Infobox Sports league | |
Formerly | Professional Indoor Football League |
---|---|
Sport | Indoor football |
Founded | 1998 |
Founder | Richard "Dick" Suess |
Inaugural season | 1999 |
Ceased | 2001 |
CEO | Mike Storen |
Claim to fame | 3rd professional indoor football league |
Motto | Great Football, No Gimmicks. |
No. of teams | 6 |
Country | United States |
Last champion(s) | Tennessee ThunderCats |
Most titles | Hawaii Hammerheads (1999) Mississippi Fire Dogs (2000) Tennessee ThunderCats (2001) |
Official website | www.indoorfootball.com |
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, Kerry Ecklund, founded the Indoor Football League in 1999. The IPFL led a troubled three-year existence, and died after its 2001 season, with its most successful teams joining up with the National Indoor Football League.
The IPFL was unique among indoor football leagues in that it sanctioned the use of a white football, manufactured by Rawlings, which was easier to see in the artificial lighting conditions. The league's slogan was "Great Football, No Gimmicks".
In 1999, IPFL was headed by a new commissioner, Mike Storen, and the league offices were moved to Atlanta.
Before the Pro Indoor Football League folded, the league was looking into replacing the two folded franchises of Minnesota and Texas and expanding the league back to 8 teams, or even beyond, to 10 or 12, for what was supposed to be its second season. However, the league took a major hit when Madison and Green Bay left the league to form a new league called the Indoor Football League. This left the league with only four teams: Honolulu, Utah, Colorado and Louisiana. The Utah Catzz soon folded as well, leading to the demise of the Pro Indoor Football League. The Pro Indoor Football League was re-formed as the Indoor Professional Football League and the three remaining clubs from the old league; the Hawaii Hammerheads (formerly Honolulu Hurricanes), the Rocky Mountain (Colorado Springs) Thunder (formerly Colorado (Denver) Wildcats) and the Louisiana Bayou Beast were joined by three new franchises in Boise, Idaho; Biloxi, Mississippi; and Austin, Texas. The league was going to have 8 clubs, but the Arizona (Tucson) Mirage and the Syracuse Blitz folded.[ citation needed ]
Semifinal | Final | |||||||
1 | Hawaii | 28 | ||||||
2 | Hawaii | 36 | 2 | Texas | 13 | |||
3 | Mississippi | 16 |
During the off season, the Indoor Professional Football League saw major changes with the loss of three of its charter franchises: Rocky Mountain, Hawaii and Texas. However, the league saw the addition of four new franchises with the fourth new addition expanding the league beyond six franchises. The new clubs were Shreveport-Bossier City, Portland (OR), Omaha and Mobile. The Indoor Professional Football League approved the relocation of the Baton Rouge-based Louisiana Bayou Beast to Alexandria, Louisiana and announced the team would be known as the Louisiana Rangers. The Bayou Beast's relocation to Alexandria left the league with no club still remaining in its city that it started operations in.[ citation needed ] Mississippi defeated Portland in the championship. [1]
The Fort Wayne Safari was announced as an expansion team for the 2002 season, [2] which never occurred.
Team | W | L | Pct. |
---|---|---|---|
Omaha Beef | 15 | 1 | .938 |
Tennessee ThunderCats | 12 | 4 | .750 |
Boise Stallions | 6 | 10 | .375 |
St. Louis Renegades | 5 | 11 | .313 |
Trenton Lightning | 0 | 16 | .000 |
2001 IPFL Championship Game | ||||
2 | Tennessee | 47 | ||
1 | Omaha | 38 | ||
Team | Winner | Runner up | Winning years | Runner up years |
---|---|---|---|---|
Hawaii Hammerheads | 1 | 0 | 1999 | |
Mississippi Fire Dogs | 1 | 0 | 2000 | |
Tennessee ThunderCats | 1 | 0 | 2001 | |
Texas Terminators | 0 | 1 | 1999 | |
Portland Prowlers | 0 | 1 | 2000 | |
Omaha Beef | 0 | 1 | 2001 |
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, AF2, however, that changed briefly with their expansion into AFL markets such as Atlanta, Denver, and Los Angeles, and AF2 markets such as Fort Myers and Houston. Green Bay Packers head coach Matt LaFleur, Buffalo Bills running back Fred Jackson, New Orleans Saints quarterback John Fourcade and Pittsburgh Steelers Super Bowl running back Bam Morris, all played in the NIFL. The league folded in 2008.
The Central Hockey League (CHL) was a North American mid-level minor professional ice hockey league which operated from 1992 until 2014. Until 2013, it was owned by Global Entertainment Corporation, at which point it was purchased by the individual franchise owners. As of the end of its final season in 2014, three of the 30 National Hockey League teams had affiliations with the CHL: the Dallas Stars, Minnesota Wild, and Tampa Bay Lightning.
The Professional Indoor Football League (PIFL) was the second league to successfully play indoor football as a paid pro-league sport, after the Arena Football League (AFL). Since the AFL had a patent given in 1990 on the gameplay of "Arena Football", the PIFL played with mostly the same rules, but without the endzone nets. The PIFL only lasted one season (1998) under that name.
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 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 when they replaced the Louisiana Bayou Beast. As the Rangers, they played their home games at the Rapides Parish Coliseum in Alexandria, Louisiana. After the league collapsed, the Rangers moved into the National Indoor Football League (NIFL). After two seasons, the franchise moved to Beaumont, Texas, and became the Drillers. The team left the NIFL in 2008 and played in the American Professional Football League in 2008 with new ownership. The team played most of their schedule, cancelling two home games. The team played in APFL Bowl VI, because of the Conroe Storm withdrawing, but lost.
This team is not to be confused with the softball team in Texas.
The Louisiana Bayou Beast were a team in the Professional Indoor Football League (PIFL) in 1998, in the Indoor Professional Football League (IPFL) in 1999, and reincarnated in 2001 in the National Indoor Football League (NIFL). The Bayou Beast franchise was owned by James (Sr.) and Carolyn Shiver, who currently own and operate the NIFL which is based in Lafayette, Louisiana. The Bayou Beast competed in the PIFL in 1998, playing their home games at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center on the LSU campus in Baton Rouge. The team colors were red, black, and white. In 1999, the PIFL changed its name to the IPFL, and the Beast changed arenas, moving to the Riverside Centroplex in downtown Baton Rouge for that season.
This article is about the defunct Professional Indoor Football League team
The Texas Bullets were a team in the Professional Indoor Football League (PIFL) in 1998. The Bullets franchise was owned by Wayne Stigler, who also was the team's head coach. The Bullets played their home games at the Bell County Expo Center in Belton, TX., with the team offices located in Temple, TX. The team's color's were: Black, Turquoise, & Silver. The Bullets suffered disappointing attendance and the costs of taking the team on a road trip to Hawaii to take on the Honolulu Hurricanes, proved too much. The team folded after ten regular season games. Of the eight clubs that were in the first batch of PIFL franchises in '98, six still existed. The Bullets franchise was moved to Austin, TX. in 1999 and renamed the Texas Terminators in the renamed Indoor Professional Football League.
The Colorado Wildcats was a team in the Professional Indoor Football League (PIFL) in 1998. The Wildcats franchise was owned by Gary Kozacek, who also was head coach/owner of the same Wildcats team for the previous 9 years, as they competed in semi-pro football in and around Colorado. The Wildcats played their home games at the Denver Coliseum, with the team office also located in Denver, CO. The team's colors were: Old Gold, Purple, and White. Colorado's head coach listed in the 1998 PIFL league media guide was Larry Jobe, but the actual head coach was Collins Sanders.
John Charles Fourcade, Jr. is a former professional American football quarterback in the National Football League for the New Orleans Saints and recent head coach of the New Mexico Stars of American Indoor Football. Fourcade was the most valuable player of the 1982 Senior Bowl after passing for 115 yards and running for 33 yards and two touchdowns. He had gained 6,713 yards at Ole Miss from 1978–1981, breaking the career record of Archie Manning.
The Mobile Seagulls were a professional indoor football team. They were initially a member of the Indoor Professional Football League for the 2000 season before joining the National Indoor Football League for the 2001 season, their final. They played their home games at Mobile Civic Center Arena for the 2000 season and at the Mitchell Center for the 2001 season. The majority owner of the team was Mobile businessman, James Childers.
The Boise Stallions are a defunct indoor football team from Boise, Idaho. They were a charter member of the Indoor Professional Football League. They originally began as the Idaho Stallions. Throughout their three seasons, the Stallions had very little success. When the league folded, the franchise went with it. During the 2001 season, the Boise Stallions became the only team in the history of professional football to play their home games indoors on grass. Ed Raiford, a former Boise State star, scored the first three touchdowns in Stallion history. They were preceded a couple of years later by the Boise Burn of af2.
The Hawaii Hammerheads was an indoor American football team in the Indoor Professional Football League (IPFL) during the 1999 season. The team was owned by George Hetherington and played home games at the Neal S. Blaisdell Center in Honolulu, Hawaii. The team's official colors were aqua, silver and black. The head coach for the Hammerheads was Guy Benjamin.
The Shreveport-Bossier Bombers were an indoor football team of the Indoor Professional Football League (IPFL) in 2000. The Bombers, based out of Shreveport, LA/Bossier City, LA, were one of four IPFL expansion teams for that season. They played their games in the Hirsch Memorial Coliseum in Shreveport. The Bombers owner was Don Rafferty and Matt Ingram was the general manager of the team.
The Portland Prowlers were a professional indoor football team based in Portland, Oregon. Playing as a member of the Indoor Professional Football League (IPFL) for the 2000 season, they played their home games at the Memorial Coliseum. This was the second indoor football team based in Portland following the Portland Forest Dragons. The team name was decided in a 'Name the team' contest. The winning name was submitted by several entrants, including Danny Bradach of Portland, Oregon and David Harwood of Concord, California. Contest winners were awarded season tickets for the lifetime of the team.
The Mississippi Fire Dogs were a professional indoor American football team based in Biloxi, Mississippi. They played their home games at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum. They were a charter member of the Indoor Professional Football League. They played from in the 1999-2000 IPFL seasons before joining the National Indoor Football League in 2001. Their final season was in 2002.
The 2000 Omaha Beef season was the team's inaugural season as a football franchise and first in the Indoor Professional Football League (IPFL). One of seven teams competing in the IPFL for the 2000 season. The team played their home games at the Omaha Civic Auditorium in Omaha, Nebraska.