The team was originally scheduled to play as the Binghamton Brigadiers (later Binghamton Brigade) and have their venue be the Broome County Veterans Memorial Arena in Binghamton, New York, about 60 miles south of Syracuse. However, insurance problems forced Binghamton to fold before playing a single game.
With the complications, the AIFL rushed to find a placeholder. On January 23, 2006, they announced the Soldiers would begin play. Rich Pogue of Las Vegas, Nevada was named owner prior to the first game, and the team adopted a modified version of the Binghamton logo.
The Soldiers played their first game, at home, on March 6, losing to the Miami Valley Silverbacks 54–30. On Saturday, April 8, 2006, after losing five-straight games, the Soldiers finally got their first and only win, in a 43-31 road victory over the Steubenville Stampede. They would lose the next five games till being folded by the league.
Until the team folded, all of its games were broadcast on WJPZ 89.1 FM Syracuse. The Soldiers' opener was called by Todd Robbins and Chris Villani, while the only win in team history was called by Jeff Tiberii and Matt Soltysiak. Melissa Morton, Andrew Ardini, Joel Godett and Steve Wanczyk also contributed to the broadcasts providing color commentary, play-by-play, and sideline reporting.
Pogue left town several weeks into the season, and so Andrew Haines, at the time serving as the league president, hastily stepped in and took over the team himself. The effort did not last. After ten games, the Syracuse Soldiers suspended operations. They were replaced by the Cumberland Cardinals, Columbus Fire and Philadelphia Scorpions, a series of amateur outdoor teams from North American Football League, which briefly tried to acquire the AIFL in 2006. However, Haines claimed that the Soldiers had not folded, but were rather "reorganizing their schedule." Haines was ousted from the league when it reorganized into the American Indoor Football Association after the end of the 2006 season and the Soldiers were folded. Haines has not indicated he would revive the Soldiers or the Brigade in the Ultimate Indoor Football League.
The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 season, every team in the league has an affiliation agreement with one NHL team. When NHL teams do not have an AHL affiliate, players are assigned to AHL teams affiliated with other NHL teams. Twenty-seven AHL teams are located in the United States and the remaining four are in Canada. The league offices are located in Springfield, Massachusetts, and its current president is David Andrews.
American Indoor Football (AIF) was a professional indoor football league, one of the several regional professional indoor football leagues in North America.
The Steubenville Stampede was an indoor football franchise, most recently a member of the Continental Indoor Football League. They played their home games at the St. John Arena in Steubenville, Ohio, United States.
The Erie Freeze was an American indoor football team based in Erie, Pennsylvania.
The Daytona Beach ThunderBirds were an arena football team based in Daytona Beach, Florida. They were founded in 2005 as the Daytona Beach Hawgs playing in the National Indoor Football League. In 2006, they changed their name to the Daytona Thunder and played in three different indoor football leagues over three seasons: the American Indoor Football League in 2006, the World Indoor Football League in 2007, and the AF2, the Arena Football League's developmental league, in 2008. They folded after the 2008 season. The Marquee player for the Thurnderbirds was 6'3" 230 pound Left handed Quarterback Matt Bohnet, an Eastern Michigan Graduate, who completed 160 out of 307 passes for 1,890 Yards 28 Touchdowns and 17 interceptions.
The Canton Legends was a professional indoor football team based out of Canton, Ohio. They were a charter member of the American Indoor Football Association, which played their first season under the name Atlantic Indoor Football League, and their second season as the American Indoor Football League. They played their home games at Canton Memorial Civic Center. The team name is in reference to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, since Canton is where the building is located.
The Johnstown Riverhawks was a professional indoor American football team based out of Johnstown, Pennsylvania. They were a charter member of the American Indoor Football Association (AIFA). They played their 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 Raleigh Rebels were a professional indoor football team based out of Raleigh, North Carolina. They played their home games at the Dorton Arena and were members of the American Indoor Football League (AIFL).
The Carolina Ghostriders were an indoor football team and charter member of the American Indoor Football League.
The Huntington Heroes were a professional indoor football franchise and member of the American Indoor Football Association (AIFA). The Heroes played their home games during their inaugural 2006 season at the Veterans Memorial Fieldhouse in Huntington, West Virginia before moving to the larger Big Sandy Superstore Arena for the 2007 and 2009 seasons. The Heroes were the second indoor football franchise for Huntington, following the River Cities LocoMotives, who played one season (2001) in the National Indoor Football League, and were followed by the Huntington Hammer in 2011. The Heroes were usually known for featuring many former Marshall University football players from the Marshall Thundering Herd program located in Huntington.
The Ultimate Indoor Football League (UIFL) was a regional professional indoor football league that began its inaugural season on February 18, 2011 as the Ultimate Indoor Football League before playing as the United Indoor Football League in 2012, then switched back to "Ultimate" for the 2013 season. After the 2014 season, the league merged with X-League Indoor Football.
The 2006 American Indoor Football League was the league's 2nd overall season. The league champions were the Canton Legends, who defeated the Rome Renegades in American Bowl II.
The Mid-Atlantic Hockey League (MAHL) was a minor professional ice hockey league in the Mid-Atlantic and Great Lakes regions of the United States. The league began play in November 2007. The league was a low level league designed to help ex junior and college players gain pro experience and exposure and move up to higher level leagues.
The Canton Cougars were a professional indoor football team based in Canton, Ohio. The team began play in 2011 as a charter member of the Ultimate Indoor Football League (UIFL) for its inaugural 2011 season. The Cougars played their home games at the Canton Memorial Civic Center. The Cougars were Canton's second indoor football team; their first since the American Indoor Football Association's Canton Legends, which played from 2005 until 2008.
The Chambersburg Cardinals are an American football team based in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania. The team plays in the Gridiron Developmental Football League (GDFL).
The Florida Tarpons were a professional indoor football team based in Lakeland, Florida, out of the RP Funding Center. Originally established in Estero, Florida, and playing out of Germain Arena, they began play in 2012 as an expansion team of the Ultimate Indoor Football League (UIFL). The Tarpons joined the X-League Indoor Football (X-League) during the 2015 season when the UIFL merged with the X-League. They played in the Arena Pro Football (APF) league in 2017 before the league became the American Arena League (AAL) for 2018. For 2019, there was an ownership transition that formed their own Florida-based league, called the A-League, and the team rebranded as the Lakeland Tarpons. The team was removed from the A-League schedule at the start of the 2019 season.
The River City Raiders were a professional indoor football team based in St. Charles, Missouri. They play their home games at Family Arena. As of February 2018 the River City Raiders website and social media pages have been removed. No formal announcement has ever been publicly made by the Raiders or their ownership after their final 2017 regular season game regarding their future or folding.
The team began play in 2006 as the Miami Valley Silverbacks, an expansion member of the American Indoor Football League (AIFL). On Saturday, March 25, 2006, WR/DB Maurice Lee managed to set five AIFL wide receiver records, en route to his team's 57–54 Week 5 road victory over the Steubenville Stampede. He set the records for most catches (16), most reception yards (191), most receiving touchdowns (7), most points (42), and total touchdowns (7). The team finished 5-9 in their expansion season, earning a birth in the AIFL playoffs before losing in the first round. After the season four Silverbacks were named to the AIFL ProStar Team.
The Dayton Silverbacks were a professional indoor football team based in Dayton, Ohio. The team was a member of the Continental Indoor Football League (CIFL). The franchise started as the Miami Valley Silverbacks and joined the CIFL in 2007 after playing their inaugural season as an expansion team in the American Indoor Football Association. The Silverbacks were the fourth indoor football team to be based in Dayton, the first being the Dayton Skyhawks of the original Indoor Football League. The Skyhawks were followed by the Dayton Warbirds, who later became the Dayton Bulldogs, of the National Indoor Football League and the third being the Cincinnati Marshals who played their 2007 season in Dayton. The Owner of the Silverbacks was Various people through the years with the final owner being Corwyn Thomas of Cincinnati. The Silverbacks played their home games at Hara Arena in nearby Trotwood, Ohio.
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