American Indoor Football (AIF) was 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 States in 2005. After a rapid, and largely failed, expansion effort in 2006, most of the league's remaining teams jumped to the new AIFA (the rest joined the short-lived WIFL). The AIFA expanded throughout existing territory and, in 2008, expanded into the Western United States. The league legally divided into two entities to allow for a partial merger with the Southern Indoor Football League, which resulted in all of its Eastern teams merging into the SIFL and the AIFA only maintaining its western teams. The league's western component, which remained separate of the merger, had indicated it would play as the AIFA West for the 2011 season but ceased operations January 2011. The league announced it would be relaunching as American Indoor Football in time for spring 2012.
After the 2016 season, the AIF ceased operations with the former AIF owner stating his support for the recently created Arena Developmental League. In 2021, league owner John Morris announced he planned to relaunch the AIF for the 2022 season, though no games would be played.[1]
In 2023, it was announced that the league was relaunched by president and commissioner John Morris with four new teams: the Cedar Rapids River Kings, Corpus Christi Tritons, RiverCity Rage and West Virginia Miners.[2] The Columbus Lions rejoined the league after winning the most recent AIF Championship in 2016.[3] However, in 2024, the league announced a merger with the National Arena League, thus effectively ending its second chance. [4]
History
The league has its roots in the Atlantic Indoor Football League, which began play in 2005 under the leadership of Andrew Haines.[5] The first team to join the AIFL was the Johnstown RiverHawks.[6] The league began with six teams, all of them based in the eastern United States. Two teams played all of their games on the road,[7] and the regular season was cut short two weeks because of teams being unable to secure venues for playoff games. In the 2005–06 offseason, the league changed its name to the American Indoor Football League, while nine expansion teams entered the league and a tenth (the Rome Renegades) joined from the National Indoor Football League.
The 2006 season was marred by the folding of two teams, and the league used semi-pro teams to fill scheduling vacancies. The league was briefly acquired by Greens Worldwide, Inc., the owners of the amateur North American Football League, during the 2006 season, but they terminated the contract soon afterwards. Nine teams left the league after the season, including four who split off to create the short-lived World Indoor Football League. On October 2, 2006, a massive reorganization took place as Morris and Michael Mink set up a new league, which absorbed all of the remaining AIFL franchises, and Haines was ousted. (Haines would go on to create the Mid-Atlantic Hockey League in 2007, before similar stability problems led to the forced divestiture of that league as well. Haines would, in April 2010, announce he was relaunching his league as the Ultimate Indoor Football League beginning in 2011 and revived two defunct former AIFL teams.) The league took on the American Indoor Football Association name at the same time.
The 2007 season was relatively successful for the league, as all 112 scheduled games were played and no teams folded mid-season, a major improvement over the past two seasons (when the AIFA was known as the AIFL). The AIFA Championship Bowl I was a neutral site game held in Florence, South Carolina. In addition, the league held its first All-Star Game the same weekend, also in Florence. League owners stated that the neutral site was chosen so that both games could be televised to obtain nationwide exposure for the league.
The league then expanded nationwide; some individual teams were able to acquire several players with NFL experience, a sign that the league had achieved a level on par with leagues such as af2. The league earned a major television contract as well: On September 17, 2007, The American Indoor Football Association owners John Morris and Michael Min announced that the league signed a three-year national television broadcast, mobile phone broadcast, and webcast licensing agreement with Simply 4Me Incorporated (d.b.a. SimplyMe TV).[8] However, that deal was subsequently cancelled. Later in the season, FSN Pittsburgh agreed to pick up the remaining games; Erie, Pennsylvania-based Image Sports Network was also involved with the league.
Eight teams participating in the league in 2007 did not return for the 2008 season, including the 2007 champion Lakeland Thunderbolts. The AIFA became the third league since 2004 (excluding the folded WIFL and NIFL before its folding) to lose its standing champion (the 2004 NIFL champion Lexington Horsemen left to join the newly created UIF and later were in af2, and the 2006 champion Billings Outlaws also left to join two years later). However, nine teams signed on to begin play in 2008, and the league created a Western Conference. In 2007, the team farthest west was based in Mississippi; in 2008, the team farthest west was based in Arizona. Three of the four teams who had won the league championship to that point were no longer active league members.
As the 2010 season approached, AIFA continued to expand its nationwide footprint. Expansion franchises had been added in Richmond, Virginia; Yakima, Washington; Wasilla, Alaska (believed to be the smallest city in America to host a national professional football franchise) and Wenatchee, Washington. The moves gave the AIFA a much more significant presence on the West Coast of the United States. To accommodate this, and to keep travel expenses down, for the 2010 season the AIFA adopted a scheduling system that effectively treated the Eastern and Western conferences as separate leagues, with no regular-season crossover between the two conferences. The league also secured a television contract with AMGTV, which was to syndicate a "Game of the Week" package to regional sports networks and its network of low-powered broadcast stations.
In 2010, the Baltimore Mariners completed the league's first-ever perfect season by winning all fourteen regular season games and winning AIFA Championship Bowl IV.[9]
Split, partial merger with the SIFL and first cessation of operations
The AIFA arranged a split and partial merger with the Southern Indoor Football League after the 2010 season. As part of the deal, Morris would acquire the rights to the Eastern Conference teams and merge them into the SIFL,[10] while Mink would retain the western conference teams, rights to the AIFA name, and television contract, the last of which was extended through 2013.
The AIFA West originally announced that it would begin its season with four teams, beginning in March 2011, after the Tucson Thunder Kats announced it would be suspending operations until 2012. As of January 2011, no schedule had been released, and the league informed the remaining three teams that there would not be a fourth team representing Eugene, Oregon as the league had earlier promised. The league attempted to work out a schedule with the remaining three teams, but the Reno Barons and Stockton Wolves were unwilling to go forward with such a schedule and broke from the league. Both teams operated as the two-team "Western Indoor Football Association" in 2011, each playing whatever semi-pro teams were willing to face them in addition to each other. With only the Yakima Valley Warriors left, the AIFA ceased operations; it said that it would attempt to relaunch in 2012 with eight to 12 teams in at least two regions of the United States.
As of June 2011, Morris had released a statement indicating he still represented the AIFA when he purchased the assets of the Fayetteville Force.[10]
On October 27, 2011, the AIFA announced it was relaunching as American Indoor Football (AIF). The move came in light of the dissolution of the SIFL and its breakup into the Professional Indoor Football League and the Lone Star Football League. AIF announced its intentions to absorb the three remaining SIFL teams not in either the PIFL or LSFL (the Harrisburg Stampede, Trenton Steel and Carolina Speed), as well as the remaining teams that would have participated in the AIFA West. AIF intended to launch an amateur division as well.[11]
In 2015, the league absorbed the remains of the Continental Indoor Football League, picking up the Saginaw Sting and Chicago Blitz from that league; the CIFL Web site became a redirect to AIF's. (The two other surviving teams from that league chose to play in other leagues: Erie decided to join the PIFL, while the Marion Blue Racers fulfilled an earlier promise to join the X-League). In homage to the CIFL, AIF split into two conferences, one bearing the American name and the other (which includes both CIFL refugees) named the Continental Conference. The conference names were changed to Northern and Southern for the 2016 season.
The 2016 season saw the league grow from nine teams to a total of 28 announced teams. However, only 21 teams ever played a league game that season, including four teams that folded midseason and several other teams cancelling scheduled games. The Columbus Lions, which joined for 2016, would finish the season undefeated and win the championship. The Lions then announced that they were leaving the league due to the league's instability, especially in the Southern Division where the Lions were the only team that did not have a cancelled or rescheduled game. On July 7, 2016, the Lions' owners announced the formation of a new league, the Arena Developmental League.[12] On July 13, the Lehigh Valley Steelhawks also announced they were leaving the AIF.
In response, AIF owner Jim Morris announced on July 18, 2016, that the AIF was ceasing operations immediately. He also announced his support of the new Arena Developmental League (which later changed its name to National Arena League before its inaugural season) and hoped the new league would take on many of the former AIF teams.[13]
The Buffalo Blitz (formerly the Buffalo Lightning) used the official AIF football in their press announcement upon joining the Can-Am Indoor Football League, which was created by announced AIF 2017 expansion team Vermont Bucks.[14] The Can-Am also used the AIF footballs in games during their only season.
On July 3, 2023, John Morris announced that the league would indeed relaunch in 2024 with four new teams: Cedar Rapids River Kings, Corpus Christi Tritons, RiverCity Rage and West Virginia Miners.[15] On August 4, 2023, the league announced that the Columbus Lions, the last team to win the AIF Championship in 2016, were returning to the league.[16] On August 24, 2023, the league announced that the Amarillo Venom would return and join the AIF for the 2024 season.[17] On September 11, 2023, the league announced that an expansion team to be based in Albany, Georgia, would also join the AIF for 2024 as its eighth franchise.[18] On September 29, 2023, the league announced the Beaumont Renegades as their ninth team for the 2024 season,[19] but on October 30, the league announced that the Renegades will play an exhibition schedule only in 2024, and will join the league full time in 2025, while the AIF granted West Virginia Miners release from the league after change in the team ownership group.[20] On February 20, 2024, it was announced that Brandon Ikard would be taking over as President/CEO of the AIF and moving the league in a new direction.[21] On June 26, 2024, the AIF released the River Kings from the league.[22] The next day, the league announced that league founder John Morris was stepping down as commissioner.[23] On June 28, 2024, the league announced that the Beaumont Renegades were declared "a dormant franchise approved by previous league regimen", yet has invited the team to reapply for membership in the future.[24]
Merger with the NAL
On July 9, 2024, the league announced they were joining the National Arena League, which added the Tritons and Stampede and welcomed back the Lions. The Venom were not a part of the merger. [25]
One linebacker could move flat to flat but was required to stay in drop zone.
Platooning and free substitution were allowed, meaning players did not have to play both offense and defense.
Franchises were required to have at least nine players that originated from within a 120-mile radius of the team's home town.
The AIF ball pattern was similar to that of the basketball in the American Basketball Association, with red, white, and blue panels as opposed to the brown colored football of most leagues. This pattern originated in the AIFL and is also used in the UIFL.
Two rule changes appeared to be inspired by Canadian football rules:
Two offensive players could be in motion at one time. The AFL allows only one in motion.
The AIF recognized the single (also known as an uno or rouge). If a kickoff goes through the uprights, or if the receiving team does not advance the ball out of the end zone on a kickoff, the kicking team is awarded one point and the ball is spotted at the opponent's five yard line.
The Corpus Christi Fury, was a professional indoor football team based in Corpus Christi, Texas, United States. The Fury played its home games at the American Bank Center.
The Amarillo Venom are a professional indoor football team based in Amarillo, Texas. They play their home games at the Amarillo Civic Center. The Venom began play in 2004 as the Amarillo Dusters, a charter member of the Intense Football League, a small indoor football league based in Texas. They won the championship in their first and only season with the Intense Football League.
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 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.
The Reading Express were a professional indoor football team based in Reading, Pennsylvania. They were most recently a member of the United Conference of the Indoor Football League (IFL). The Express began play in 2006, as an expansion team of the American Indoor Football League. The team was originally going to be named the Reading RiverRats, but passed on that name in favor of the "Reading Express." The RiverRats name and logo was moved to an AIFA team in Pittsburgh in 2007. The owners of the Express were Ted & Lisa Lavender. They played their home games at the Sovereign Center.
The New Jersey Revolution were members of the American Indoor Football Association based in Morristown, New Jersey, with home games at the George Mennen arena. The Revolution name referred to New Jersey's nickname, The Crossroads of the Revolution, as the state was the site of many American Revolution battles. It was the only indoor football team within the proximity of the New York metropolitan area in the 2010 season.
The Carolina Speed were a professional indoor football team that operated from 2007 to 2011 in Concord and Charlotte, North Carolina, at Bojangles' Coliseum in 2009 and 2011. From 2007 to 2009, the Speed were members of the American Indoor Football Association (AIFA). For the 2011 season, the Speed joined the Southern Indoor Football League (SIFL) and the team ceased operations after the season. The owner was Eddie Littlefield.
The Erie Explosion was a professional American indoor football team based in Erie, Pennsylvania. Founded in 2007 as the Pittsburgh RiverRats, the Explosion played in the Professional Indoor Football League, the United Indoor Football League, the Southern Indoor Football League, the Continental Indoor Football League and the American Indoor Football Association and operated continuously from 2007 to 2015.
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 disgruntled ownership in the AIFL, caused significant turmoil and resulted in several teams leaving the league.
The Columbus Lions are a professional indoor football team based in Columbus, Georgia, and are a member of the National Arena League (NAL).
The Baltimore Mariners were an indoor football team based in Baltimore, Maryland. The team was a member of American Indoor Football. The team was founded when the American Indoor Football Association expelled the Baltimore Blackbirds for negotiating with another league. The AIFA maintained the lease rights to 1st Mariner Arena, so the Mariners were the league's replacement. On September 3, 2010, team owner Dwayne Wells was arrested on charges of wire fraud from an engineering firm he partially owned, allegedly using embezzled money from the firm to buy stakes in the Mariners franchise. Wells forfeited his ownership of the team, causing the Mariners to fold after the 2010 season. The Southern Indoor Football League, as successor to the eastern half of the AIFA, held the lease on the arena, now called Baltimore Arena, until it folded in 2011. The Mariners, after three seasons out of play, returned for one final season in 2014, winning the league championship before folding again. The Mariners were succeeded by the Baltimore Brigade of the Arena Football League in 2017, until the league folded in 2019.
The Richmond Raiders were a professional indoor football team located in Richmond, Virginia the Richmond Coliseum as their home arena. The Raiders began play in the 2010 as an expansion team of the American Indoor Football Association (AIFA). The Raiders moved to the Southern Indoor Football League (SIFL) when the Eastern Division of the AIFA merged with the SIFL in the winter of 2010, beginning SIFL play in the 2011 season. After just a single season in the SIFL the Raiders, along with four other members of the SIFL, became the charter members of the Professional Indoor Football League (PIFL). The team was then a member the PIFL from 2012 to 2015.
The Harrisburg Stampede are a professional indoor football team based in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. The Stampede participated in several different leagues over their history: the American Indoor Football Association in 2009 and 2010, the Southern Indoor Football League in 2011, American Indoor Football in 2012 and 2013, and the Professional Indoor Football League in what became their final season of play in 2014. The team suspended operations on December 30, 2014. In 2024, the team returned to play in the American Indoor Football league.
The Trenton Steel was a professional indoor football team that began play in the Southern Indoor Football League (SIFL) in the 2011 season. The team suspended operations December 27, 2011. The Steel were based in Trenton, New Jersey, with home games played at the Sun National Bank Center.
The Georgia Firebirds are a professional indoor football team based in Albany, Georgia, and play their home games at the Albany Civic Center. Previously, the Firebirds played as an outdoor football team in various semi-pro leagues before going indoor. The Firebirds joined American Indoor Football (AIF) for the 2016 season but the league folded after one season. The Firebirds then joined the new National Arena League (NAL) for the 2017 season.
The Southern Indoor Football League (SIFL) was an indoor football league based in the Southern and Eastern United States. The most recent incarnation of the league was a consolidation of an earlier league of the same name that was formed by Thom Hager along with Dan Blum, Robert Winfrey and Dan Ryan in 2009 and the American Indoor Football Association, which traces its roots to the founding of the Atlantic Indoor Football League in 2005. The SIFL broke up into three regional leagues after the 2011 season.
The Central Penn Capitals were a professional indoor football team based in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. The Capitals played as members of American Indoor Football (AIF) from 2013 to 2016. The club was established in 2012 as an expansion team for the 2013 season when Jim Morris secured the rights to an AIF franchise in York, Pennsylvania at the York City Ice Arena. The team relocated to Harrisburg for the 2016 season with home games played at the Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex & Expo Center. The AIF ceased operations after the 2016 season and the Capitals did not join another league.
X-League Indoor Football (X-League) was a professional indoor American football minor league that began play in 2014 in the United States. The league was co-chaired by Michael Mink and Kacee Smith. On September 19, 2015, the league announced a merger with the future "North American Indoor Football" but later stated the merger would not go forward as announced and disbanded.
The American Indoor Football Alliance (AIFA) was a minor-professional American indoor football league based in the United States.
The 2024 American Indoor Football season was the twelfth season of American Indoor Football (AIF) and the first season after a eight-year hiatus. The league will play the season with six teams, including the last league champions Columbus Lions.
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