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

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 ...

. Keary Ecklund, the owner of the

Green Bay Bombers The Green Bay Bombers was an indoor football team that played in the Professional Indoor Football League (PIFL) in 1998, and in the Indoor Football League (IFL) in 1999 and 2000. The Bombers franchise was owned by Keary Ecklund. The team office w ...

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 Hall-of-Famer

Kellen Winslow Kellen Boswell Winslow Sr. (born November 5, 1957) is an American former professional football player in the National Football League (NFL). A member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame (1995), he is widely recognized as one of the greatest tight ...

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. Their championship game was known as the Gold Cup. Midway through the 2000 season, the Topeka Knights changed management and nicknames and became the Kings. After the season, the entire league was purchased by 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 ...

Orlando Predators The Orlando Predators were a professional arena football team based in Orlando, Florida and member of the Arena Football League (AFL). The team was most recently owned by Orlando Predators LLC, a company owned by David A. Siegel, and played its ...

. Two teams, the

Lincoln Lightning The Lincoln Capitols were a professional indoor football team that played their home games at Pershing Auditorium in Lincoln, Nebraska, United States. They originally planned on becoming the Nebraska Knockout, but the name was scrapped. From ...

and

Peoria Pirates The Peoria Pirates were a professional arena football team that last played in AF2, the minor league to the Arena Football League (AFL). They played their home games at Carver Arena, part of the Peoria Civic Center in Illinois, and were coached ...

, as well as many players, became a part of their developmental ("farm") league, the

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 Wichita Warlords were rebranded the Wichita Stealth. Other teams resurfaced with new names in the

Indoor Professional Football League The Indoor Professional Football League (IPFL) was the new incarnation of the Professional Indoor Football League (PIFL), which started in 1998. Two of its teams (the Madison Mad Dogs and the Green Bay Bombers) left the league and their owner, ...

(which consisted of the remnants of the PIFL that Ecklund left in 1999) and 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, ...

1999 teams

North Division

1. y-

, 11-1 2. x-

, 9-3 3. Madison Mad Dogs, 6-6 4.

Duluth-Superior Lumberjacks The Duluth-Superior Lumberjacks were a professional indoor American football team based in Duluth, Minnesota. They were members of the original Indoor Football League founded in 1998 and began play in 1999. They competed in the Northern Division ...

, 1-11

South Division

1. y-

, 7-5 2. x-

Dayton Skyhawks The Dayton Skyhawks were a professional indoor American football team based in Dayton, Ohio Dayton () is the sixth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County. A small part of the city extends into Gre ...

, 6-6 3. Topeka Knights, 6-6 4.

Steel Valley Smash The Ohio Valley Greyhounds were a professional indoor football team. They began play in 1999 as the Steel Valley Smash, a charter member of the IFL. After the league folded, they moved to the NIFL, became a charter member, and renamed thems ...

, 2-10 *y – clinched division *x – clinched wild card

1999 Playoffs

2000 teams

Eastern Conference

Northern Division

1. z-

(14-0) 2. x-

(10-4) 3. x- Madison Mad Dogs (8-6) 4. Minnesota Purple Rage (5-9) 5.

(2-12) 6.

La Crosse River Rats The La Crosse River Rats were an Indoor American football, indoor football team based in La Crosse, Wisconsin. They were members of the original Indoor Football League (1999–2000), Indoor Football League (IFL) and played their home games at th ...

(2-12)

Southern Division

1. y-

(9-5) 2. x- Erie Invaders (6-8) 3. x-

(6-8) 4. Johnstown Jackals (3-11) 5. Flint Flames (2-12)

Western Conference

Northern Division

1. z-

Bismarck Blaze The Bismarck Blaze were a professional indoor American football team based in Bismarck, North Dakota. They were members of the original Indoor Football League founded in 1999 and began play in 2000. They competed in the Northern Division of the ...

(11-3) 2. x- Black Hills Machine (10-4) 3. x- Casper Cavalry (9-5) 4. Billings Thunderbolts (8-6) 5.

Fargo Freeze Fargodome is an indoor athletic stadium in the West North Central states, north central United States, located on the campus of North Dakota State University (NDSU) in Fargo, North Dakota. Opened in late 1992, the facility is owned by the City o ...

(1-13)

Southern Division

1. y- Topeka Knights/Kings (10-4) 2. x-

(10-4) 3. x- Sioux City Attack (9-5) 4. Sioux Falls Cobras (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