The National Indoor Football League (NIFL) 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 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 ...

or its developmental league,

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 ...

, however, that changed briefly with their expansion into AFL markets such as

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

Denver Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...

, and Los Angeles, and AF2 markets such as

Fort Myers A fortification (also called a fort, fortress, fastness, or stronghold) is a military construction designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Lati ...

and

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They ar ...

head coach

Matt LaFleur Matthew Robert LaFleur ( ; born November 3, 1979) is an American professional American football, football coach who is the head coach for the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League (NFL). He has served as the quarterback coach of the W ...

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East div ...

running back Fred Jackson,

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. Since 1975, the team ...

quarterback John Fourcade and

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. Founded in 1933 P ...

Super Bowl running back

Bam Morris Byron ''Bam'' Morris (born January 13, 1972) is an American former professional football player who was a running back for the Pittsburgh Steelers, Chicago Bears, Baltimore Ravens, and the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League (NFL ...

, all played in the NIFL. The league folded in 2008.

History

The NIFL, based in

Lafayette, Louisiana Lafayette ( , ) is the most populous city in and parish seat of Lafayette Parish, Louisiana, Lafayette Parish in the U.S. state of Louisiana, located along the Vermilion River (Louisiana), Vermilion River. It is Louisiana's List of municipaliti ...

, was founded by Carolyn Shiver. The league started operations in 2001, with many teams coming from

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 ...

being bought the previous year and folding operations. In 2002, the league added in the teams from the

Indoor Professional Football League The Indoor Professional Football League (IPFL) was the new incarnation of the Professional Indoor Football League (PIFL), which started in 1998. Two of its teams (the Madison Mad Dogs and the Green Bay Bombers) left the league and their owner ...

. 2003 was the most successful year for the league as 24 teams played a mostly complete schedule, with few cancellations. Before the 2005 season, nine teams left the league to form

United Indoor Football United Indoor Football (UIF) was an indoor American football league in the United States that operated from 2005 to 2008. Ten owners from the National Indoor Football League, including one expansion (the Dayton Warbirds, which never played a ...

. That same year, 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 ...

ceased operations and four teams from there joined the league. Those teams however, left the league before the 2006 season started. For the 2005 season, the NIFL had an agreement with NFL to handle referee assignment and training. 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 The Montgomery Bears were a professional indoor football team that played their home games at the Garrett Coliseum in Montgomery, Alabama. They are a member of the American Indoor Football Association. The team began play as the Montgomery Mau ...

firing the entire team. None of the ten expansion teams returned to the league for the next season. The 2007 season started with the addition of several league-owned expansion teams, primarily to supplement games with the returning teams. However, the teams were all poorly funded and had problems fielding competitive squads. The

San Diego Shockwave The San Diego Shockwave were an indoor football team based in San Diego, California, that competed in the National Indoor Football League. The team played its home games at Viejas Arena, home of the San Diego State Aztecs basketball teams. The ...

were declared the official league champion. The league then officially folded prior to the 2008 season. In 2016, a new website announced that the league operations were relaunched by Carolyn Shiver with announced goal of bringing 34 teams into the former AFL markets starting in the 2017 season. As of June 2016, the league was looking for local team ownership under the league's business model.

Former teams

Teams that left the NIFL to join (or planned to join) another league

Beaumont Drillers The Beaumont Drillers were a professional indoor football team. They played their home games at Ford Arena in Beaumont, Texas. They originally began playing as the Louisiana Rangers in the Indoor Professional Football League (IPFL) in 2000 whe ...

– joined APFL in 2008 and has since folded. *

Evansville BlueCats The Evansville BlueCats were a professional indoor football team based in Evansville, Indiana. They were a member of the United Indoor Football Association (UIF). They debuted in 2003 as a member of the National Indoor Football League. Loca ...

– joined

and folded following 2007 season. *

Everett Hawks The Everett Hawks were a professional minor league arena football team based in Everett, Washington. The team was in existence for five years (2002–07) in three leagues, the Northwest Football League (NWFL), the National Indoor Football League ...

– joined the

in 2007 and has since folded. *

Fayetteville Guard The Fayetteville Guard was a professional indoor football team in the National Indoor Football League (NIFL) and American Indoor Football Association (AIFA). They played home games at the Cumberland County Crown Coliseum from 2005 to 2010. The ...

– moved to

American Indoor Football Association American Indoor Football (AIF) is a professional 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 East Coast of the United ...

, and have since folded. *

Fort Wayne Freedom The Fort Wayne Freedom was a professional indoor football team based in Fort Wayne, Indiana. The team was most recently a member of the Continental Indoor Football League, but originally began play in 2003 as an expansion team in the National ...

– joined

, then had assets bought out by

Fort Wayne Fusion The Fort Wayne Fusion was a 2007 af2 (Arena Football League's minor league) expansion team in the Midwest Division of the American Conference. They played their home games at the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum in Fort Wayne, Indiana, which w ...

. * Greenville Riverhawks – moved to

Johnstown Riverhawks The Johnstown Riverhawks was a professional indoor American football team based out of Johnstown, Pennsylvania. A charter member of the American Indoor Football Association (AIFA), it played its home games at Cambria County War Memorial Arena. H ...

and have since folded. * Katy Copperheads – moved to

as Texas Copperheads and has since folded. *

Lexington Horsemen Lexington or The Lexington may refer to: Places England * Laxton, Nottinghamshire, formerly Lexington Canada *Lexington, a district in Waterloo, Ontario United States *Lexington, Kentucky, the most populous city with this name *Lexington, Mass ...

– Joined

then

later changed to Kentucky Horsemen and finally folded. *

– moved to

Montgomery Bears The Montgomery Bears were a professional indoor football team that played their home games at the Garrett Coliseum in Montgomery, Alabama. They are a member of the American Indoor Football Association. The team began play as the Montgomery Mau ...

and have since folded. *

Odessa Roughnecks ODESSA is an American codename (from the German: ''Organisation der ehemaligen SS-Angehörigen'', meaning: Organization of Former SS Members) coined in 1946 to cover Nazi underground escape-plans made at the end of World War II by a group of ' ...

– moved to

, and have since folded. *

Ohio Valley Greyhounds The Ohio Valley Greyhounds were a professional indoor football team. They began play in 1999 as the Steel Valley Smash, a charter member of the IFL. After the league folded, they moved to the NIFL, became a charter member, and renamed thems ...

– moved to

, and have since folded. *

Omaha Beef The Omaha Beef are a professional indoor American football, indoor football team based in Omaha, Nebraska. The Beef plays their home games at Liberty First Credit Union Arena in nearby Ralston, Nebraska, Ralston. The Beef competes in the National ...

– now in

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 ...

Osceola Football The World Indoor Football League (WIFL) was an indoor football league founded by Harry Pierce, owner of the Rome Renegades and Raleigh Rebels of the American Indoor Football League. The league was a splinter league that formed after disgruntl ...

– moved to

World Indoor Football League The World Indoor Football League was an indoor football league that was to begin in 1988 to compete with the Arena Football League, which was playing its second season in 1988. Some of the teams in the league ran into financial trouble before t ...

Osceola Ghostriders The World Indoor Football League (WIFL) was an indoor football league founded by Harry Pierce, owner of the Rome Renegades and Raleigh Rebels of the American Indoor Football League. The league was a splinter league that formed after disgrunt ...

, and have since folded. *

River City Rage The RiverCity Rage were a professional indoor football team in the Indoor Football League. They played home games at the Family Arena in Saint Charles, Missouri, part of the metropolitan area of St. Louis, Missouri, in past seasons, played in t ...

– moved to

, and have since folded. *

Rome Renegades The National Indoor Football League (NIFL) 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, ...

– joined

American Indoor Football League American Indoor Football (AIF) is a professional 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 East Coast of the United ...

, then left for

, but folded before playing a single game there. *

San Angelo Stampede The San Angelo Stampede Express was a professional indoor football team from San Angelo, Texas owned by Darlene Jones. They were announced as a charter member of the Lone Star Football League but folded before play began in 2012. They played th ...

– moved to

, and have since folded. *

– Has announced going on hiatus for 2008 but planned on joining another league for 2009 and never did. *

Sarasota Knights Sarasota () is a city in and the county seat of Sarasota County, Florida, United States. It is located in Southwest Florida, the southern end of the Tampa Bay area, and north of Fort Myers, Florida, Fort Myers and Punta Gorda, Florida, Punta Gord ...

– Moved to APFL as Florida Knights, and have since folded. *

Sioux City Bandits The Sioux City Bandits are a professional indoor football team based in Sioux City, Iowa, and compete as a member of National Arena League (NAL). The team was founded in 1999 as the Sioux City Attack. In 2001, the team assumed their current nam ...

– now in

. *

Sioux Falls Storm The Sioux Falls Storm are a dormant professional indoor football team based in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. The Storm joined the original Indoor Football League as an expansion team in 1999 as the Sioux Falls Cobras, and first took the field for ...

– now in

. *

Tri-Cities Fever The Tri-Cities Fever was a professional indoor American football, indoor football franchise based in Kennewick, Washington. The Fever joined National Indoor Football League (NIFL) in 2005 as an expansion team. The Fever were owned by Teri Carr. ...

- moved to

and then

and are now dormant. * Tupelo FireAnts – joined

, then folded after one season there. *

Wyoming Cavalry The Wyoming Cavalry are an American professional indoor football team based in Gillette, Wyoming. The Cavalry began play in 2000 as an expansion member of the original Indoor Football League as the Casper Cavalry. The Cavalry became a charter ...

(Casper, Wyoming) – moved to

, and have since folded.

Defunct teams/failed expansion

* Arkansas Stars * Atlanta Thoroughbreds * Atlantic City CardSharks * Austin Knights *

Austin Rockers Austin refers to: Common meanings * Austin, Texas, United States, a city * Austin (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Austin (surname), a list of people and fictional characters * Austin Motor Company, a British car manufactu ...

Bay Bandits A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a ''gulf'', ''sea'', ''sound'', or ''bight''. A ''cove'' is a small, ci ...

* Big Sky Thunder *

Billings Mavericks Billings is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Montana, with a population of 117,116 as of the 2020 census. Located in the south-central portion of the state, it is the seat of Yellowstone County and the principal city of the Billings ...

* Bismarck Roughriders *

Black Hills Red Dogs Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''Psyc ...

Charleston Sandsharks The Charleston Sandsharks were a professional indoor football team based in North Charleston, South Carolina, a suburb of the metropolitan area of Charleston, South Carolina, with home games at the North Charleston Coliseum. The team played a ...

Cincinnati Marshals The Marshals were a professional indoor football team based out of Dayton, Ohio. They played their 2007 home games out of Hara Arena in Dayton, Ohio, but are more famous for playing as the Cincinnati Marshals at U.S. Bank Arena for two seaso ...

* Colorado Castle Rocks * Colorado Venom * Colorado Wild Riders *

Columbia Stingers The Columbia Stingers were a team in the National Indoor Football League (NIFL) which played for one season, in 2007. The team played their home games at the Colonial Center, home to South Carolina Gamecocks The South Carolina Gamecocks re ...

* Dayton Bulldogs *

Dayton Warbirds The Dayton Warbirds was an indoor football team in Dayton, Ohio. History Approved as a National Indoor Football League expansion team in October 2004, the Warbirds instead joined other teams in forming the United Indoor Football Association, ...

* Daytona Beach Hawgs * Denver Aviators * Eugene Mercury * Florida Frenzy *

Fort Myers Tarpons The Fort Myers Tarpons was a 2007 expansion team from the National Indoor Football League. They played their home games at the Lee County Civic Arena in Fort Myers, Florida. They won both of their games, one at home and one on the road, before ...

* Fort Worth Sixers * Green Cove Lions – Evidently formerly the Jacksonville Stallions, they folded in 2007 before ever playing a home game. *

Greensboro Revolution The Greensboro Revolution was a team in the National Indoor Football League (NIFL) that began play as a 2006 expansion team. They played their home games at the Greensboro Coliseum in Greensboro, North Carolina Greensboro (; ) is a city in ...

Hammond Heroes The Hammond Heroes were a planned professional Indoor American football, indoor football team founded by Tommy Smith as a member team of the National Indoor Football League and based in Hammond, Louisiana. They were to have played their home games ...

* Houma Bayou Bucks * Houston Wild Riders * Jacksonville Stallions – folded before playing a game, and evidently became the Green Cove Lions. * Johnstown J Dogs *

Kissimmee Kreatures The World Indoor Football League (WIFL) was an indoor football league founded by Harry Pierce, owner of the Rome Renegades and Raleigh Rebels of the American Indoor Football League. The league was a splinter league that formed after disgruntl ...

La Crosse Night Train The National Indoor Football League (NIFL) 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, ...

* Lake Charles Land Sharks *

Lakeland Thunderbolts The Lakeland Thunderbolts were a professional indoor American football, indoor football team. They were a member of the American Indoor Football Association (AIFA). They played their home games at the Lakeland Center. History The Lakeland Thu ...

– won

2007 *

Lincoln Capitols The Lincoln Capitols were a professional indoor football team that played their home games at Pershing Auditorium in Lincoln, Nebraska, United States. They originally planned on becoming the Nebraska Knockout, but the name was scrapped. From ...

* Long Beach Surf *

Los Angeles Lynx The Industry Hills Expo Center is a in the City of Industry, California, United States. The multi-purpose arena seats over 5,000 spectators and was home to the Los Angeles Lynx of the National Indoor Football League. Built in 1981, the venue has ...

Louisiana Bayou Beast The Louisiana Bayou Beast were a team in the Professional Indoor Football League (1998), Professional Indoor Football League (PIFL) in 1998, in the Indoor Professional Football League (IPFL) in 1999 and reincarnated in 2001 in the National Indoor ...

Louisiana Rangers Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25th i ...

*Louisiana Swashbucklers *Lubbock Gunslingers *Lubbock Lone Stars *Miami Vice Squad *Mississippi Fire Dogs *Mobile Seagulls *Myrtle Beach Stingrays *New Jersey XTreme *Oklahoma Crude (indoor football), 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 (indoor football), Utah Warriors *Waco Marshals *Wichita Falls Thunder *Winston-Salem Energy *Yakima Shockwave

Indoor Bowl games

Notes

External links

National Indoor Football League official website

San Antonio Steers vs Beaumont Drillers clip
via YouTube {{Profootball National Indoor Football League, Defunct indoor American football leagues in the United States Sports leagues established in 2001 Sports leagues disestablished in 2008 2001 establishments in the United States 2008 disestablishments in the United States

History

Former teams

Teams that left the NIFL to join (or planned to join) another league

Defunct teams/failed expansion

Indoor Bowl games

See also

Notes

External links