the Huntsville Symphony Orchestra since the facility opened in 1975. The concert hall also hosts the productions of the Broadway Theater League. The playhouse hosts the productions of Theatre Huntsville, the Fantasy Playhouse Children's Theater, and the Jim Parker Songwriters Series, as well as numerous community events. The yearly Panoply of the Arts outdoor festival takes place in Big Spring Park adjacent to

925-653: The inaugural member. Recognizes those who have had noteworthy performances in one of the USBC national tournaments. The USBC Hall of Fame has its home at the International Bowling Museum on the International Bowling Campus in Arlington, Texas (along with the International Bowling Hall of Fame ). The induction ceremony is held annually in the spring. The USBC Masters, one of four major tournaments

962-405: The largest crowd for a sporting event in the VBC's history, with 7,083 fans. It was the site of the first-ever Total Nonstop Action Wrestling card, which featured in-ring cameos by Toby Keith and Sterling Marlin . WWE held its September 8, 2003 episode of WWE Raw at the arena. All Elite Wrestling (AEW) held its February 5, 2020 and February 28, 2024, episodes of AEW Dynamite at

999-415: The league folding. Running backs Wide receivers Defensive linemen Defensive backs Kickers Exempt list Suspension Failure to report-exempt Left squad The following is a list of all Hammers players who won league awards: Head coach Offensive coaches Defensive coaches Von Braun Center The Von Braun Center (known as Von Braun Civic Center until 1997)

1036-696: The membership of the ABC was all male (white males only in 1916–1950), but beginning in 1993 women were permitted to join. In 1916 the Women's International Bowling Congress (WIBC) was formed by a group of 40 women, and up until 2004 served as a partner organization of the ABC. The Young American Bowling Alliance (YABA) was established in 1982, after previously existing as the American Junior Bowling Congress founded in 1958, to serve youth bowlers from pre-school through collegiate level. Prior to

1073-594: The national championship of collegiate bowling, is conducted by USBC and has been televised on a tape-delay basis since 2002. For the first time, in 2012, USBC also televised the Intercollegiate Singles Championships as part of a four-week series on CBS Sports Network. Both events were televised in high definition for the first time in 2012. USBC was the presenting sponsor of the PBA Women's Series for three seasons, beginning with

1110-615: The offseason, Cokinos took a job as the head coach of the New Orleans VooDoo of the Arena Football League . He was replaced with Cosmo Dematteo, who had coached the filler team, Georgia Fire in 2014. However, in January 2015, Dematteo stepped down due to family issues before coaching a game for the Hammers. Scott Sharp was named the new Hammers' head coach on January 27, 2015. In 2015, the Hammers folded upon

1147-486: The space, the city agreed to the construction of South Hall, which opened in 1997. Around that same time, the word "Civic" was dropped from the facility's name. South Hall is the VBC's largest exhibit space at 100,800 sq ft (9,365 m ); it includes a large lobby area, a partitionable ballroom, and an underground parking garage. Its construction involved eliminating a portion of Williams Avenue and re-routing part of Monroe Street. A sky walk connecting South Hall to

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1184-429: The sports arena, an exhibit hall space now known as East Hall, a concert hall, a playhouse, and museum space for the Huntsville Museum of Art . The arena as originally built seated about 8,000 for concerts, and included scoreboards and a refrigerated floor for ice events. The concert hall included an orchestra rehearsal room, dressing space for performers, and a lounge for patrons. The facility, originally referred to as

1221-514: The youth bowler requests the use of the scholarships for college. The bowling scholarships can be from winning tournaments to filling out scholarship application forms. Recently the validity of the term "scholarship" for the SMART program has been questioned by the MHSAA (Michigan High School Athletic Association). The association questions where the education requirements are in earning the "scholarships". Most bowling scholarships earned are from winning

1258-482: Was constructed as a high-end exhibit and ballroom space, with carpeting and decorative lighting. A second-floor gallery can be opened to the main space or closed off, and it has a variety of meeting rooms and salons attached. In 1993 the city was bidding to host a meeting of the American Bowling Congress , which would require space for bowling lanes and exhibits for six months. In order to supply

1295-621: Was formed in 2005 by a merger of the American Bowling Congress —the original codifier of all tenpin bowling standards, rules, and regulations from 1895 onwards; the Women's International Bowling Congress —founded in 1916, as the female bowlers' counterpart to the then all-male ABC; the Young American Bowling Alliance ; and USA Bowling . The USBC's headquarters are located in Arlington, Texas , after having moved from

1332-680: Was the first time Elvis had played that many consecutive performances in a venue outside of Las Vegas or Stateline, Nevada . The VBC is the home of the Huntsville Havoc of the SPHL . Former sports teams at the VBC include the Huntsville Lasers and Huntsville Flight basketball teams, the Huntsville Blast , Huntsville Tornado and Huntsville Channel Cats ice hockey teams, the Huntsville Fire ( EISL ) soccer team,

1369-512: Was won by Chris Barnes , Lynda's husband. In 2009, USBC began showing championship competition live free on its website, BOWL.com. In 2011, USBC moved this coverage to its YouTube channel, YouTube.com/BowlTV. BowlTV's coverage was primarily anchored by Lucas Wiseman before he left the organization in December 2015. In 2018 controversy emerged over Executive Director Chad Murphy for bullying employees and committee members and manipulating

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