National Indoor Football League was a professional indoor football league 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.
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 mostly complete schedule, with few cancellations. From 2004 to 2007, the NIFL would experience the ups and downs of any minor professional league. The NIFL's final season was 2007.
NIFL Season-by-season[]
Former Teams[]
Teams that left the NIFL to join (or plan to join) another league[]
- Beaumont Drillers - joined APFL in 2008 and has since folded
- Evansville BlueCats - now in Indoor Football League
- 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 - now in Indoor Football League
- Ohio Valley Greyhounds - now in Indoor Football League
- Omaha Beef - now in Indoor Football League
- Osceola Football - now in World Indoor Football League as Osceola Ghostriders
- River City Rage - now in Indoor Football League
- 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 - now in Indoor 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 Indoor Football League
- Sioux Falls Storm - now in Indoor Football League
- Southwest Louisiana Swashbucklers - Joined the Indoor Football League and shortened their name until joining newly created Southern Indoor Football League in 2009
- Tri-Cities Fever- now in Indoor Football League
- Tupelo FireAnts - joined United Indoor Football, then folded after one season there
- Wyoming Cavalry (Casper, WY) - now in Indoor Football League
Defunct teams/failed expansion[]
- 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
- Dayton Bulldogs
- Dayton Warbirds
- Daytona Beach Hawgs
- Denver Aviators
- Eugene Mercury
- Florida Frenzy
- Fort Myers Tarpons
- Fort Worth Sixers
- Green Cove Lions – Evidently formerly the Jacksonville Stallions, they folded in 2007 before ever playing a home game.[1]
- Greensboro Revolution
- Hammond Heroes
- Houma Bayou Bucks
- Jacksonville Stallions - folded before playing a game, and evidently became the Green Cove Lions.[1]
- Johnstown J Dogs
- Kissimmee Kreatures
- La Crosse Night Train
- Lake Charles Land Sharks
- Lakeland Thunderbolts - won American Indoor Football Association 2007
- Lincoln Capitols
- Los Angeles Lynx
- Louisiana Bayou Beast
- Louisiana Rangers
- Lubbock Gunslingers
- Lubbock Lone Stars
- Miami Vice Squad
- Mississippi Fire Dogs
- Mobile Seagulls
- Myrtle Beach Stingrays
- New Jersey XTreme
- Oklahoma Crude
- Pomona Cool Riders
- Port St. Lucie Mustangs
- Pueblo Pistols
- Rapid City Flying Aces
- River Cities LocoMotives
- River City Renegades
- San Bernardino Bucking Bulls
- St. Joseph Cyclones
- San Antonio Steers
- Southern Oregon Heat
- Staten Island Xtreme
- Tennessee Riverhawks
- Tennessee River Sharks
- Tennessee ThunderCats
- Tri-City Diesel
- Tri-Valley Ranchers
- Twin City Gators
- Utah Express
- Utah Rattlers
- Utah Warriors
- Waco Marshals
- Wichita Falls Thunder
- Winston-Salem Energy
- 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[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Anne Marie Apollo (June 6, 2007). "Short, strange season for Green Cove Lions". The Florida Times-Union. http://jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/060607/met_175051249.shtml. Retrieved December 14, 2010.