In their existence, the Pirates played in the Indoor Football League (IFL), AF2 (twice), and United Indoor Football (UIF). They also won the 2000 IFL Championship. They were also, while in the UIF, known as the Peoria Rough Riders.
History
Indoor Football League (IFL) / AF2
The Peoria Pirates were charter members of the Indoor Football League (IFL) and were also the IFL runners-up in 1999 and won the IFL championship in 2000 before their original league folded and the franchise moved over to AF2.[2] After the move, the Pirates won ArenaCup III over the Florida Firecats, but couldn't repeat their performance the following year.
United Indoor Football (UIF)
After losing ArenaCup V to the Firecats, the franchise moved to United Indoor Football (UIF) and became the Peoria Rough Riders. Before changing team name (along with their move to the UIF), their name was the Mutineers.[clarification needed] However, their IFL and AF2 success did not translate with their move to United Indoor Football, as they finished 6–9, then 0–15.
On September 15, 2006, the Rough Riders officially ceased operations.[3]
af2 return
On August 22, 2007, it was announced that a new team would begin playing at Carver Arena, which would, play in AF2, assume the old Peoria Pirates name, logo, colors, and history, and have longtime head coach Bruce Cowdrey become head coach once again. The Pirates returned to play in the 2008 AF2 season.[4]
2009 closure
The domain of the Pirates official website expired on August 31, 2009.[citation needed] On September 7, 2009, the Pirates announced that they were closing down, would not play in 2010, and were selling off the team equipment later in the week.[5] The team could not provide the required commitment and two $100,000 letters of credit by the af2s September 8 deadline for the 2010 season.[1][6] Later in the week, the Peoria Journal Star noted that one of the owners of the nearby Bloomington Extreme was interested in assisting with the launch of a new Peoria team as part of a new Midwest division for the Indoor Football League.[7]
↑ "End of the ride – Rough Riders franchise folds, leaving Peoria without indoor football". Peoria Journal Star. Peoria, Illinois. 2006-09-16.
↑ "Indoor football back in Peoria - Pirates will play in af2 in 2008 with former coach Cowdrey at the helm". Peoria Journal Star. Peoria, Illinois. 2007-08-22.
The AF2 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 rules and style of play. League seasons ran from April through July with the postseason and ArenaCup championship in August. The AF2 continued to operate while the AFL suspended operations for its 2009 season. The league was effectively disbanded in September 2009 when no team committed to playing in 2010, but several of the stronger franchises transferred into the reconstituted AFL.
The Indoor Football League (IFL) began in 1999 as an offshoot of the troubled Professional Indoor Football League. Keary Ecklund, the owner of the Green Bay Bombers and Madison Mad Dogs, left the PIFL after its first, financially troubled, season to start his own league. Unlike the PIFL, the IFL was an "entity league"; teams were owned by the league and franchised out to management groups. NFL Hall-of-Famer Kellen Winslow was brought in as commissioner. The league was successful enough for a major expansion in 2000. Expansion was done regionally to cut down on travel expenses. Hence, the majority of the teams were in the Midwest. Their championship game was known as the Gold Cup.
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.
United Indoor Football (UIF) was an indoor football league in the United States that operated from 2005 to 2008. Ten owners from the National Indoor Football League, including one expansion and two from arenafootball2 (af2) took their franchises and formed their own league. The league was based in Omaha, Nebraska.
The Alabama Vipers were a professional arena football team, that played in the Arena Football League. For most of their history, the Vipers played as the Tennessee Valley Vipers in the now-defunct af2, the minor league for the original Arena Football League, where they won ArenaCup IX in 2008. They played their home games at the Von Braun Center. They were coached by Dean Cokinos.
The Texas Revolution were an American professional indoor football team and a founding member of Champions Indoor Football (CIF). The Revolution were based in Allen and Frisco, Texas, within the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex.
The Fort Wayne Freedom was a professional indoor football team based in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
The Omaha Beef is an indoor football team and a charter member of the Champions Indoor Football (CIF) league. Based in Omaha, Nebraska, the Beef play their home games at Liberty First Credit Union Arena in nearby Ralston.
The Sioux Falls Storm are a 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 the 2000 season. They currently participate in another iteration of the Indoor Football League; prior to that, the Storm were in United Indoor Football (UIF), where they won all four of the league's championship games. In the newer IFL, the Storm have won seven of the eleven championships in the league as of 2019.
The Iowa Barnstormers are a professional indoor football team based in Des Moines, Iowa. They are currently members of the Indoor Football League (IFL). They play their home games at Wells Fargo Arena, known in indoor football circles as "The Well".
The Spokane Shock were a professional indoor American football team based in Spokane, Washington, that played their home games at the Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena. The team was initially a member of arenafootball2 (af2), the Shock won division titles in all four seasons and ArenaCups in 2006 and 2009 before they joined the Arena Football League (AFL) in its 2010 relaunch. The team advanced to the playoffs three times after joining the AFL, winning ArenaBowl XXIII in their first season, making them the only arena football franchise to win both the ArenaCup and the ArenaBowl.
The Bloomington Edge was a professional indoor football team based in Bloomington, Illinois. While it was in operation, the team hosted home games at Grossinger Motors Arena. Originally named the Bloomington Extreme, the team was a member of United Indoor Football (UIF), and joined the Indoor Football League (IFL) in 2009 during the UIF and Intense Football League merger. They left the IFL for the Champions Professional Indoor Football League (CPIFL) in 2013, and in 2015 the CPIFL merged with the Lone Star Football League (LSFL) to create Champions Indoor Football (CIF), where Bloomington did not follow and joined X-League Indoor Football (X-League). Following the 2015 season the Edge joined the CIF. The Edge then announced it had rejoined the IFL for the 2018 season, but a court ruling prevented the team from joining the league until 2019, however, they were not included in that season's schedule.
The Colorado Crush were a professional indoor football team. The Crush played its home games at the Budweiser Events Center in Loveland, Colorado, outside Fort Collins.
The Bismarck Blaze were a professional indoor American football team based in Bismarck, North Dakota. They were members of the original Indoor Football League founded in 1999 and began play in 2000. They competed in the Northern Division of the Western Conference.
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 to 1981, breaking the career record of Archie Manning.
The Wichita Wild were a professional indoor football team based in Wichita, Kansas. They were members of the Champions Professional Indoor Football League (CPIFL). The team was founded in 2006 as an independent indoor football franchise. In 2008, the team joined United Indoor Football (UIF). They joined the Indoor Football League (IFL) during the UIF and Intense Football League merger of 2009. In 2012, the team left the IFL to become charter members of the CPIFL. The Wild's home games were played at Hartman Arena in nearby Park City. When they lost their lease with the Hartman Arena, they folded..
The Indoor Football League (IFL) is a professional indoor American football league created in 2008 out of the merger between the Intense Football League and United Indoor Football. It has one of the largest number of currently active teams among indoor football leagues. As of 2023 season, the league consists of 14 teams in two conferences with each team playing 16 games over 19 weeks.
The Austin Turfcats were a professional indoor football team based in Austin, Texas. The Turfcats were a member of the Indoor Football League (IFL) during the 2010 season, after being a charter member of the Southern Indoor Football League (SIFL) during their inaugural 2009 season. The Turfcats played their home games at Luedecke Arena at the Travis County Exposition Center. This was Austin's fourth attempt at an indoor football team; the prior three were the Indoor Professional Football League's Texas Terminators (1999), the National Indoor Football League's Austin Knights/Rockers (2002–2003), and the Arena Football League Austin Wranglers (2004–2008).
The 2010 Arkansas Diamonds season was the franchise's eleventh season as a football franchise, first in the Indoor Football League, and only season as the "Arkansas Diamonds". The team, led by head coach Danton Barto, played their home games at the Verizon Arena in North Little Rock, Arkansas. The Diamonds finished the regular season with an 11-3 record and first place in the 2010 Lonestar East Division. The team's playoff run ended with a loss to the Billings Outlaws in the Intense Conference Finals. For the 2011 season, the team relocated to Texas as the Allen Wranglers.
The IFL National Championship is the Indoor Football League's championship game. It has been played every year since 2009, except for 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The current champions are the Northern Arizona Wranglers, who won their first IFL National Championship in 2022, their second season in the league. The Sioux Falls Storm won six straight United Bowls from 2011 to 2016.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
