National Indoor Football League
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| National Indoor Football League | |
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| Sport | Indoor football |
| Founded | 2001 |
| No. of teams | 2 |
| Country(ies) |  United States |
| Most recent champion(s) |
San Diego Shockwave |
| Official website | www.niflfootball.com |
National Indoor Football League was a minor league indoor football league that is based in the United States. For their first six years, the league had teams in markets not covered by either the Arena Football League or its developmental league, af2, however, that changed briefly with their expansion into AFL markets such as Atlanta, Denver, and Los Angeles, and af2 markets such as Fort Myers and Houston.
Contents |
History
The NIFL, based in Lafayette, Louisiana, was founded by Carolyn Shiver. The league started operations in 2001, with many teams coming from Indoor Football League being bought the previous year and folding operations. In 2002, the league added in the teams from the Indoor Professional Football League. 2003 was the most successful year for the league as 24 teams played a complete schedule, with no cancellations.
Before the 2005 season, nine teams left the league to form United Indoor Football. That same year though, the Intense Football League ceased operations and four teams from there joined the league. Those teams however, left the league before the 2006 season started.
The 2006 season, was the most chaotic for the league to that point. Ten expansion teams were added to the league, but nine of them had problems that reflected badly on the league. The most notable situation was the owner of the Montgomery Maulers firing the entire team over pay issues, which got covered in Sports Illustrated and ESPN. None of the ten expansion teams returned to the league for the next season.
After the 2006 season, more than half the league's franchises left for other indoor leagues. In addition to the WIFL, teams left for UIF, the af2, and the AIFA. The NIFL started play in 2007 with 5 franchises from the 2006 and 19 expansion teams. The 2007 was chaotic with several teams folding and being suspended by the league. The San Diego Shockwave were considered the league Champions.
Former Teams
Teams that left the NIFL to join (or plan to join) another league
- Beaumont Drillers - Moved to APFL
- Billings Outlaws - now in United Indoor Football
- Corpus Christi Hammerheads - returned to Intense Football League
- Evansville BlueCats - now in United Indoor Football
- Everett Hawks - joined the af2 in 2007 and has since folded
- Fayetteville Guard - now in American Indoor Football Association
- Fort Wayne Freedom - joined United Indoor Football, then had assets bought out by Fort Wayne Fusion of af2
- Greenville Riverhawks - now in American Indoor Football Association as Johnstown Riverhawks
- Katy Copperheads - now in af2 as Texas Copperheads
- Lexington Horsemen - now in af2
- Montgomery Maulers - now in American Indoor Football Association as Montgomery Bears
- Odessa Roughnecks - returned to Intense Football League
- Ohio Valley Greyhounds - now in United Indoor Football
- Omaha Beef - now in United Indoor Football
- Osceola Football - now in World Indoor Football League as Osceola Ghostriders
- River City Rage - now in United Indoor Football
- Rome Renegades - joined American Indoor Football League, then left for World Indoor Football League, but folded before playing a single game there.
- San Angelo Stampede - returned to Intense Football League
- San Diego Shockwave - Has announced going on hiatus for 2008 but plans on joining another league for 2009
- Sarasota Knights - Moved to APFL as Florida Knights
- Sioux City Bandits - now in United Indoor Football
- Sioux Falls Storm - now in United Indoor Football
- Southwest Louisiana Swashbucklers - joined Intense Football League and shortened their name to Louisiana Swashbucklers
- Tri-Cities Fever - now in af2
- Tupelo FireAnts - joined United Indoor Football, then folded after one season there
- Wyoming Cavalry (Casper, WY) - now in American Indoor Football Association
Defunct teams/failed expansion
- Alameda Action
- Arkansas Stars
- Atlanta Thoroughbreds
- Atlantic City CardSharks
- Austin Knights
- Austin Rockers
- Bay Bandits
- Big Sky Thunder
- Billings Mavericks
- Bismarck Roughriders
- Charleston Sandsharks
- Cincinnati Marshals
- Colorado Castle Rocks
- Colorado Venom
- Colorado Wild Riders
- Columbia Stingers
- Dallas
- Dayton Bulldogs
- Dayton Warbirds
- Daytona Beach Hawgs
- Denver Aviators
- Eugene Mercury
- Florida Frenzy
- Fort Myers Tarpons
- Fort Worth Sixers
- Fresno Fury
- Green Cove Lions
- Greensboro Revolution
- Hattiesburg Playmakers
- Hammond Heroes
- Houma Bayou Bucks
- Houston Wild Riders
- Johnstown J Dogs
- Kissimmee Kreatures
- La Crosse Night Train
- Lake Charles Land Sharks
- Lakeland Thunderbolts - won American Indoor Football Association 2007
- Lincoln Capitols
- Long Beach Muscle Heads
- Los Angeles Diamonds
- Los Angeles Lynx
- Louisiana Bayou Beast
- Louisiana Rangers
- Lubbock Gunslingers
- Lubbock Lone Stars
- Miami Vice Squad
- Mississippi Fire Dogs
- Mobile Muskateers
- Mobile Seagulls
- Myrtle Beach Stingrays
- New Jersey XTreme
- Oklahoma Crude
- Palm Beach Phantoms
- Palm Beach Waves
- Pomona Cool Riders
- Port St. Lucie Mustangs
- Pueblo Pistols
- Rapid City Flying Aces
- River Cities LocoMotives
- River City Renegades
- Sacramento Wildfire
- San Bernardino Bucking Bulls
- San Francisco Quakes
- Show Me Believers
- St. Joseph Cyclones
- San Antonio Steers
- Southern Oregon Heat
- Staten Island Xtreme
- Tampa Tide
- Tennessee Riverhawks
- Tennessee River Sharks
- Tennessee ThunderCats
- Topeka Top Guns
- Tri-City Diesel
- Tri-Valley Ranchers
- Twin City Gators
- Utah Express
- Utah Rattlers
- Utah Warriors
- Waco Marshals
- Washington Shockwave
- Watatch Wolverines
- Wichita Falls Thunder
- Winston-Salem Energy
- Winston-Salem Wildcats
- Yakima Shockwave
Indoor Bowl games
| Year | Winner | Loser | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Mississippi Fire Dogs | Wyoming Cavalry | 55-21 |
| 2002 | Ohio Valley Greyhounds | Billings Outlaws | 55-52 |
| 2003 | Ohio Valley Greyhounds | Utah Warriors | 45-37 |
| 2004 | Lexington Horsemen | Sioux Falls Storm | 59-38 |
| 2005 | Tri-Cities Fever | Rome Renegades | 47-31 |
| 2006 | Billings Outlaws | Fayetteville Guard | 59-44 |
| 2007 | San Diego Shockwave | NO PLAYOFF |
See also
Notes
External links
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