Lone Star Football League

Last updated
Lone Star Football League
LoneStarFootballLeague.PNG
Sport Indoor football
Founded2011
First season2012
Ceased2014
CEO Darlene Jones
No. of teams5
CountryFlag of the United States (23px).png  United States
Last
champion(s)		 San Angelo Bandits (1st title)
Most titles Amarillo Venom (2 titles)
Related
competitions		 IFL
SIFL
Official website TexasLSFL.com

The Lone Star Football League (LSFL) was a regional professional indoor football minor league [1] 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 Southern Indoor Football League, three from the Indoor Football League, plus one expansion team. The LSFL played three seasons to completion before merging with the Champions Professional Indoor Football League in August 2014 to form Champions Indoor Football.

Contents

Individual player salaries were vary in the LSFL with a total $3,000 team salary cap per game, [2] which averages between $100 and $450 per player. [3]

History

2012 season

The 2012 season began with the Houston Stallions, Amarillo Venom, Rio Grande Valley Magic, Laredo Rattlesnakes, West Texas Roughnecks, Corpus Christi Hammerheads, and Abilene Ruff Riders participating. While a number of the other teams scheduled to launch in 2012 did not make it to the start of the regular season, only the Mesquite Bandits had their franchise revoked rather than fold voluntarily. [4] The Houston team was 7–0 when it folded halfway through the season. [5] The Amarillo Venom finished the regular season 10–4 and went on to defeat the Rio Grande Valley Magic 62–40 in the LSFL championship game. [6] Former Clemson linebacker Antonio Clay was practicing with the West Texas Roughnecks in Odessa, Texas in 2012.

2013 season

For 2013, the LSFL played with just five teams. Amarillo, Laredo, Corpus Christi, and Abilene (now known as the Bombers) returned from the 2012 season. The league added two new teams; the expansion San Angelo Bandits and the New Mexico Stars (formerly of the Indoor Football League and the LSFL's first and only team outside of Texas). [7] The league announced in October that the Corpus Christi Hammerheads had been removed from the league due to its ownership violating by-laws. The Amarillo Venom defeated the Laredo Rattlesnakes 70–69 to repeat as league champions. [8] After the season, in late September 2013, the Laredo franchise announced it was ceasing operations due to the financial and legal difficulties of its owner. [9]

2014 season

With the Laredo and Abilene franchises failing to return, the LSFL added the West Texas Wildcatters in Odessa [10] and the Rio Grande Valley Sol in Hidalgo to the league.

Merger with the CPIFL

On August 14, 2014, it was announced at the league website that they merged with the Champions Professional Indoor Football League to create what they say is the largest indoor football league in the country. [11] The merged league became known as Champions Indoor Football.

Teams

Map of teams competing in the LSFL Map - Lone Star Football League.svg
Map of teams competing in the LSFL
TeamLocationArena(Capacity)
Amarillo Venom Amarillo Amarillo Civic Center (4,912)
Rio Grande Valley Sol Hidalgo State Farm Arena (5,500)
San Angelo Bandits San Angelo, Texas Foster Communications Coliseum (5,260)
West Texas Wildcatters Odessa Ector County Coliseum (5,131)

Franchising

The LSFL required a $25,000 franchise fee to join, as well as a $25,000 letter of credit. [13]

Related Research Articles

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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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amarillo Venom</span> American indoor football team

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">West Texas Roughnecks</span>

The West Texas Roughnecks were a professional indoor football team based in Odessa, Texas that plays in the Lone Star Football League. The team's nickname was a tribute to the oil industry, which has been the source of Odessa's wealth over the past century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Southern Indoor Football League</span>

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Laredo Rattlesnakes</span>

The Laredo Rattlesnakes were a professional indoor football team in the Lone Star Football League that began play in the 2012 season. Based in Laredo, Texas, the Rattlesnakes played their home games at the Laredo Energy Arena.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frisco Falcons</span>

The Frisco Falcons was a planned professional indoor football team in the Lone Star Football League that was scheduled to begin play for the league's inaugural 2012 season. Based in Frisco, Texas, the Falcons would have played their home games at the Dr Pepper Arena. While announced in August 2011 as a charter member of the league, the team collapsed before the 2012 schedule was released in December 2011.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mesquite Bandits</span> American indoor football team

The Mesquite Bandits indoor football club was a charter member of the Lone Star Football League (LSFL) that was scheduled to begin play for its 2012 inaugural season. Based in Mesquite, Texas, the Bandits would have played their home games at the Resistol Arena, home of the famous Mesquite Championship Rodeo. Citing financial and organizational issues, the LSFL revoked the team's franchise in January 2012.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2011 Allen Wranglers season</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">2010 Arkansas Diamonds season</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Champions Indoor Football</span> Indoor American football league

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 from the Indoor Football League and two expansion teams.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">West Texas Desert Hawks</span>

The West Texas Desert Hawks are a professional indoor football team and an inaugural member of the relaunched Arena Football League. The Desert Hawks are based in Odessa, Texas, with home games at the Ector County Coliseum. The team played their first several seasons as the West Texas Warbirds.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arena Football Association</span> American sports league

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 was founded by three African-American entrepreneurs and is "built upon the pillars of diversity, equity, and inclusion," placing its teams in underserved markets with populations from 200,000 to two million people.

John David Baker is an American football coach who is the offensive coordinator for the East Carolina Pirates football team. Baker played college football for the Abilene Christian Wildcats and professionally for the Amarillo Venom of the Lone Star Football League (LSFL) and Champions Indoor Football (CIF) from 2014 to 2015.

References

  1. ↑ "Minor League Markets:Methodology". Sports Business Journal. 2017-09-18. Retrieved 2022-06-08.
  2. ↑ "Venom owner Tucker: LSFL is all about Texas". Amarillo Globe-News.
  3. ↑ "Off-field life important for Venom players". Amarillo Globe-News.
  4. 1 2 "Mesquite Bandits Membership Revoked". Our Sports Central. January 30, 2012. Retrieved October 13, 2012.
  5. 1 2 "LSFL-leading Houston Stallions cease operations, affecting Ruff Riders' schedule". Abilene Reporter-News . Abilene, TX. June 5, 2012. Retrieved May 30, 2013.
  6. ↑ "Venom win inaugural LSFL title". San Angelo Standard-Times . San Angelo, TX: E. W. Scripps Company. July 22, 2012. Retrieved October 13, 2013.
  7. ↑ Christ, Bob (September 14, 2012). "Stars Shifting to Lone Star League". Albuquerque Journal . Retrieved September 14, 2012.
  8. ↑ Mayer, Jacob (July 14, 2013). "Impressive legacy: Venom hang together to win another title". Amarillo Globe-News . Amarillo, TX: Morris Communications . Retrieved October 13, 2013.
  9. ↑ Mack, Jason (September 30, 2013). "Rattlesnakes cease operation". Laredo Morning Times . Laredo, TX: Hearst Corporation . Retrieved October 13, 2013.
  10. ↑ "FOOTBALL: Professional indoor team returns to Odessa". Odessa American . October 16, 2013. Retrieved April 11, 2014.
  11. ↑ Merger Between CPIFL and LSFL is a Success Archived 2014-08-14 at the Wayback Machine , CPIFL website, August 14, 2014
  12. 1 2 "Dittman Membership Terminated". Lone Star Football League. September 27, 2012. Archived from the original on October 8, 2012. Retrieved October 13, 2012.
  13. ↑ Christ, Bob (October 5, 2012). "Coach Has Ownership". Albuquerque Journal . Retrieved October 5, 2012.

(Clemson) Antonio Clay WTX Roughnecks waiver LSFL 2012 https://web.archive.org/web/20120402113053/http://www.texaslsfl.com/news/daily-transactions.html

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