The Indoor Football League (IFL) began in 1999 as an offshoot of the troubled Professional Indoor Football League.

Keary Ecklund Keary is both a surname and given name. Notable people with the name include: * Albert Keary (1886–1962), English footballer *Andrew Keary (born 1987), Irish hurler *Annie Keary (1825−1879), English novelist *Charles Francis Keary (1848−1917) ...

, 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 The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the major ...

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 The Midwestern United States, also referred to as the Midwest or the American Midwest, is one of four Census Bureau Region, census regions of the United States Census Bureau (also known as "Region 2"). It occupies the northern central part of ...

. Their championship game was known as the Gold Cup. Midway through the 2000 season, the

Topeka Knights Topeka ( ; Kansa: ; iow, Dópikˀe, script=Latn or ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Kansas and the seat of Shawnee County. It is along the Kansas River in the central part of Shawnee County, in northeast Kansas, in the Central Un ...

changed management and nicknames and became the Kings. After the season, the entire league was purchased by the Arena Football League's Orlando Predators. Two teams, the Lincoln Lightning and Peoria Pirates, as well as many players, became a part of their developmental ("farm") league, the AF2. The Wichita Warlords were rebranded the Wichita Stealth. Other teams resurfaced with new names in the Indoor Professional Football League (which consisted of the remnants of the PIFL that Ecklund left in 1999) and the National Indoor Football League.

1999 teams

North Division

1. y- Peoria Pirates, 11-1 2. x- Green Bay Bombers, 9-3 3. Madison Mad Dogs, 6-6 4. Duluth-Superior Lumberjacks, 1-11

South Division

1. y- Lincoln Lightning, 7-5 2. x- Dayton Skyhawks, 6-6 3.

, 6-6 4. Steel Valley Smash, 2-10 *y – clinched division *x – clinched wild card

1999 Playoffs

2000 teams

Eastern Conference

Northern Division

1. z- Peoria Pirates (14-0) 2. x- Green Bay Bombers (10-4) 3. x- Madison Mad Dogs (8-6) 4.

Minnesota Purple Rage The Minnesota Purple Rage were a professional indoor American football team based in Mankato, Minnesota. They were members of the original Indoor Football League founded in 1999 and began play in 2000. They competed in the Southern Division of t ...

(5-9) 5. Duluth-Superior Lumberjacks (2-12) 6. La Crosse River Rats (2-12)

Southern Division

1. y- Steel Valley Smash (9-5) 2. x- Erie Invaders (6-8) 3. x- Dayton Skyhawks (6-8) 4.

Johnstown Jackals The National Indoor Football League (NIFL) was a professional indoor American football, 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 deve ...

(3-11) 5.

Flint Flames The Flint Flames were a professional indoor American football team based in Flint, Michigan. They were members of the original Indoor Football League (1999-2000), Indoor Football League founded in 1999 and began play in 2000. They competed in ...

(2-12)

Western Conference

Northern Division

1. z- Bismarck Blaze (11-3) 2. x-

Black Hills Machine Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white have of ...

(10-4) 3. x-

Casper Cavalry Casper may refer to: People * Casper (given name) * Casper (surname) * Casper (Maya ruler) (422–487?), ruler of the Mayan city of Palenque * Tok Casper, first known king of Maya city-state Quiriguá in Guatemala, ruling beginning in 426 * David ...

(9-5) 4.

Billings Thunderbolts Billings is the largest city in the U.S. state of Montana, with a population of 117,116 as of the 2020 census. Located in the south-central portion of the state, it is the seat of Yellowstone County and the principal city of the Billings Metro ...

(8-6) 5. Fargo Freeze (1-13)

Southern Division

1. y- Topeka Knights/Kings (10-4) 2. x- Lincoln Lightning (10-4) 3. x- Sioux City Attack (9-5) 4.

Sioux Falls Cobras 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 ...

(8-6) 5. Wichita Warlords (4-10) *z – clinched conference *y – clinched division *x – clinched wild card

2000 Playoffs

Failed Franchises/Expansion

* Iowa Voltage - announced as member of, but never actually played, in the league. Iowa Voltage Minor League Football
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Indoor Football League (1999-2000) Defunct indoor American football leagues in the United States Sports leagues established in 1999 Sports leagues disestablished in 2000 1999 establishments in the United States 2000 disestablishments in the United States