The Intense Football League (IFL) was a professional indoor football

minor league Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in N ...

that began operations in 2004. Its focus was in

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

, but it was notable for being the first professional football league to place a franchise in

Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S ...

History

During its first season, the

El Paso Rumble EL, El or el may refer to: Religion * El (deity), a Semitic word for "God" People * EL (rapper) (born 1983), stage name of Elorm Adablah, a Ghanaian rapper and sound engineer * El DeBarge, music artist * El Franco Lee (1949–2016), American po ...

folded and the league oversaw operations of the team until the end of the season. In 2005, the Amarillo Dusters left for the AF2, while the other teams joined the National Indoor Football League and the league suspended operations. In 2006, the Intense Football League restarted. Three of the original teams (Odessa, San Angelo and Corpus Christi) returned to the IFL, joined by new teams from Belton, Lake Charles, and Laredo. Following the 2006 season, the Laredo Lobos left for AF2, but the league expanded with three new teams for 2007 in the

Frisco Thunder The Frisco Thunder was an indoor football team in Frisco, Texas. They were members of the Intense Football League and played their home games at the Dr Pepper Arena. The Thunder began play in the Intense Football League. As an expansion team ...

, Katy Ruff Riders, and Alaska Wild (notable for being the first ever professional football team in the state of

). For 2008 another Alaskan team was added with the Fairbanks Grizzlies. The league planned to add a team in

El Paso El Paso (; "the pass") is a city in and the seat of El Paso County in the western corner of the U.S. state of Texas. The 2020 population of the city from the U.S. Census Bureau was 678,815, making it the 23rd-largest city in the U.S., the ...

for 2009. On July 22, 2008, it was announced that the IFL would be merging with United Indoor Football for the upcoming 2009 season, following the National Indoor Bowl Championship between both leagues' champions on August 2. On August 1 it was announced the new league would be called

Indoor Football League The Indoor Football League (IFL) is a professional indoor American football league created in 2008 out of the merger between the Intense Football League and United Indoor Football. It has one of the largest number of currently active teams am ...

.National Championship Game Leads to Merger Between UIF and IFL - Oursportscentral.com, July 22, 2008
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Seasons

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

* 2006 *

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto ...

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing ...

All-time IFL teams

* Alaska Wild (2007–2008) * Amarillo Dusters (2004) * CenTex Barracudas (2006–2008) * Corpus Christi Hammerheads (2004, 2006–2008) *

(2004) * Fairbanks Grizzlies (2008) *

(2007–2008) * Katy Ruff Riders (2007–2008) * Laredo Lobos (2006) * Louisiana Swashbucklers (2006–2008) * Lubbock Lone Stars (2004) * Odessa Roughnecks (2004, 2006–2008) * San Angelo Stampede Express (2004, 2006–2008)

References

External links

* {{Profootball Defunct indoor American football leagues in the United States Sports leagues established in 2003 2003 establishments in the United States Sports leagues disestablished in 2008 2008 disestablishments in the United States

History

Seasons

All-time IFL teams

See also

References

External links