American Indoor Football (AIF) was a professional indoor football league, one of the several regional professional indoor football leagues in North America. The AIFL began as a regional league with six franchises on the

East Coast of the United States The East Coast of the United States, also known as the Eastern Seaboard, the Atlantic Coast, and the Atlantic Seaboard, is the coastline along which the Eastern United States meets the North Atlantic Ocean. The eastern seaboard contains the coa ...

in 2005. After a rapid, and largely failed, expansion effort in 2006, most of the league's remaining teams jumped to the new AIFA (the rest joined the short-lived WIFL). The AIFA expanded throughout existing territory and, in 2008, expanded into the

Western United States The Western United States (also called the American West, the Far West, and the West) is the region comprising the westernmost states of the United States. As American settlement in the U.S. expanded westward, the meaning of the term ''the Wes ...

. The league legally divided into two entities to allow for a partial merger with the

Southern Indoor Football League 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 H ...

, which resulted in all of its Eastern teams merging into the SIFL and the AIFA only maintaining its western teams. The league's western component, which remained separate of the merger, had indicated it would play as the AIFA West for the 2011 season but ceased operations January 2011. The league announced it would be relaunching as American Indoor Football in time for spring 2012. After the 2016 season, the AIF ceased operations with the former AIF owner stating his support for the recently created Arena Developmental League. In 2021, league owner John Morris announced he planned to relaunch the AIF for the 2022 season, though no games would be played.

History

The league has its roots in the Atlantic Indoor Football League, which began play in 2005 under the leadership of Andrew Haines. The first team to join the AIFL was the

Johnstown RiverHawks 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 Mem ...

. The league began with six teams, all of them based in the eastern

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. Two teams played all of their games on the road, and the regular season was cut short two weeks because of teams being unable to secure venues for playoff games. In the 2005–06 offseason, the league changed its name to the American Indoor Football League, while nine expansion teams entered the league and a tenth (the

Rome Renegades 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, ...

) joined from the

National Indoor Football League 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, ...

. The 2006 season was marred by the folding of two teams, and the league used semi-pro teams to fill scheduling vacancies. The league was briefly acquired by

Greens Worldwide Greens may refer to: *Leaf vegetables such as collard greens, mustard greens, spring greens, winter greens, spinach, etc. Politics Supranational * Green politics * Green party, political parties adhering to Green politics * Global Greens * Euro ...

, Inc., the owners of the amateur North American Football League, during the 2006 season, but they terminated the contract soon afterwards. Nine teams left the league after the season, including four who split off to create the short-lived

World Indoor Football League The World Indoor Football League was an indoor football league that was to begin in 1988 to compete with the Arena Football League, which was playing its second season in 1988. Some of the teams in the league ran into financial trouble before th ...

. On October 2, 2006, a massive reorganization took place as Morris and Michael Mink set up a new league, which absorbed all of the remaining AIFL franchises, and Haines was ousted. (Haines would go on to create the

Mid-Atlantic Hockey League 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 juni ...

in 2007, before similar stability problems led to the forced divestiture of that league as well. Haines would, in April 2010, announce he was relaunching his league as the

Ultimate Indoor Football League 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 ...

beginning in 2011 and revived two defunct former AIFL teams.) The league took on the American Indoor Football Association name at the same time. The 2007 season was relatively successful for the league, as all 112 scheduled games were played and no teams folded mid-season, a major improvement over the past two seasons (when the AIFA was known as the AIFL). The AIFA Championship Bowl I was a neutral site game held in

Florence, South Carolina Florence is a city in and the county seat of Florence County, South Carolina, United States. It lies at the intersection of Interstates 20 and 95 and is the eastern terminus of the former. It is the primary city within the Florence metropolit ...

. In addition, the league held its first All-Star Game the same weekend, also in Florence. League owners stated that the neutral site was chosen so that both games could be televised to obtain nationwide exposure for the league. The league then expanded nationwide; some individual teams were able to acquire several players with NFL experience, a sign that the league had achieved a level on par with leagues such as

af2 The AF2 (often styled as af2, and short for arenafootball2) 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 ru ...

. The league earned a major television contract as well: On September 17, 2007, The American Indoor Football Association owners John Morris and Michael Min announced that the league signed a three-year national television broadcast, mobile phone broadcast, and webcast licensing agreement with Simply 4Me Incorporated (d.b.a. SimplyMe TV). However, that deal was subsequently cancelled. Later in the season, FSN Pittsburgh agreed to pick up the remaining games;

Erie, Pennsylvania Erie (; ) is a city on the south shore of Lake Erie and the county seat of Erie County, Pennsylvania, United States. Erie is the fifth largest city in Pennsylvania and the largest city in Northwestern Pennsylvania with a population of 94,831 a ...

-based Image Sports Network was also involved with the league. Eight teams participating in the league in 2007 did not return for the 2008 season, including the 2007 champion

Lakeland Thunderbolts The Lakeland Thunderbolts were a professional indoor football team. They were a member of the American Indoor Football Association (AIFA). They played their home games at the Lakeland Center. History The Lakeland Thunderbolts began in 2005 as ...

. The AIFA became the third league since 2004 (excluding the folded WIFL and NIFL before its folding) to lose its standing champion (the 2004 NIFL champion

Lexington Horsemen Lexington may refer to: Places England * Laxton, Nottinghamshire, formerly Lexington Canada * Lexington, a district in Waterloo, Ontario United States * Lexington, Kentucky, the largest city with this name * Lexington, Massachusetts, the oldes ...

left to join the newly created UIF and later were in

, and the 2006 champion

Billings Outlaws The Billings Outlaws were a professional league indoor football team based in Billings, Montana. They were a member of the Indoor Football League (IFL), of which they were the 2-time defending champions. They played their home games at Rimrock A ...

also left to join two years later). However, nine teams signed on to begin play in 2008, and the league created a Western Conference. In 2007, the team farthest west was based in

Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...

; in 2008, the team farthest west was based in

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

. Three of the four teams who had won the league championship to that point were no longer active league members. The 2009 season culminated in AIFA Championship Bowl III, hosted by the Western Conference champion

Wyoming Cavalry The Wyoming Cavalry were an American professional indoor football team based in Casper, Wyoming. They were most recently members of the Intense Conference in the Indoor Football League (IFL). The Cavalry began play in 2000 as an expansion member ...

on July 25, 2009. The game, played before 6,500 fans at the

Casper Events Center The Ford Wyoming Center (formerly known as the Casper Events Center) is a multi-purpose arena in Casper, Wyoming, in the United States. The arena was built in April 1982. It seats 8,395 for ice hockey and indoor football games, 8,842 for basketba ...

, saw the

Reading Express 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 ...

defeat the

for their first title, 65–42. As the 2010 season approached, AIFA continued to expand its nationwide footprint. Expansion franchises had been added in

Richmond, Virginia (Thus do we reach the stars) , image_map = , mapsize = 250 px , map_caption = Location within Virginia , pushpin_map = Virginia#USA , pushpin_label = Richmond , pushpin_m ...

;

Yakima, Washington Yakima ( or ) is a city in and the county seat of Yakima County, Washington, and the state's 11th-largest city by population. As of the 2020 census, the city had a total population of 96,968 and a metropolitan population of 256,728. The uninco ...

;

Wasilla, Alaska Wasilla ( Dena'ina: ''Benteh'') is a city in Matanuska-Susitna Borough, United States and the fourth-largest city in Alaska. It is located on the northern point of Cook Inlet in the Matanuska-Susitna Valley of the southcentral part of the ...

(believed to be the smallest city in America to host a national professional football franchise) and

Wenatchee, Washington Wenatchee ( ) is the county seat and largest city of Chelan County, Washington, United States. The population within the city limits in 2010 was 31,925, and was estimated to have increased to 34,360 as of 2019. Located in the north-central part ...

. The moves gave the AIFA a much more significant presence on the

West Coast of the United States The West Coast of the United States, also known as the Pacific Coast, Pacific states, and the western seaboard, is the coastline along which the Western United States meets the North Pacific Ocean. The term typically refers to the contiguous U.S ...

. To accommodate this, and to keep travel expenses down, for the 2010 season the AIFA adopted a scheduling system that effectively treated the Eastern and Western conferences as separate leagues, with no regular-season crossover between the two conferences. The league also secured a television contract with

AMGTV AMGTV is an American family-oriented television network featuring television programming consisting of drama, sports, movies, entertainment, how-to, hunting and fishing, children's shows, and other features, much of it repackaged from off-netw ...

, which was to

syndicate A syndicate is a self-organizing group of individuals, companies, corporations or entities formed to transact some specific business, to pursue or promote a shared interest. Etymology The word ''syndicate'' comes from the French language, Frenc ...

a "Game of the Week" package to

regional sports network In the United States and Canada, a regional sports network (RSN) is a cable television channel (many of which are also distributed on direct broadcast satellite services) that presents sports programming to a local market or geographical region. ...

s and its network of low-powered broadcast stations. In 2010, the Baltimore Mariners completed the league's first-ever

perfect season A perfect season is a sports season, including any requisite playoff portion, in which a team remains and finishes undefeated and untied. The feat is extremely rare at the professional level of any team sport, and has occurred more commonly at the ...

by winning all fourteen regular season games and winning AIFA Championship Bowl IV.

Split, partial merger with the SIFL and first cessation of operations

The AIFA arranged a split and partial merger with the

after the 2010 season. As part of the deal, Morris would acquire the rights to the Eastern Conference teams and merge them into the SIFL, while Mink would retain the western conference teams, rights to the AIFA name, and television contract, the last of which was extended through 2013. The AIFA West originally announced that it would begin its season with four teams, beginning in March 2011, after the

Tucson Thunder Kats , "(at the) base of the black

ill ILL may refer to: * '' I Love Lucy'', a landmark American television sitcom * Illorsuit Heliport (location identifier: ILL), a heliport in Illorsuit, Greenland * Institut Laue–Langevin, an internationally financed scientific facility * Interlibra ...

, nicknames = "The Old Pueblo", "Optics Valley", "America's biggest small town" , image_map = , mapsize = 260px , map_caption = Interactive ...

announced it would be suspending operations until 2012. As of January 2011, no schedule had been released, and the league informed the remaining three teams that there would not be a fourth team representing

Eugene, Oregon Eugene ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Oregon. It is located at the southern end of the Willamette Valley, near the confluence of the McKenzie and Willamette rivers, about east of the Oregon Coast. As of the 2020 United States Census, Eu ...

as the league had earlier promised. The league attempted to work out a schedule with the remaining three teams, but the

Reno Barons Reno ( ) is a city in the northwest section of the U.S. state of Nevada, along the Nevada-California border, about north from Lake Tahoe, known as "The Biggest Little City in the World". Known for its casino and tourism industry, Reno is the ...

and Stockton Wolves were unwilling to go forward with such a schedule and broke from the league. Both teams operated as the two-team "Western Indoor Football Association" in 2011, each playing whatever

semi-pro ''Semi-Pro'' is a 2008 American sports comedy film. The film was directed by Kent Alterman in his directorial debut, written by Scot Armstrong, and produced by Jimmy Miller. It stars Will Ferrell, Woody Harrelson, André Benjamin and Maura Tier ...

teams were willing to face them in addition to each other. With only the

Yakima Valley Warriors The Yakima Valley Warriors were a professional indoor football team that will played in the American Indoor Football Association in the 2010 season. The Warriors were based in Yakima, Washington. Their home games were played at the Yakima SunDo ...

left, the AIFA ceased operations; it said that it would attempt to relaunch in 2012 with eight to 12 teams in at least two regions of the United States. As of June 2011, Morris had released a statement indicating he still represented the AIFA when he purchased the assets of the

Fayetteville Force The Fayetteville Force was a professional ice hockey team. based in Fayetteville, North Carolina. The franchise was a member of the Central Hockey League (1997–2001). They played their home games at the Crown Coliseum. Background In 1996, the C ...

Relaunch and folding

Triangle Torch vs Lehigh Valley Steelhawks 3

On October 27, 2011, the AIFA announced it was relaunching as American Indoor Football (AIF). The move came in light of the dissolution of the SIFL and its breakup into the

Professional Indoor Football League The Professional Indoor Football League (PIFL) was a professional indoor football league that played four seasons from 2012 to 2015. Like the Lone Star Football League, the PIFL was mainly composed of teams formerly part of Southern Indoor Foo ...

and the

Lone Star Football League The Lone Star Football League (LSFL) was a regional professional indoor football minor league 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 ...

. AIF announced its intentions to absorb the three remaining SIFL teams not in either the PIFL or LSFL (the

Harrisburg Stampede The Harrisburg Stampede were a professional indoor football team based in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. The Stampede participated in several different leagues over their history: the American Indoor Football Association in 2009 and 2010, the Southern ...

Trenton Steel The Trenton Steel was a professional indoor football team that began play in the Southern Indoor Football League (SIFL) in the 2011 season. The team suspended operations December 27, 2011. The Steel were based in Trenton, New Jersey, with home gam ...

and Carolina Speed), as well as the remaining teams that would have participated in the AIFA West. AIF intended to launch an amateur division as well. In 2015, the league absorbed the remains of the

Continental Indoor Football League The Continental Indoor Football League (CIFL) was an indoor football league based along the Midwestern United States region that played nine seasons from 2006 to 2014. It began play in April 2006 as the Great Lakes Indoor Football League (GLIF ...

, picking up the

Saginaw Sting The Saginaw Sting was a professional Indoor Football team based in Saginaw, Michigan. The team was most recently a member of American Indoor Football (AIF). They began play in 2008 as an expansion team in the Continental Indoor Football League ...

and

Chicago Blitz The Chicago Blitz was a professional American football team that played in the United States Football League in the mid-1980s. They played at Soldier Field in Chicago, Illinois. Team history The Blitz were one of the twelve charter franchis ...

from that league; the CIFL Web site became a redirect to AIF's. (The two other surviving teams from that league chose to play in other leagues: Erie decided to join the PIFL, while the

Marion Blue Racers The Marion Blue Racers were a professional indoor football team based in Marion, Ohio. The Blue Racers began play as an expansion team in the Continental Indoor Football League (CIFL) in 2011, before moving to the United Indoor Football League ...

fulfilled an earlier promise to join the X-League). In homage to the CIFL, AIF split into two conferences, one bearing the American name and the other (which includes both CIFL refugees) named the Continental Conference. The conference names were changed to Northern and Southern for the 2016 season. The 2016 season saw the league grow from nine teams to a total of 28 announced teams. However, only 21 teams ever played a league game that season, including four teams that folded midseason and several other teams cancelling scheduled games. The

Columbus Lions The Columbus Lions are a professional indoor football team based in Columbus, Georgia and are a member of the American Indoor Football Alliance. The were a founding member of the National Arena League (NAL) for the 2017 season. The Lions were f ...

, which joined for 2016, would finish the season undefeated and win the championship. The Lions then announced that they were leaving the league due to the league's instability, especially in the Southern Division where the Lions were the only team that did not have a cancelled or rescheduled game. On July 7, 2016, the Lions' owners announced the formation of a new league, the Arena Developmental League. On July 13, the

Lehigh Valley Steelhawks The Lehigh Valley Steelhawks were a professional indoor football team based in Allentown, Pennsylvania. The Steelhawks began play as an expansion team in the Indoor Football League (IFL) in 2011. The Steelhawks moved to the Professional Indoor ...

also announced they were leaving the AIF. In response, AIF owner Jim Morris announced on July 18, 2016, that the AIF was ceasing operations immediately. He also announced his support of the new Arena Developmental League (which later changed its name to

National Arena League The National Arena League (NAL) is a professional indoor football league that began play in 2017. It consists of teams based on the East Coast of the United States. Teams' typical payroll budget is $600,000 per season, while players are paid $ ...

before its inaugural season) and hoped the new league would take on many of the former AIF teams. The

Buffalo Blitz The Buffalo Blitz was a professional indoor football team based in Buffalo, New York. The club was established in 2014 as the Buffalo Lightning, an expansion team in American Indoor Football for the 2015 season. Playing as an independent in 20 ...

(formerly the Buffalo Lightning) used the official AIF football in their press announcement upon joining the

Can-Am Indoor Football League The American Arena League (AAL) is a professional indoor football minor league that began playing in 2018. The league was initiated by a merger between Arena Pro Football (APF) and the Can-Am Indoor Football League (Can-Am), although the AAL o ...

, which was created by announced AIF 2017 expansion team

Vermont Bucks The Vermont Bucks were an Indoor American football, indoor football team based in Vermont. They started as a charter member of the professional Can-Am Indoor Football League (Can-Am), playing home games at Gutterson Fieldhouse in Burlington, Verm ...

. The Can-Am also used the AIF footballs in games during their only season.

Basic rule differences

*AIF did not use rebound nets found in the

Arena Football League The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 season, making it the third longest-running professional football league in ...

. *One linebacker could move flat to flat but was required to stay in drop zone. *Platooning and free substitution were allowed, meaning players did not have to play both offense and defense. *Franchises were required to have at least nine players that originated from within a 120-mile radius of the team's home town. *The AIF ball pattern was similar to that of the basketball in the

American Basketball Association The American Basketball Association (ABA) was a major men's professional basketball league from 1967 to 1976. The ABA ceased to exist with the ABA–NBA merger, American Basketball Association–National Basketball Association merger in 1976, ...

, with red, white, and blue panels as opposed to the brown colored football of most leagues. This pattern originated in the AIFL and is also used in the UIFL. Two rule changes appeared to be inspired by

Canadian football Canadian football () is a team sport, sport played in Canada in which two teams of 12 players each compete for territorial control of a field of play long and wide attempting to advance a pointed oval-shaped ball into the opposing team's sco ...

rules: *Two offensive players could be in motion at one time. The AFL allows only one in motion. *The AIF recognized the

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

(also known as an uno or rouge). If a kickoff goes through the uprights, or if the receiving team does not advance the ball out of the end zone on a kickoff, the kicking team is awarded one point and the ball is spotted at the opponent's five yard line.

Teams

Teams when league folded

''Italics indicate travel only team (including the Maryland Eagles who also have home games with another league)''

Map of teams

Former teams

Defunct franchises

*Abilene Warriors – Announced for 2016 but never played. *

AIFL Ghostchasers The Carolina Ghostriders were an indoor football team and charter member of the American Indoor Football League. History Formed in 2005, they were originally named the Carolina Sharks and played their home games at the Cricket Arena in Charlott ...

* Arctic Predators (

). *

Arizona Adrenaline The Arizona Adrenaline were a professional indoor American football team based in Prescott Valley, Arizona. They were members of the Mountain West division of the Intense Conference of the Indoor Football League (IFL). The Adrenaline were founded ...

Arizona Outlaws The Arizona Outlaws were a professional American football team that played in the United States Football League in the mid-1980s. They were owned by Fresno banker and real estate magnate William Tatham Sr., who had briefly owned the Portland Thu ...

* Atlanta Sharks – At one point, listed on the 2016 schedule of the

Indoor Football Alliance Supreme Indoor Football (SIF) is an inactive professional indoor football league based in the Southeastern United States. The SIF was originally the creation of the Cape Fear Heroes ownership. During the league's initial launch in 2015, it was ...

. * Atlanta Vultures – Folded during the 2016 season. *

Augusta Colts The Augusta Colts were a professional indoor football team based in Augusta, Georgia. The team played their home games at the James Brown Arena. History The Colts originally began in 2006 as the Augusta Spartans of the American Indoor Football ...

– Originally played as the Augusta Spartans. *Austin Colts – Added midseason in 2016 but folded prior to playing any games. *

Baltimore Blackbirds The Baltimore Blackbirds were an indoor football team based in Baltimore, Maryland. They played the 2007 season as an expansion member of the American Indoor Football Association, at the 1st Mariner Arena CFG Bank Arena (originally the Balti ...

* Baltimore Mariners *

Canton Legends 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 th ...

Carolina Ghostriders The Carolina Ghostriders were an indoor football team and charter member of the American Indoor Football League. History Formed in 2005, they were originally named the Carolina Sharks and played their home games at the Cricket Arena in Charlotte ...

– Also known as the Carolina Sharks, AIFL Ghostriders, and indirectly the Greensboro Ghostriders. * Carolina Speed * Chattahoochee Valley Vipers *

Corpus Christi Fury 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. History The Fury began life as the Corpus Christi Hammerheads, a charter ...

– Added for 2016, folded midseason. *

Cleveland Patriots The Cleveland Patriots were a professional indoor football team based in Warrensville Heights, Ohio. They were member of the American Indoor Football (AIF) league and played their home games at the Multiplex in Warrensville Heights. They are the ...

Danville Demolition The Danville Demolition were an American Indoor Football Association team that played in 2007. The team played their home games at the David S. Palmer Arena. History On June 19, 2006, the AIFA announced that Danville would get a team to play ...

Daytona Beach Thunder 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 Thu ...

D.C. Armor The D.C. Armor was a professional Indoor American football, indoor football team that began play in the American Indoor Football Association (AIFA) in the 2009 season. The team was based in Washington, D.C., with home games at the under-renovation ...

Erie Freeze The Erie Freeze was an American indoor football team based in Erie, Pennsylvania. They were an original member of the American Indoor Football League in 2005, and advanced to the first AIFL Championship Game. When the league was reorganized into ...

Fayetteville Guard The Fayetteville Guard was a professional indoor football team in the National Indoor Football League (NIFL) and American Indoor Football Association (AIFA). They played home games at the Cumberland County Crown Coliseum from 2005 to 2010. The ...

Florence Phantoms The Florence Phantoms were a professional indoor football team based out of Florence, South Carolina, in the United States. They were an expansion member of the American Indoor Football Association (AIFA) in 2006, and were the AIFA Champions o ...

Florida Stingrays The Florida Stingrays were an amateur football team in the American Indoor Football Association and United Football Federation of America. They were once a 2008 expansion team of the American Indoor Football Association, where they played their h ...

Gulf Coast Raiders A gulf is a large inlet from the ocean into the landmass, typically with a narrower opening than a bay, but that is not observable in all geographic areas so named. The term gulf was traditionally used for large highly-indented navigable bodie ...

Huntington Heroes 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 Hunti ...

Johnstown Riverhawks 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 Mem ...

*Louisiana Cottonmouths – Announced for 2016 but never played. *

– Announced as a member for the 2016 season joining from the X-League but suspended operations prior to the season. *

Maryland Reapers The Maryland Reapers were an American Indoor Football team that played in 2012. Based in Laurel, Maryland Laurel is a city in Maryland, United States, located midway between Washington and Baltimore on the banks of the Patuxent River. While t ...

* Mississippi MudCats *

Montgomery Bears The Montgomery Bears were a professional indoor football team that played their home games at the Garrett Coliseum in Montgomery, Alabama. They are a member of the American Indoor Football Association. The team began play as the Montgomery Mau ...

Myrtle Beach Freedom The Myrtle Beach Freedom were a professional indoor football team based in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, and played their home games at the Myrtle Beach Convention Center. They were a member of American Indoor Football for one season until the lea ...

Nevada Lynx The Nevada Lynx were a professional indoor football team that played in 2012 for the American Indoor Football League. They competed in only four games during their brief existence. Their inaugural game was on March 6, 2012, on the road against ...

* New Jersey Revolution *

New Mexico Wildcats The New Mexico Wildcats were a professional indoor football team that played in American Indoor Football (AIF) in the 2008 and 2009 seasons. The team was based in Rio Rancho, New Mexico, with home games played at the Santa Ana Star Center (which w ...

New Mexico Stars The New Mexico Stars were a professional indoor football team based in Rio Rancho, New Mexico. The Stars played their home games at the Santa Ana Star Center. They began play in the Indoor Football League (IFL) during the 2012 season as an e ...

Northern Kentucky Nightmare The Northern Kentucky Nightmare was a professional Indoor American football, indoor football team based in Highland Heights, Kentucky and were members of American Indoor Football that began play in the 2016 season. The Nightmare, who were nominall ...

–

Traveling Travel is the movement of people between distant geographical locations. Travel can be done by foot, bicycle, automobile, train, boat, bus, airplane, ship or other means, with or without luggage, and can be one way or round trip. Travel can ...

2016 expansion team; ownership attempted to join the Arena Developmental League after the AIF ceased operations. *Northshore Gators – Announced for 2016 but never played. *

Ogden Knights The Ogden Knights were a professional indoor football team that began play in the American Indoor Football Association in the 2009 season. The Knights were based in Ogden, Utah, with home games to be played at the Golden Spike Arena. While it is ...

Ontario Warriors The Ontario Warriors were a team in American Indoor Football that played in 2012. Based in Ontario, California, the Warriors played their home games at Citizens Business Bank Arena. The Warriors were the first men's indoor football team to pla ...

* Philadelphia Yellow Jackets – Joined in 2016, folded midseason. *Pineywoods Bucks – Announced for 2016 season but never played. * Raleigh Rebels *

Richmond Bandits The Richmond Bandits were a professional indoor football team based in Richmond, Virginia. They were a charter member of the Atlantic Indoor Football League. In 2005, the Bandits defeated the Erie Freeze to win the AIFL's first-ever American Bo ...

Richmond Raiders The Richmond Raiders were a professional indoor football team located in Richmond, Virginia the Richmond Coliseum as their home arena. The Raiders began play in the 2010 as an expansion team of the American Indoor Football Association (AIFA). The ...

* Roc City Thunder – Played as an independent; announced as member of, but never actually played, in the league. *

Rochester Raiders The Rochester Raiders were a professional indoor football team based in the Rochester, New York area. They played their home games at Bill Gray's Regional Iceplex in Rochester. The Raiders were previously a member of the Continental Indoor Foot ...

Springfield Stallions The Springfield Stallions were an indoor football team that played their home games in Springfield, Illinois. They were a 2007 expansion member of the Continental Indoor Football League. The Stallions played their home football games at the Prai ...

South Carolina Force The Greenville Force was a professional indoor football team in the Southern Indoor Football League. The team was based in Greenville, South Carolina, with home games played at the BI-LO Center. The Force was the first arena/indoor football tea ...

* Steel City Menace – Joined in 2016, folded midseason * Steubenville Stampede * Syracuse Soldiers – Also known as the Binghamton Brigade *

Tallahassee Titans The Tallahassee Titans were an American Indoor Football Association team that began play as a 2007 member. The team played its home games at the Donald L. Tucker Center in Tallahassee, Florida. History The owner of the team, David Morris had been ...

Tucson Thunder Kats , "(at the) base of the black

, nicknames = "The Old Pueblo", "Optics Valley", "America's biggest small town" , image_map = , mapsize = 260px , map_caption = Interactive ...

– Announced but never played *

Utah Saints Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to its we ...

Virginia Badgers The West Virginia Badgers were a professional indoor football team based in Charles Town, West Virginia. The Badgers were a member of American Indoor Football American Indoor Football (AIF) was a professional indoor football league, one of the ...

Wenatchee Valley Venom The Wenatchee Valley Venom were a professional indoor football team based in Wenatchee, Washington. The team was most recently a member of the Pacific Division of the Intense Conference of the Indoor Football League (IFL). The Venom were founded ...

* York/Central Penn Capitals

Former AIFL/AIFA/AIF teams that left and were still active

* ASI Panthers – Announced to be an independent team for 2016 but was also listed by

as a member. The team instead went to the semi-professional Minor League Football and were renamed to Penn Panthers. * Buffalo Lightning – Played a short 2016 season as an independent before playing 2017 as the

as members of the

. * Cape Fear Heroes – Created their own league in 2015 as the charter member of Supreme Indoor Football (SIF) which then became part of the Indoor Football Alliance (IFA). The IFA was unable to organize a season in time and went on hiatus for 2016. The Heroes ownership restarted the SIF for 2017. * Central Florida Jaguars – Joined the AIF as an expansion team in 2016. Became the charter member of the semi-professional Elite Indoor Football Conference for 2017 and briefly an affiliate member of the new Arena Pro Football. In 2017, the EIFC played all league games outdoors in

Bartow, Florida Bartow ( ) is the county seat of Polk County, Florida, United States. Founded in 1851 as Fort Blount, the city was renamed in honor of Francis S. Bartow, the first brigade commander of the Confederate Army to die in combat during the American C ...

. *

– After the team went for sale near the end of the 2016 season, the team ceased operations for 2017. Joined the semiprofessional regional Midwest Professional Indoor Football for 2018 but left the league after three games. *

– Joined for the 2016 season and won the AIF championship. One week later the team announced they would not return to the AIF for the 2017 season and the owners formed a new league called the Arena Developmental League, which then changed its name to

. * Erie RiverRats/Storm – Later called the Erie Explosion. Played in

before league folded in 2015. Initially part of the Indoor Football Alliance as a member of the reorganized

but went on hiatus for 2016, never to return. *

Florida Tarpons 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 t ...

– Joined for the 2016 season from the recently defunct

X-League Indoor Football X-League Indoor Football (X-League) was a professional indoor football minor league that began play in 2014. The league was co-chaired by Michael Mink and Kacee Smith. On September 19, 2015, the league announced a merger with the future "North ...

. Joined the new Arena Pro Football for 2017 after the AIF ceased operations. *

Georgia Firebirds The Georgia Firebirds were a professional indoor football team based in Albany, Georgia, and played their home games at the Albany Civic Center. Previously, the Firebirds played as an outdoor football team in various semi-pro leagues before going ...

– Joined for the 2016 season. Joined the new National Arena League for 2017 after the AIF ceased operations. *

– Moved to the

after their 2013 championship, then folded following the 2014 season. *

High Country Grizzlies The High Country Grizzlies were a professional indoor football team that began play in the 2017 season. Based in Boone, North Carolina, the Grizzlies played their home games at the George M. Holmes Convocation Center on the campus of Appalachi ...

– Announced as 2017 expansion team prior to the AIF folding. Joined the new National Arena League for 2017 after the AIF ceased operations. *

– Joined for the 2016 season but left after one season. Joined National Arena League for 2017 prior to the AIF ceasing operations. *Maryland Eagles – Full AIF member in 2013, and then a part-time traveling team from 2014 to 2016 while also playing full-time in a regional semi-professional league. After the AIF ceased operations, went semi-pro only. *

Miami Valley Silverbacks 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 afte ...

– Joined AIFL for 2006 season but left after one season. Joined

in 2007 until the 2012 season. Played as Dayton Silverbacks from 2010 to 2012. *

River City Raiders The River City Raiders (formerly known as the Missouri Monsters and the St. Louis Attack) 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 Ra ...

– Joined for the 2016 season from the

where it was known as the St. Louis Attack. Briefly joined

Champions Indoor Football Champions Indoor Football (CIF) is 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 ...

before joining Arena Pro Football for the 2017 season after the AIF ceased operations. *

Savannah Steam A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach the ground to ...

– Joined for the 2015 season and played two seasons until the AIF folded and they themselves were evicted from their home arena. While working to establish its own Elite Indoor Football league for 2017, they rebranded as the Southern Steam and played home games outdoors and later in a converted warehouse in nearby Statesboro. *Texas Stealth – Announced as an expansion team for the 2016 season but joined North American Indoor Football (a semi-professional league) prior to their first season. *

Triangle Torch The Triangle Torch (also known as the East Carolina Torch) was a professional indoor football team playing in North Carolina. The team first played as the Triangle Torch in Raleigh, North Carolina, and was named after the larger Research Triangle ...

– Joined as an expansion team for the 2016 season. Joined the reorganized Supreme Indoor Football for the 2017 season. *

Utah Valley Thunder Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to its we ...

– Assumed the identity of the

Utah Blaze The Utah Blaze was a professional arena football team based in Salt Lake City, Utah and competed in the West Division of the Arena Football League. Home games were played at the EnergySolutions Arena. In 2013, the team did not submit proper ...

in the

in 2010 until 2013. *

– Announced as 2017 expansion team two days prior to the AIF folding. Created the new

for 2017. *

West Michigan Ironmen The West Michigan Ironmen are a professional indoor football team based in Muskegon, Michigan (and representing the larger region which also includes Grand Rapids and Holland), the Ironmen play their home games at Mercy Health Arena. The team jo ...

– Joined for the 2016 season until the AIF folded. Announced they had joined Champions Indoor Football for 2017.

Substitute

Chambersburg Cardinals The Chambersburg Cardinals are an American football team based in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania. The team plays in the Gridiron Developmental Football League (GDFL). Founding The team was founded in 1946 by local players returning from World War II. I ...

– semi-professional outdoor team that played two games as a substitute in 2006, from the North American Football League. *Columbus Blackhawks – semi-professional team that filled in for one game in 2006. *Philadelphia Scorpions – semi-professional team that filled in for one game in 2006.

Championship games

References

External links

* {{Profootball Defunct indoor American football leagues in the United States