The Amarillo Venom were a professional indoor football team based in

Amarillo, Texas Amarillo ( ; Spanish language, Spanish for "yellow") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Potter County, Texas, Potter County, though most of the southern half of the city extends into Randall County, Texas, Randall County ...

. They played their home games at the

Amarillo Civic Center The Amarillo Civic Center is a multi-purpose convention center in Amarillo, Texas. It consists of multiple facilities including: * A 2,848-seat auditorium with 2,324 permanent seats used for concerts, Broadway shows and other events. * The Ca ...

. The Venom began play as the Amarillo Dusters in 2004 as a charter member of the

Intense Football League The Intense Football League (IFL) was a professional indoor football minor league that began operations in 2004. Its focus was in Texas, but it was notable for being the first professional football league to place a franchise in Alaska. History ...

, a small indoor football league based in

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

. They won the championship in their first and only season with the Intense Football League. In 2005, the Dusters became the first team to leave the Intense Football League and join the

AF2 The AF2 (often styled as af2, and short for arenafootball2) was the Arena Football League's developmental league; it was founded in 1999 and played its first season in 2000. Like its parent AFL, the AF2 played using the same arena football r ...

, the minor league of the

Arena Football League The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 Arena Football League season, 1987 season, making it the third longest-runnin ...

, where they played for four seasons until the AF2's folding in 2009. At that point, the team held a fan vote as to whether to join some of their AF2 brethren in the new Arena Football 1 (later gaining rights to the name as Arena Football League) or enjoy numerous Texas rivalries in the

Indoor Football League The Indoor Football League (IFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional indoor American football league in the United States. The league comprises 14 teams, divided equally between the Eastern Conference (EC) and Western Conference ...

. In 2009, it was announced that the Dusters would be moving to the Indoor Football League for the 2010 season. It was then announced that the Dusters would have to be renamed because the Arena Football League owned the rights to the Dusters name and logo and the team became the Amarillo Venom. The Venom then joined the

Lone Star Football League The Lone Star Football League (LSFL) was a regional professional indoor football minor league that played three seasons from 2012 to 2014. All of the LSFL's charter teams were based in the state of Texas, with five teams coming from the Souther ...

for the 2012 season, which eventually merged into

Champions Indoor Football Champions Indoor Football (CIF) was a professional indoor American football minor league created in 2014 out of the merger between the Champions Professional Indoor Football League (CPIFL) and Lone Star Football League (LSFL), plus one team fr ...

(CIF) prior to the 2015 season. Prior to the 2021 season, the Venom withdrew from the CIF and later formed the

Arena Football Association The Arena Football Association (AFA) was a professional indoor football league based in Texas, Kansas and Mississippi, United States. The league began operation in June 2021 with five teams, known that season as the Lone Star Series. The league ...

for the 2022 season. However, the team suspended operations in February 2022. The team was featured on an episode of ''Only in America'', a show that aired on the

Discovery Times Investigation Discovery (stylized and branded on-air as ID since 2008) is an American multinational pay television network dedicated to true crime documentaries, similar to corporate sibling HLN. It is owned by Warner Bros. Discovery's netwo ...

channel. The Venom were relaunched for the 2024 season as members of the revived

American Indoor Football American Indoor Football (AIF) is a professional Indoor American football, indoor football league, one of the several regional professional indoor football leagues in North America. The AIFL began as a regional league with six franchises on the ...

league, but did not complete the season and went silent on May 30, 2024. On July 26, 2024, it was announced that the team will be rebranded back to the Dusters for the 2025 season. On August 20, 2024, it was announced that the Dusters had joined the

National Arena League The National Arena League (NAL) is a professional indoor football league that began play in 2017. As of the end of the 2024 season, the league consisted of five teams. A team's typical payroll budget is $600,000 per season, but as of the 2022 ...

for that season. However, their membership was terminated on February 2, 2025. The team eventually folded for good in 2025 following the announcement of the return of and relcation of the West Texas Warbirds to Amarillo.

History

Amarillo Dusters (2004–2009)

Expansion championship (2004)

The Amarillo Dusters were led by head coach Don Carthel and finished their only season in the

with a 13–3 record en route to a league championship over the Lubbock Lone Stars. The Dusters left the league to play in the

the following season.

Move to AF2 (2005–2009)

In their first year in the AF2, the Amarillo Dusters reached the playoffs with an 8–8 record, which was good enough for a wildcard. The Dusters, quarterbacked by Julian Reese, came from 21 points down at the start of the fourth quarter to win Round 1 over the

Oklahoma City Yard Dawgz The Oklahoma City Yard Dawgz were an arena football team. The team began play as a 2004 expansion team of the Arena Football League's minor league af2 before becoming a member of the AFL in 2010. Formerly a tenant of the Ford Center from 2004 ...

. The Dusters fell in Round 2 to the eventual champion

Memphis Xplorers The Memphis Xplorers were a professional arena football team. They were a 2001 expansion member of the af2. They played their home games at DeSoto Civic Center in Southaven, Mississippi (a suburb of Memphis, Tennessee). The team's logo featu ...

. The Dusters tried to build on the moderate success they had in 2005. However, in 2006, the team suffered many injuries and failed to make it to the AF2 playoffs. Quarterback Steve Panella was injured early in the season, forcing numerous backups to take the job. They ended the season with a 4–12 record. Carthel left to take the head coaching job at

West Texas A&M West Texas A&M University (WTAMU or WT) is a public university in Canyon, Texas, United States. It is the northernmost campus of the Texas A&M University System and accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, Southern Associat ...

two games into the Dusters first AF2 season. For 2005, Steve Perdue took over the head coaching job and lead the team playoffs and a first round victory over the Oklahoma City Yard Dawgs. Looking to rebound after the previous losing season, injuries plagued the Dusters' offense. After a win against the

Lubbock Renegades The Lubbock Renegades were an expansion member of the AF2. The team played its home games at the City Bank Coliseum, which was the former home of the Intense Football League, IFL/National Indoor Football League, NIFL team, the Lubbock Gunslin ...

the Dusters struggled for the remainder of the year but were still able end the

Quincy Carter LaVonya Quintelle "Quincy" Carter (born October 13, 1977) is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Georgia Bulldogs and was selected in the ...

-led Bossier-Shreveport Battle Wings' perfect season with a 51–49 upset. On July 5, 2008, Dusters

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offense ...

Donte Newsome was shot to death outside of a nightclub in

Huntington, West Virginia Huntington is a city in Cabell County, West Virginia, Cabell and Wayne County, West Virginia, Wayne counties in the U.S. state of West Virginia. The County seat, seat of Cabell County, the city is located at the confluence of the Ohio River, O ...

, home of his alma mater

Marshall University Marshall University is a public university, public research university in Huntington, West Virginia, United States. It was founded in 1837 and is named after John Marshall, the fourth Chief Justice of the United States, chief justice of the Uni ...

. In 2008, under the leadership of head coach Chris MacKeown and quarterback Julian Reese, the Amarillo Dusters went 10–9 and played for the AF2 National Conference

ArenaCup The ArenaCup was the af2's championship game. For the league's first five years, it was held at the arena of the higher seeded team. However, the 2005 ArenaCup was the first to be played at a neutral site in Bossier City, Louisiana. The 2006 Ar ...

Finals. Following the Dusters most successful season in their AF2 history, MacKeown moved up to the

as the offensive coordinator for

John Elway John Albert Elway Jr. (born June 28, 1960) is an American former professional football quarterback who spent his entire 16-year career with the Denver Broncos of the National Football League (NFL). Following his playing career, he then spent 1 ...

Colorado Crush The Colorado Crush were an arena football team based in Denver, Colorado. They began play as a 2003 Arena Football League expansion team. The Crush played in the Central Division of the American Conference until the Arena Football League suspen ...

. On December 21, 2008, the Dusters introduced a new color scheme for the team with crimson, grey, and black.

Amarillo Venom (2010–2021, 2024)

Moving to the IFL (2010–2011)

With the AF2 breaking up and its larger market teams moving to the newly reformed

, the Dusters were forced to find a new league. On October 9, 2009, it was announced that, because of a 65–35 percent margin in the fan vote, the Dusters would be moving to the Indoor Football League for the 2010 season. Owner Randy Sanders applied for his team's spot in the

(IFL) and they were accepted as an expansion franchise. It was announced on January 28, 2010, that the Dusters would have to be renamed, because the

owned the rights to the Dusters' name and logo. On February 8, the new Amarillo Venom name and logo was unveiled.

=2011 season

Move to the LSFL (2012–2014)

In August 2011, the Venom were sold to local couple Stephanie and Toby Tucker, with Stephanie taking on the role of general manager. For the 2012 season, the Venom joined the

(LSFL). In their inaugural season in the LSFL they won the 2012 championship. Under the leadership of quarterback Nate Davis and coach Julian Reese, the Venom finished the 2013 season with a 9–3 record. In the playoffs, the finished off the

Abilene Bombers The Abilene Bombers were a professional indoor football team. The Bombers played their home games at the Taylor County Expo Center, in Abilene, Texas. Team history The Bombers began play as the Katy Ruff Riders, a 2007 expansion team of the In ...

, 70–40. On July 13, 2013, they faced the Laredo Rattlesnakes, where they won 70–69, winning back-to-back championships in the LSFL. Davis won the MVP of the Game.

Champions Indoor Football (2015–2020)

In 2014, after the completion of their third season in the LSFL, the league merged with

Champions Professional Indoor Football League The Champions Professional Indoor Football League (CPIFL) was an indoor football minor league based along the Midwestern United States region. The league began play in February 2013. In August 2014, the CPIFL and Lone Star Football League (LSFL) ...

to become

. The Venom qualified for the playoffs in each of the next five seasons, including making it to the 2016 championship game where they lost to the

Wichita Force The Wichita Force were a professional indoor football team based in Wichita, Kansas, with home games in Wichita Ice Center. The team was founded in 2014 as an expansion franchise in the Champions Indoor Football league for the 2015 season. The ...

48–45. Prior to the start of the 2020 season, the onset of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

caused the season to be cancelled.

Lone Star Series and Arena Football Association (2021–2022)

The 2021 season was then delayed, but the local capacity and interstate travel restrictions in Texas led the Venom and the West Texas Warbirds to withdraw from participating in the 2021 CIF season. The Venom and Warbirds instead launched the Lone Star Series, a series of games between the two CIF Texas teams and a few other Texas-based semiprofessional teams. Amarillo lost the series championship game to West Texas, 79–60. Amarillo and West Texas officially left the CIF and turned their Lone Star Series from the previous season into the Arena Football Association (AFA) in November 2021. The new league also announced its initial membership consisting of former Lone Star Series member Texas Jets, former

American Arena League The American Arena League (AAL) is a professional Indoor American football, indoor football minor league that began playing in 2018. The league was initiated by a merger between Arena Pro Football (APF) and the Can-Am Indoor Football League (Ca ...

champions North Texas Bulls, the dormant

Rio Grande Valley Dorados The Rio Grande Valley Dorados were a professional arena football team. They began playing in 2004 as an expansion member of af2, the minor league to the Arena Football League. They played their home games at Obra Homes Field at Dodge Arena in ...

, and the Texas Crude. On February 17, 2022, team co-owner Stephanie Tucker announced the team had withdrawn from participating in the AFA for the 2022 season and that the team was for sale.

American Indoor Football (2024)

On August 24, 2023, the AIF announced that the Venom would return and join the AIF for the 2024 season. The team finished a very successful season led by new owner, Robert Reyna. However, have gone silent since May 24, 2024, among internal turmoil in AIF.

Return of... then folding of the Dusters (2025)

On July 26, 2024, the Venom announced that they were rebranding back to their original name, the Amarillo Dusters. This in part due to the trademark previously held by the original

has been allowed to elapse. On August 20, 2024, the

announced that the Dusters were joining the league for the 2025 season. And on that same day, the team announced that Duane Bailey would become a new minority owner. However, on February 2, the Dusters were terminated as a member of the league, ostensibly due to not meeting league obligations. The owner of the Corpus Christi Tritons, another NAL member that had been dropped from the league on similar pretenses, stated that the Tritons, Dusters, and several other teams had been expelled from the league solely because the NAL could not assemble a schedule and book all of the necessary arenas for each date, and falsely blamed the teams for noncompliance when they had in fact complied with the NAL's requests. Indoor football is scheduled to return to Amarillo in 2026 with an announced relocation and reactivation of the West Texas Warbirds.

Season-by-season results

Players

Current roster

Awards and honors

Staff

Head coaches

''Note: Statistics are correct through the 2025 National Arena League season.''

Notes

External links

Official website

Amarillo Dusters at ArenaFan

2008 af2 Stats
{{Panhandle Sports National Arena League teams Intense Football League teams Af2 teams Arena Football League in Texas Former Indoor Football League teams Lone Star Football League teams Champions Indoor Football teams American Indoor Football teams American football teams in Texas Sports in Amarillo, Texas American football teams established in 2003 2003 establishments in Texas