The Iowa Barnstormers are a professional indoor football team based in

Des Moines, Iowa Des Moines () is the capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is also the county seat of Polk County. A small part of the city extends into Warren County. It was incorporated on September 22, 1851, as Fort Des Moines, ...

. They are currently members of the

Indoor Football League The Indoor Football League (IFL) is a professional indoor American football league created in 2008 out of the merger between the Intense Football League and United Indoor Football. It has one of the largest number of currently active teams amon ...

(IFL). They play their home games at Wells Fargo Arena, known in indoor football circles as "The Well". Several teams called the Iowa Barnstormers have played in different indoor football leagues since 1995. The original

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 ...

team played in Des Moines' Veterans Memorial Auditorium from 1995 to 2001, and subsequently relocated to

Uniondale, New York Uniondale is a census-designated place (CDP), as well as a suburb in Nassau County, New York, Nassau County, New York (state), New York, on Long Island, in the Town of Hempstead, New York, Town of Hempstead. The population was 32,473 at the 2020 ...

, where they were known as the

New York Dragons The New York Dragons were a professional arena football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Dragons participated in the Arena Football League's (AFL) National Conference as a member of the Eastern Division. The team was founded in ...

. Des Moines was awarded a franchise in the developmental

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 ...

league in 2001 that carried on the Barnstormers name and branding, but the team suspended operations after the end of the season. In 2008 a new Barnstormers team began play in the AF2, now based in the new Wells Fargo Arena; this team joined the new AFL in 2010 following the league's reorganization. For the 2015 season, the Barnstormers left the AFL and became members of the IFL.

History

Original Barnstormers: 1995–2000

On April 25, 1994, the

approved an expansion team to be based in

, to begin play in the 1995 season. The team was owned by Jim Foster, the inventor/creator of arena football, and the founder of the Arena Football League. On May 12, 1995, the Barnstormers played their first regular season game, on the road against the Milwaukee Mustangs. In a wild finish that saw both teams combine to score 24 points in the final 40.4 seconds of the fourth quarter, the Barnstormers won, 69–61. The next weekend, May 20, 1995, the Barnstormers played their first regular season home game against the

Miami Hooters Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at the ...

at Veterans Memorial Auditorium, winning 41–29. Behind the strength of AFL Coach of the Year John Gregory, the Barnstormers raced to a 3–0 start and secured the 5th seed for the playoffs. After upsetting defending ArenaBowl champion

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 ...

, 56–52, in their first playoff game, the Barnstormers fell, 56–49, to 6th-seeded

Orlando Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures rele ...

in the semifinals. After an 0–1 start to their second season, the Barnstormers won their first Central Division title on the strength of eight consecutive wins to close the season. After edging

St. Louis St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

and Albany in the first two rounds of the playoffs, the top-seeded Barnstormers lost a 42–38 heartbreaker at home to second-seeded

Tampa Bay Tampa Bay is a large natural harbor and shallow estuary connected to the Gulf of Mexico on the west-central coast of Florida, comprising Hillsborough Bay, McKay Bay, Old Tampa Bay, Middle Tampa Bay, and Lower Tampa Bay. The largest freshwater in ...

ArenaBowl X ArenaBowl X was the Arena Football League's tenth ArenaBowl. The game featured the #2 Tampa Bay Storm of the National Conference against the #1 Iowa Barnstormers of the American Conference. Both teams ended their regular seasons at 12-2, yet Iowa h ...

. In 1997, the Barnstormers repeated as Central Division champions with an 11–3 record, including a 61–38 road thrashing of the rival Storm to avenge the previous season's ArenaBowl defeat. With the 2nd seed in the

playoffs The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...

, the Barnstormers avenged a regular season defeat against 7th-seeded San Jose, 68–59, before racing past 4th-seeded Orlando 52–34 to reach the franchise's second ArenaBowl in three seasons. However, in

ArenaBowl XI ArenaBowl XI was the Arena Football League's eleventh ArenaBowl. The game featured two American Conference teams, the #2 Iowa Barnstormers (11–3) against the #1 Arizona Rattlers (12–2). Iowa was coming from losing ArenaBowl X to the Tampa Bay ...

, Arizona used a 42–13 scoring stretch over the 2nd and 3rd Quarters to roll past Iowa, 55–33. Star offensive specialist

Willis Jacox Willis Jacox (born March 25, 1966 in Bloomington, Minnesota) is a former professional American football player. Jacox attended the University of North Dakota in the mid-1980s, where he played both wide receiver and kick returner. Following his ...

retired after the 1997 season, while star quarterback

Kurt Warner Kurtis Eugene Warner (born June 22, 1971) is an American former football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 12 seasons, primarily with the St. Louis Rams and Arizona Cardinals. His career, which saw him ascend fr ...

signed with the

St. Louis Rams The St. Louis Rams were a professional American football team of the National Football League (NFL). They played in St. Louis from 1995 to the 2015 season, before moving back to Los Angeles, where the team had played from 1946 to 1994. The arri ...

of the

National Football League 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 ...

(NFL). Forced to rebuild after losing the eventual two-time

NFL MVP The National Football League Most Valuable Player Award (NFL MVP) is an award given by various entities to the American football player who is considered the most valuable in the National Football League (NFL) during the regular season. Organizati ...

, the Barnstormers limped to an 0–5 start in 1998. After acquiring Aaron Garcia from

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

, the Barnstormers improved, with a three-game winning streak sparked by Garcia and rookie sensation

Kevin Swayne Kevin Swayne (born January 17, 1975) was an American football wide receiver for the New York Dragons of the Arena Football League. In the past, he had played for Wayne State College, the Iowa Barnstormers (AFL), the Philadelphia Eagles, San D ...

, putting the Barnstormers in playoff contention late in the year. But, in the end, they faltered, finishing 5–9, their worst season of their years in Iowa. In 1999, the Barnstomer resurgence under Garcia continued, with Iowa winning nine of their last ten regular season games (following a 2–2 start) to capture their third Central Division title in four seasons and secure the 2nd seed in the

. A thrashing of division rival

Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee is ...

in the quarterfinals paired with 8th-seeded Orlando's 41–19 shocker at Tampa Bay set Iowa up at home against the 6th-seeded Predators with a chance to advance to another home ArenaBowl. However, Orlando continued its shocking run to

ArenaBowl XIII Arena Bowl XIII was the 1999 edition of the Arena Football League's championship game. The game was played on August 21, 1999, at the Firebirds' home arena, the Times Union Center (then known as the Pepsi Arena). The title game featured the #8 O ...

with a 56–49 upset of the Barnstormers. The 2000 Barnstormers put up startling offensive numbers, as Garcia threw for 92 touchdowns against just 8 interceptions, with 46 of the touchdowns going to Mike Horacek. Despite this prolific offense, Iowa started slowly, losing three of their first four games. However, a five-game winning streak return the Barnstormers to the thick of the playoff hunt. Iowa went on to win their fourth Central Division crown in six seasons of play, earning the 3rd seed in the newly expanded

. However, Iowa's playoff run came to a quick end on a Sunday afternoon in the quarterfinals, as the 6th-seeded

Nashville Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and the ...

scored the final 14 points to defeat Iowa, 49–42. Historically, the Barnstormers have ranked high in home paid attendance. In the

, they finished 7th in 1995, 8th in 1996, 9th in 1997, 8th in 1998, 9th in 1999, and 9th in 2000.

AF2 years: 2001, 2008–2009

The need for a more modern venue as well as the league's desire for a larger market led to the move to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

despite two failed past attempts in the city, the New York Knights (

1988 File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Australian ...

) and the

New York CityHawks The Toronto Phantoms were a professional arena football team based in Toronto, Ontario. The team was a member of the Eastern Division of the National Conference of the Arena Football League (AFL). The team also previously operated in New York Ci ...

(

1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of t ...

–

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The '' Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently ...

), both of which played at

Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as The Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh and Eighth avenues from 31st to 33rd Street, above Pennsylva ...

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

. The team was purchased by

Charles Wang Charles B. Wang (; August 19, 1944 – October 21, 2018) was a Chinese-American businessman and philanthropist, who was a co-founder and CEO of Computer Associates International, Inc. (later renamed CA Technologies). He was a minority owner (and ...

, who is also the Islanders' majority owner, and renamed the

. Aside from the league's desire to re-enter the New York market, another major reason cited for the team's relocation was the inadequacy of their Des Moines venue, the

Iowa Veterans Memorial Auditorium Community Choice Credit Union Convention Center (formerly known as Veterans Memorial Auditorium) is a building located in Des Moines, Iowa, that is part of the Iowa Events Center. Named to honor the World War II veterans of Polk County, Iowa, Polk ...

, also known as "The Barn". Most of the seats in this venue were located directly along the sidelines as is typical of

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

sports venues. The Barnstormers organization constantly lobbied for the construction of a better facility during their time in Des Moines to no avail. The arena Football organization awarded an

franchise to Iowa for the 2001 season, which continued the Barnstormer name. However, low attendance (less than half of the average of the AFL franchise) and a relatively poor season (a five-game winning streak to close the season wasn't able to turn a 4–7 start into a playoff berth) would lead to that franchise suspending operations following their first season. On September 20, 2007, the AF2 announced that they had approved the inactive franchise's new ownership, meaning that the Barnstormers resumed play in 2008 at the Wells Fargo Arena. They held practices at the historic Veterans Memorial Auditorium, and they inherited the tradition of the original Barnstormers. The team adopted the original unique uniforms, which in keeping with the aviation theme included the depiction of goggles on the helmets, wings on the shoulders of the jerseys, and propellers on the pants legs. The mascot, a dog named Ace, is featured in this helmet, along with the uniform jersey and pants. After being on hiatus for six seasons, the Barnstormers played their first regular season game of 2008, falling at the

Louisville Fire The Louisville Fire was an arena football team that played its home games at the Brown-Forman Field in Freedom Hall in Louisville, Kentucky. They were a 2001 expansion team of the af2. Their owner/operator was former Pro Bowl lineman and Louisvi ...

58–28 on March 29, 2008. The following week, they would return home for a Monday Night primetime match-up with the

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 ...

on April 14, 2008. In the debut of Arena Football at the Wells Fargo Arena, the Barnstormers lost a close 43–41 contest. The next week, Iowa won their first regular season match-up since 2001 (their 75th overall), defeating the

Quad City Steamwheelers The Quad City Steamwheelers were a professional arena football team. They were a charter member of the AF2 and played their home games at iWireless Center in Moline, Illinois. The team was founded on September 1, 1999 when the Quad Cities was ...

58–38 on April 19 in

Moline, Illinois Moline ( ) is a city located in Rock Island County, Illinois, United States. With a population of 42,985 in 2020, it is the largest city in Rock Island County. Moline is one of the Quad Cities, along with neighboring East Moline, Illinois, East M ...

. The team would win their first home game at the Wells Fargo Arena on April 26, 2008, defeating the

Stockton Lightning The Stockton Lightning were a professional arena football team based in Stockton, California. They were members of the Western Division of the National Conference of the arenafootball2 (af2). The Lightning joined af2 2006 as an expansion team. Th ...

47–24. During the 2008 season, the Barnstormers ranked 17th in average home paid attendance out of the 46 combined teams in the

and AF2. In both 2008 and 2009, Iowa ranked second in AF2 attendance to the

Spokane Shock The Spokane Shock were a professional indoor American football team based in Spokane, Washington, that played their home games at the Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena. The team was initially a member of arenafootball2 (af2), the Shock won divisio ...

, with attendances of 9,341 and 9,520, respectively.

Return to the AFL (2010–2014)

On September 28, 2009, the Barnstormers announced their status as a charter member of the new

, marking their return to playing top-notch arena football after almost a decade of lower levels and inactivity. A franchise-record 12,184 fans attended the 2010 opener; however, Iowa's first play from scrimmage resulted in an interception return for a touchdown by the

Chicago Rush The Chicago Rush were a professional arena football team based in Rosemont, Illinois Rosemont is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States. Located immediately northwest of Chicago, as of the 2010 census it had a population of 4,20 ...

, an ominous harbinger of an eventual 7–9 season.

Indoor Football League (2015–present)

On July 27, 2014, Barnstormers president Jeff Lamberti told

WHO-TV WHO-DT (channel 13) is a television station in Des Moines, Iowa, United States, affiliated with NBC and owned by Nexstar Media Group. The station's studios are located on Grand Avenue in downtown Des Moines, and its transmitter is located in Al ...

in Des Moines that the franchise will explore "all options" in the off-season of their continuance to play, including leaving the AFL and going to the

for 2015. The Barnstormers had not had a winning season since their revival as a top-level arena football team, mainly because of the difficulty in attracting top-ticket

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

s to the AFL's smallest market. On August 27, 2014, Lamberti announced that the Iowa Barnstormers had officially become members of the IFL and named former Barnstormers quarterback Joe Brannen to replace

Mike Hohensee Michael Louis Hohensee (born February 22, 1961) is a former professional football quarterback who played in the United States Football League, Canadian Football League, National Football League and Arena Football League. He most recently the hea ...

. The Barnstormers became the first team to directly leave the AFL for a new league, although previously the

Austin Wranglers The Austin Wranglers were an arena football team based in Austin, Texas. They played four seasons in the Arena Football League from 2004 to 2007 and spent one season in af2, the AFL's developmental league, in 2008. They made playoff appearances i ...

had been demoted from the AFL to the AFL's former minor league,

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

Arkansas Twisters Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the Osage la ...

Tri-Cities Fever The Tri-Cities Fever were a professional indoor football franchise based in Kennewick, Washington. The Fever joined National Indoor Football League (NIFL) in 2005 as an expansion team. The Fever were owned by Teri Carr. From 2005 to 2016, the Fe ...

, and

Green Bay Blizzard Green is the color between cyan and yellow on the visible spectrum. It is evoked by light which has a dominant wavelength of roughly 495570 nm. In subtractive color systems, used in painting and color printing, it is created by a combina ...

were former af2 teams which jumped to the IFL. "We are excited to bring the Barnstormers to the IFL", said Lamberti. "The chance to sign more local players, see more fans at road games, and create friendly rivalries with other teams of the Midwest are just a few of the opportunities that we look forward to." AFL commissioner Jerry Kurz released a statement regarding the Barnstormers departure from the AFL: "We wish the Iowa Barnstormers all the best in their new endeavor. Their organization has been a part of the rich history of Arena Football for years now and will always be thought of fondly by those who love our sport." It was also noted that players currently under contract with the team were not obligated to remain with the club, essentially making them free agents. IFL commissioner Mike Allshouse commented: "This is a monumental day in the history of the Indoor Football League. These are exciting times for the IFL as we continue to improve and expand our business model." To adjust to their new league, the Barnstormers removed the word "arena" from their logo as they are no longer with the Arena Football League, yet will retain the history of their time with the AFL. They did use the rebound nets they owned from their AFL days in 2015, but under IFL rules, any ball that hits the netting is a dead ball. The rebound nets were taken down in 2016 and replaced by the standard indoor football goalposts with netting surrounding each end zone. On July 11, 2016, Brannen was fired as the Barnstormers head coach. On August 24, 2016, Brannen was replaced by Dixie Wooten. Wooten had been serving as the

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 ...

for the

Cedar Rapids Titans The Cedar Rapids River Kings were a professional indoor football team based in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. The River Kings joined the Indoor Football League (IFL) as an expansion team in 2011 as the Cedar Rapids Titans and first took the field for the ...

. In his second year as head coach, Wooten led the Barnstormers to their first championship on July 7, 2018, over the

Sioux Falls Storm 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 ...

42–38 in the United Bowl. Wooten led the team to a 12–2 record in 2019, but again lost to Sioux Falls in the semifinals. After the season, he was hired away by the 2019 expansion team

Tucson Sugar Skulls The Tucson Sugar Skulls are a professional indoor American football team based in Tucson, Arizona. They are members of the Indoor Football League (IFL) since the 2019 season as an expansion team. They play home games at Tucson Convention Center's ...

. Wooten was replaced by Ameer Ismail, the former head coach of the

Massachusetts Pirates The Massachusetts Pirates are a professional indoor football team of the Indoor Football League based in Worcester, Massachusetts, with home games at the DCU Center. The Pirates began play in the 2018 season as a member of the National Arena Lea ...

. However, he would not coach a game for the team as the 2020 season was cancelled due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

. Longtime general manager John Pettit died in December 2020 after complications from

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

and his daughter Juli was named the team's new general manager. The Barnstormers hired former

Jacksonville Sharks The Jacksonville Sharks are a professional indoor football team based in Jacksonville, Florida, playing their home games at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena. Beginning in 2017, the Sharks began play as charter members of the National Arena Leag ...

head coach

Les Moss John Lester Moss (May 14, 1925 – August 29, 2012) was an Americans, American professional baseball player, Coach (baseball), coach, Scout (sports), scout and Manager (baseball), manager. He played in Major League Baseball as a catcher for the S ...

for the 2021 season. Moss then brought former Albany Empire head coach

Rob Keefe Rob Keefe (born November 5, 1980) is a former arena football defensive specialist and coach. Keefe has five championship victories and is the only person in arena football history to win ArenaCup (af2) and ArenaBowl (AFL) titles as both a player ...

to Iowa after serving as Keefe's assistant in Albany. The Barnstormers finished 6–6 and were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs. Moss was released in September 2021. The Barnstormers then hired former Albany Empire assistant general manager Dave Mogensen as its head coach for the 2022 season.

Logos and uniforms

When the Barnstormers began playing in 1995, the team's logo consisted of a circular logo, which depicted a

barnstorming Barnstorming was a form of entertainment in which stunt pilots performed tricks individually or in groups that were called flying circuses. Devised to "impress people with the skill of pilots and the sturdiness of planes," it became popular in t ...

airplane over the city of Des Moines. The logo was surrounded by a circular script reading, "Arena Football Club". The word "Arena" was removed when the team moved to the IFL. The circle logo also has wings on each side, with the words "Iowa" and "Barnstormers" on two lines above the circle logo. Below the logo was the words, "Des Moines." The team's colors consisted of black, gold and cardinal. The three colors are a combination of the

Iowa Hawkeyes The Iowa Hawkeyes are the athletic teams that represent the University of Iowa, located in Iowa City, Iowa. The Hawkeyes have varsity teams in 22 sports, 8 for men and 14 for women; a 15th women's sport will be added in 2023. The teams partici ...

black and gold, and the

Iowa State Cyclones The Iowa State Cyclones are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Iowa State University, located in Ames. The university is a member of the Big 12 Conference and competes in NCAA Division I, fielding 16 varsity teams (6 men's and 1 ...

cardinal and gold.

Uniforms

The

goggles Goggles, or safety glasses, are forms of protective eyewear that usually enclose or protect the area surrounding the eye in order to prevent particulates, water or chemicals from striking the eyes. They are used in chemistry laboratories and ...

on the team's helmet make the Barnstormers helmet one of the most recognized helmets in AFL history. In a 2008

Yahoo! Yahoo! (, styled yahoo''!'' in its logo) is an American web services provider. It is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California and operated by the namesake company Yahoo Inc., which is 90% owned by investment funds managed by Apollo Global Man ...

article, the Barnstormers' helmet was ranked as the 8th best helmet in pro football history. Until 2012, the helmet was gold with black goggles; this was reversed beginning in the 2013 season. The Barnstormers' original uniform designed consisted of a gold helmet, and either black or white jerseys with gold numbers on the black jerseys and black numbers on the white jersey with pilots' wings on the front of both. Gold pants were used with both jerseys. A side stripe on the pants was in the design of a propeller blade. Upon the club's return, the wings were removed from the jersey. Beginning in 2013, the team switched to black pants.

Notable players

Current roster

Retired uniform numbers

Arena Football League Hall of Famers

Indoor Football League Hall of Famers

All-Arena players

The following Barnstormers players have been named to All-Arena Teams: *QB

(2), Aaron Garcia *WR/DB Carlos James (3) *WR

Jesse Schmidt Jesse Schmidt (born June 23, 1983) is a former arena football wide receiver. Schmidt was a standout member of the Buena Vista University football team where he set records for catches in a single game (11), most catches in a career (132), most ...

(2),

Marco Thomas Marco Thomas (born November 27, 1983) is an American football wide receiver who is currently a free agent. He was signed by the New York Giants as an undrafted free agent in 2007. He played college football at Western Illinois. Thomas has als ...

Darius Reynolds Darius Reynolds (born April 4, 1989) is an American football wide receiver who is currently a wide receiver for the Jacksonville Sharks of the National Arena League (NAL). He first enrolled at Reedley College before transferring to Iowa State Uni ...

*OS

Lamart Cooper Lamont "Lamart" Cooper (born December 2, 1973) is a former American football offensive specialist who played seven seasons in the Arena Football League with the Iowa Barnstormers, Milwaukee Mustangs, Oklahoma Wranglers and Buffalo Destroyers. He ...

, Mike Horacek *DL Mike Lewis (2) *DB

Tanner Varner Tanner Varner (born July 13, 1984) is an American football linebacker who is currently retired. He first enrolled at Ellsworth Community College before transferring to the University of Northern Iowa. Varner has been a member of the Arkansas Twi ...

Jason Simpson Jason Edwin Simpson (born January 25, 1971) is an American football coach. He is head football coach at the University of Tennessee at Martin, a position he has held since 2006. Simpson has led the UT Martin Skyhawks to two Ohio Valley Confere ...

*DS

Shea Showers Jermaine "Shea" Showers (born January 11, 1974) is a former American football defensive back who played seven seasons in the Arena Football League with the Iowa Barnstormers, New York Dragons, Grand Rapids Rampage and Tampa Bay Storm. He played c ...

Kevin Kaesviharn Kevin Robert Kaesviharn (born August 29, 1976) is a former American football safety. He was signed by the Iowa Barnstormers as a street free agent in 1998. He played college football at Augustana. Kaesviharn was also a member of the San Franci ...

*K Mike Black,

Clay Rush Clay Rush (born October 27, 1973) is a former American football kicker who played in the Arena Football League (AFL) from 1999 to the original league's folding in 2008. Early years At Riverview Gardens High School in St. Louis, Missouri, Rush wa ...

All-IFL players

The following Barnstormers players have been named to All-IFL Teams: *QB

Travis Partridge Travis Partridge (born September 22, 1990) is a former American football quarterback. He played college football at Missouri Western State University and attended Savannah High School in Savannah, Missouri. He has also been a member of the Minne ...

, Drew Powell, Daquan Neal *WR Brady Roland (4), Bryan Pray, Ryan Balentine *OL D'Angelo McCray, Brandon Haskin, Demarious Loving, *DL Ra'Shawde Myers *LB Javicz Jones (2), Zachary Allen, Treyvon Williams *DB

Jamie Bender Jamie Bender (born February 26, 1990) is an American football defensive back for the Richmond Roughriders of the American Arena League (AAL). He played college football at University of Alabama at Birmingham and attended Raleigh High School in Ral ...

, Bryce Enyard, Jourdan Wickliffe, Tyrell Pearson *K Gabriel Rui

Individual awards

Staff

Statistics and records

Season-by-season records

Head coaching records

''Note: Statistics are correct through the end of the

2021 Indoor Football League season The 2021 Indoor Football League season was the thirteenth (and twelfth complete) season of the Indoor Football League (IFL). The league played the season with twelve teams, down from thirteen the previous season, by adding one expansion team, one ...

.''

References

External links

Iowa Barnstormers official websiteAFL's Iowa Barnstormers on ArenaFan.Comaf2's Iowa Barnstormers on ArenaFan.ComAFL's Iowa Barnstormers on OurSportsCentral.Com
{{Defunct Arena Football League franchises 1995 establishments in Iowa