Indoor Football League

The Indoor Football League (IFL) is a professional indoor American football league in the United States. It was formed in 2008 when the Intense Football League and United Indoor Football merged. Today, it has 14 teams split between the Eastern Conference and Western Conference.

Each season lasts 19 weeks, running from March to July, with teams playing 16 games. After the regular season, the top four teams from each conference compete in playoffs that end with the IFL National Championship in late August.

Players earn between US$250 and US$500 for each game they play, plus a weekly bonus for winners. Some teams also help with housing during the season. The Sioux Falls Storm have won the most championships, with seven, while the current champions are the Vegas Knight Hawks.

History

The Indoor Football League (IFL) started as a combination of two other leagues, the Intense Football League and United Indoor Football. This merger happened right before the 2008 National Indoor Bowl Championship game. The Sioux Falls Storm, from the United Indoor Football, won against the Louisiana Swashbucklers from the Intense Football League with a score of 54–42.

In its early years, the IFL saw many teams join and leave. Some teams came from other leagues, and new teams were created just for the IFL. Over time, the league changed its structure, adding and removing teams based on their performance and ability to stay active. Some teams took breaks for a season or left permanently. Despite these changes, the IFL continued to grow, adding new teams from different places and even bringing back teams that had been away.

The league faced challenges like seasons being cancelled due to unexpected events, but it kept evolving. Recently, the IFL has been expanding to new cities and adding more teams, making it one of the leading indoor football leagues in the United States.

Teams

Current

For the 2025 season, the league was split into two conferences.

Map of teams

!Rattlers

Rattlers

!Freight

Freight

!Blizzard

Blizzard

!Barnstormers

Barnstormers

!Sharks

Sharks

!Chupacabras

Chupacabras

!Wranglers

Wranglers

!Pirates

Pirates

!Steamwheelers

Steamwheelers

!Gunslingers

Gunslingers

!Strike Force

Strike Force

!Sugar Skulls

Sugar Skulls

!Oilers

Oilers

!Knight Hawks

Knight Hawks

Current IFL team locations (Eastern Conference teams in blue; Western Conference teams in red)

Former

• Abilene Ruff Riders – Left IFL after 2010 season for the Southern Indoor Football League and later folded in 2013.
• Alaska Wild – Team stopped playing nine games into the 2010 season. The coach and players left to join other teams, and the team ran out of money.
• Amarillo Venom – Left IFL after 2011 season for the Lone Star Football League.
• Arctic Predators – Originally planned to join in 2010, but problems between the owners and coach led to the team moving and becoming the Kent Predators. (A different team with the same name later joined the American Indoor Football Association.)
• Arizona Adrenaline – Stopped playing before the end of the 2011 season. Some games were played with a replacement team.
• Austin Turfcats – Stopped after the 2010 season.
• Billings Outlaws – The owner stopped the 2011 season and never came back.
• Billings Wolves – The owner couldn’t find someone to buy the team after the 2016 season and didn’t return.
• Binghamton – The owner stopped the 2012 season and never came back.^{[citation needed]}
• Bloomington Edge – Left IFL after 2012 season; came back for 2018 but was not allowed to play that season. They tried to come back in 2019 but weren’t included. In 2020, they planned to join the American Arena League, but lost the arena to another tenant and stopped.
• Bricktown Brawlers – Stopped before the end of the 2011 season. Final games were played with a replacement team.
• Cedar Rapids Titans/River Kings – Played as the Titans from 2012 to 2018. They were sold and renamed River Kings for 2019, but stopped after the 2020 season was cancelled. The team came back in 2024 with a different group but had management problems.
• CenTex Barracudas – Originally planned to join in 2009 but weren’t included in the final lineup.
• Charlotte Speed – Planned to play in 2013 but left for the PIFL instead.
• Cheyenne Warriors – The owner died before the 2013 season, and the team stopped before playing. They played a few games in another league but shut down completely in May 2013.
• Chicago Slaughter – Left IFL after 2013 season to join the Continental Indoor Football League, but never played in it.
• Colorado Crush – The website closed after the 2017 season when their owners, Project FANchise, left to start their own league.
• Columbus Wild Dogs – Announced in 2019 to start in 2021. The original owners left before the 2022 season, and the team never started.
• Corpus Christi Hammerheads – Left IFL after 2010 season for the Southern Indoor Football League.
• Dakota Bucks - The team stopped for 2023 because of an insurance problem. They changed their name from Bismarck Bucks to Dakota Bucks in 2024, planning to return in 2025, either in Bismarck or Fargo. The team wasn’t included in the 2025 schedule.
• El Paso Generals – The owners tried to sell the team after the 2009 season and never came back.
• Everett Raptors – The team stopped after the 2012 season.
• Everett Destroyers – Planned to join in 2009 but weren’t included in the final lineup.
• Fairbanks Grizzlies – The owner stopped the 2012 season and never came back.
• Frisco Fighters - The team stopped for the 2025 season and wasn’t included in the 2026 schedule.
• Frisco Thunder – Planned to join in 2009 but decided to wait while Dr Pepper Arena was being renovated and never returned.
• La Crosse Spartans – The owners stopped the team and started the Cedar Rapids Titans. They couldn’t find new owners in 2011 and never came back.
• Lehigh Valley Steelhawks – Left IFL after 2012 season for the Professional Indoor Football League.
• Louisiana Swashbucklers – Were part of the Intense Football League in 2008; left before the Indoor Football League started and joined the Southern Indoor Football League.
• Louisville Xtreme – Joined for the 2021 season but were removed after five games.
• Maryland Maniacs – The owner stopped the 2011 season and never came back.
• Minnesota Axemen – The league removed the team in 2015 because they didn’t meet requirements.
• Minnesota Havok – Planned to join in 2016 but were removed one month before the season for not meeting standards.
• New Mexico Stars – Left IFL after 2012 season for the Lone Star Football League.
• Nebraska Danger – Joined in 2011; the owner tried to sell the team after the 2019 season but couldn’t find a buyer before 2020.
• Omaha Beef – Left IFL after 2012 season for the Champions Professional Indoor Football League.
• Reading Express – Took a year off in 2013 and never came back.
• Richmond Revolution – The owner stopped the 2012 season and never came back.
• RiverCity Rage – The owner stopped the team to focus on the Omaha Beef.
• Rochester Raiders – The owner stopped the 2011 season and never came back.
• Saginaw Sting – Left for the Ultimate Indoor Football League after sitting out the 2010 season.
• Salt Lake Screaming Eagles – After Project FANchise left the IFL to start a new league, the Screaming Eagles couldn’t find new owners.
• San Angelo Stampede Express – The owner stopped the 2011 season and never came back.
• Sioux City Bandits – Left IFL after 2010 season for the American Professional Football League.
• Sioux Falls Storm - The team stopped for 2025 after the arena wouldn’t renew their lease. They hoped to return in 2026 but couldn’t solve the arena problem and were excluded from the 2026 schedule.
• Spokane Empire – The owner stopped after the 2017 season and later got the Spokane Shock brand back. The Shock came back to the league in 2020.
• Spokane Shock – Came back for the 2020 season (which was cancelled) and played in 2021. They were removed before the 2022 season after losing their arena lease.
• Texas Revolution – Left IFL after 2014 season, and the team is no longer active.
• Tri-Cities Fever – Stopped after the 2016 season but remained in good standing with the league. The current owners have no plans to return.
• Tucson Thunder Kats – Planned to join the AIFA West before officially joining the IFL but stopped in November 2010 due to money problems.
• West Michigan Ironmen – Tried to join IFL in 2018 from the CIF but weren’t allowed. The team was sold in 2018, and the new owners planned to rejoin the CIF in 2019 but weren’t included. They joined Midwest Professional Indoor Football in 2025.
• West Michigan ThunderHawks – The owner stopped the 2011 season and never came back.
• Wenatchee Valley Venom – The owner stopped the 2012 season and never came back.
• West Texas Roughnecks – Left IFL after 2011 season for the Lone Star Football League.
• Wichita Falls Nighthawks – Left for Champions Indoor Football after the 2017 season but stopped because of league problems.
• Wichita Wild – Left IFL after the 2012 season for the Champions Indoor Football League. Stopped in 2014.
• Wyoming Cavalry – The owner stopped in September 2014.

Timeline

IFL National Championship

Main article: IFL National Championship

The IFL Championship Game, also called the United Bowl, has been played every year since 2009. The current champions are the Arizona Rattlers, who won in 2024 against a team from Massachusetts in Las Vegas.

The IFL took the "United Bowl" name from a league that merged with another to help create the IFL. The first United Bowl games were won by the Sioux Falls Storm. In 2022, the IFL began holding its championship game at the Lee's Family Forum in Henderson, Nevada.

Media

In 2021, the Indoor Football League (IFL) made a deal with Stadium to show their weekly game on national TV. In 2023, the IFL signed with the CBS Sports Network to broadcast the National Championship games for the next three years.

In 2025, the IFL started its own streaming service called IFL Network to show all games live online. In 2026, the IFL planned to show some games on FanDuel Sports Network’s regional channels and others on Yahoo! Sports Network. However, after FanDuel announced it would close, the IFL changed its plan. Yahoo! Sports Network will now show more games, including the National Championship. Another company bought the rights to the remaining games and will make them subscription-only. The IFL Network will still be available for highlights and other content without a subscription.

Hall of Fame

The Indoor Football League Hall of Fame honors the best players, coaches, and contributors to the league. It started in 2014 with three people being added. From 2014 to 2019, each year three people were added, but no one was added in 2020. In 2021, four people were added. The Hall of Fame includes people who helped the IFL and its two older leagues before it joined together. Right now, there is no building for the Hall of Fame; instead, the names are kept online.

To be in the Hall of Fame, a person must have helped the league a lot, but there are no strict rules. Starting in 2021, the league began a special game at the start of each season to honor that year's new members. Before that, they were honored during the big championship game called the United Bowl.

Awards

The Indoor Football League gives out several special awards each year to honor the best players and teams. One important award is the Most Valuable Player, or IFL MVP, given to the player who was the most helpful to their team during the regular season. Another award is for the Offensive Player of the Year, which goes to the best offensive player each season. There is also a Coach of the Year award for the best coach, and a Franchise of the Year award for the team with the best overall performance and operations.