Mayor Brown and Southern Sports and Entertainment, LLC announced today that the Knoxville Nighthawks would be the city's entry into the newly-formed Professional Indoor Football League.

The announcement came today during a press conference in the lobby of the Knoxville Civic Coliseum.

The Nighthawks will play their 2012 home games in the Knoxville Civic Coliseum. The franchise will be owned by SSE, which is a wholely owned company of KBM Enterprises. KBM has been doing business in Alabama and Tennessee for over 30 years.

KnoxvilleNightHawks.com Knoxville will play a 12-game regular-season schedule that includes six home dates. Other teams in the PIFL will be announced soon along with the league schedule.

"We are excited to bring arena-style football to Knoxville and the East Tennessee area,'' SSE chief executive officer Jeff Knight said. "We also look forward to continuing to provide quality professional football in a family environment with family-friendly prices." KBM, Inc.'s Chairman Jim Knight, presented Knoxville Mayor Daniel T. Brown with a Nighthawks jersey during the event.

The Knight family has a long history of involvement in East Tennessee. Jim, his brothers and one son graduated from Tennessee Tech in Cookeville. Jim's oldest brother earned a Ph.d from UT and he has grandchildren currently attending college on the campus.

"I'm just tickled to be part of the Knoxville community,'' Jim Knight said. "We have had great support. I've talked to a lot of people about bringing indoor football to Knoxville and I haven't got a single negative response. We are committed to Knoxville for the long haul."

The Nighthawks website is located at www.knoxvillenighthawks.com and the team can be visited on facebook at Knoxville Nighthawks.