The Southwest Kansas Storm are a professional indoor football team based in

Dodge City, Kansas Dodge City is the county seat of Ford County, Kansas, Ford County, Kansas, United States, named after nearby Fort Dodge (US Army Post), Fort Dodge. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of the city was 27,788. The c ...

. Members of

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 ...

(CIF) from 2022 to 2023, they were announced as members of the revived

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 ...

(AFL) for the 2024 season.

History

had previously had an indoor football team in the

Dodge City Law The Dodge City Law were a professional indoor football team based in Dodge City, Kansas, with home games at the United Wireless Arena. The team joined the Champions Professional Indoor Football League (CPIFL) in 2013 as an expansion member for th ...

, which played through 2017 in

(CIF) before returning in 2021 as a replacement team for the

Oklahoma Flying Aces The Oklahoma Flying Aces are a professional indoor football team based in Enid, Oklahoma, and members of the National Arena League (NAL). The team was founded in 2018 as an expansion franchise in Champions Indoor Football for the 2019 season. T ...

, which had dropped out due to "unforseen workman's compensation insurance issues." The Southwest Kansas Storm were announced as a CIF expansion team on September 30, 2021, with the

United Wireless Arena The United Wireless Arena is a multi-purpose venue in Dodge City, Kansas. The arena sits adjacent to the Boot Hill Casino and is connected to the Boot Hill Casino & Resort Conference Center. The United Wireless Arena and the Boot Hill Casino & ...

being named their home venue. The initial coaching staff featured Mark Timberlake at

head coach A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches. In some sports, the head coach is instead called the "manager", as in assoc ...

, Brandon Venson at

offensive coordinator An offensive coordinator is a member of the coaching staff of an American football or Canadian football team who is in charge of the team's offense. Generally, along with the defensive coordinator and the special teams coordinator, this coach re ...

, Marquis George at

defensive coordinator A defensive coordinator is a coach responsible for a gridiron football (American football) team's defense. Generally, the defensive coordinator, the offensive coordinator and the special teams coordinator represent the second level of a team's c ...

and Jamar Seard as an assistant. Laura Tawater was also announced as

general manager A general manager (GM) is an executive who has overall responsibility for managing both the revenue and cost elements of a company's income statement, known as profit & loss (P&L) responsibility. A general manager usually oversees most or all of ...

. Seven games into the season, Venson was promoted to head coach. They finished the regular season with a record of 5–5 and lost 27–21 in the opening round of the playoffs to the

Omaha Beef 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. History First 13 seas ...

. Valerie Heston became the team's general manager for the 2023 season. Venson continued as their head coach as the Storm went 3–7 and reached the playoffs as the sixth seed, losing in the first round to the

Gillette Mustangs The Gillette Mustangs (formerly Wyoming Mustangs) is a professional indoor football team based in Gillette, Wyoming. The team was announced as a 2021 expansion team as a member of Champions Indoor Football Champions Indoor Football (CIF) is a ...

by a score of 40–35. After the 2023 season, it was announced that Venson would be replaced by Gary Thomas, a former coach at

Dodge City Community College Dodge City Community College (DC3, DCCC) is a public community college in Dodge City, Kansas, United States. History Campus Founded in 1935, Dodge City Community College was located on the third floor of the Senior High School Building at 1601 ...

, as head coach of the Storm. On October 5, 2023, it was announced that the Storm would join the revived

(AFL) for its 2024 season along with the remaining CIF teams.

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Southwest Kansas Storm American football teams established in 2021 Sports in Kansas Champions Indoor Football teams Arena Football League teams 2021 establishments in Kansas