Western Conference (IFL)

Western Conference

League	Indoor Football League
Sport	Indoor football
Founded	2022
No. of teams	8
Most recent champion(s)	Vegas Knight Hawks (1st title)
Most titles	Arizona Rattlers (1 title) Bay Area Panthers Northern Arizona Wranglers Vegas Knight Hawks

The Western Conference (WC) is a conference of the Indoor Football League (IFL), the highest level of professional indoor football in the United States. The Western Conference and its counterpart, the Eastern Conference, each have seven teams and were created as part of the 2022 IFL expansion.

Teams

Active teams

Team	Location	Arena	Joined
Arizona Rattlers	Glendale, Arizona	Desert Diamond Arena	2022
Bay Area Panthers	San Jose, California	SAP Center	2022
New Mexico Chupacabras [a]	Albuquerque, New Mexico	Tingley Coliseum	2026 [a]
Northern Arizona Wranglers	Prescott Valley, Arizona	Findlay Toyota Center	2022
San Antonio Gunslingers	San Antonio, Texas	Freeman Coliseum	2024
San Diego Strike Force	San Diego, California	Pechanga Arena	2022
Tucson Sugar Skulls	Tucson, Arizona	Tucson Arena	2022
Vegas Knight Hawks	Henderson, Nevada	Lee's Family Forum	2022

WC Championships

Season	Date	Winning team	Score	Losing team	Arena	Location	Ref.
2022	July 30, 2022	Northern Arizona Wranglers	52–51	Arizona Rattlers	Footprint Center	Phoenix, Arizona	[1]
2023	July 29, 2023	Bay Area Panthers	68–46	Northern Arizona Wranglers	SAP Center	San Jose, California	[2]
2024	August 5, 2024	Arizona Rattlers	58–23	San Diego Strike Force	Desert Diamond Arena	Glendale, Arizona	[3]

Division champions

Season	Team	Record	Postseason results
Western Conference
2022	Arizona Rattlers (1)	13–3	Won Round One (Gladiators) 53–14 Lost WC Championship (Wranglers) 51–52
2023	Arizona Rattlers (2)	11–4	Lost Round One (Wranglers) 53–62
2024	Bay Area Panthers (1)	13–3	Lost Round One (Strike Force) 40–49

Wild Card qualifiers

Season	Team	Record	Postseason results
Western Conference
2022	Northern Arizona Wranglers	12–4	Won Round One (Sugar Skulls) 49–30 Won WC Championship (at Rattlers) 52–51 Won IFL National Championship (vs. Steamwheelers) 47–45
	Tucson Sugar Skulls	9–7	Lost Round One (at Wranglers) 30–49
	Duke City Gladiators	8–8	Lost Round One (at Rattlers) 14–53
2023	Bay Area Panthers	10–5	Won Round One (Sugar Skulls) 46–34 Won WC Championship (Wranglers) 68–46 Won IFL National Championship (vs. Storm) 51–41
	Tucson Sugar Skulls	9–6	Lost Round One (at Panthers) 34–46
	Northern Arizona Wranglers	7–8	Won Round One (at Rattlers) 62–53 Lost WC Championship (at Panthers) 46–68
2024	Vegas Knight Hawks	11–5	Lost Round One (at Rattlers) 38–39
	Arizona Rattlers	11–5	Won Round One (Knight Hawks) 39–38 Won WC Championship (Strike Force) 58–23 Won IFL National Championship (vs. Pirates) 53–16
	San Diego Strike Force	10–6	Won Round One (at Panthers) 49–40 Lost WC Championship (at Rattlers) 23–58

Season results

	Denotes team that won the IFL National Championship
	Denotes team that won the WC Championship, but lost the IFL National Championship
	Denotes team that qualified for the IFL Playoffs

Season	Team (record)
	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th	7th	8th
2022: The Western Conference was formed with seven inaugural members, the Arizona Rattlers, Bay Area Panthers, Duke City Gladiators, Northern Arizona Wranglers, San Diego Strike Force, Tucson Sugar Skulls, and the Vegas Knight Hawks.
2022	Arizona (13–3)	Northern Arizona (12–4)	Tucson (9–7)	Duke City (8–8)	Vegas (6–10)	San Diego (3–13)	Bay Area (1–15)	—
2023	Arizona (11–4)	Bay Area (10–5)	Tucson (9–6)	Northern Arizona (7–8)	San Diego (6–9)	Duke City (5–10)	Vegas (5–10)	—
2024: An expansion team, the San Antonio Gunslingers, joined the Western Conference.
2024	Bay Area (13–3)	Vegas (11–5)	Arizona (11–5)	San Diego (10–6)	Northern Arizona (9–7)	San Antonio (8–8)	Duke City (3–13)	Tucson (2–14)
2025: The Duke City Gladiators went dormant and left the Western Conference.
2025	Bay Area (13–3)	Vegas (10–6)	San Diego (10–6)	Arizona (10–6)	Tucson (6–10)	San Antonio (5–11)	Northern Arizona (2–14)	—
2026: The Duke City Gladiators rejoined the Western Conference and rebranded to the New Mexico Chupacabras.

Notes

1. The Duke City Gladiators were in the Western Conference from 2022 to 2024 before going dormant in 2025. They rejoined the conference in 2026 and rebranded to the New Mexico Chupacabras.

References

1. "RATTLERS FALL TO WRANGLERS". Indoor Football League. 31 July 2022. Retrieved 16 February 2025.
2. "PANTHERS WIN AGAINST THE WRANGLERS TO MAKE THE IFL NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP". Indoor Football League. 30 July 2023. Retrieved 16 February 2025.
3. Zientek, Dakota; Van Beek, Eric (6 August 2024). "2024 IFL CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP RECAP". Indoor Football League. Retrieved 16 February 2025.