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

minor league Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in Nor ...

that played three seasons from 2012 to 2014. All of the LSFL's charter teams were based in the state of

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

, with five teams coming from 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 ...

, three from 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 ...

, plus one expansion team. The LSFL played three seasons to completion before merging with the

Champions Professional Indoor Football League The Champions Professional Indoor Football League (CPIFL) was an indoor football minor league based along the Midwestern United States region. The league began play in February 2013. In August 2014, the CPIFL and Lone Star Football League (LSFL) c ...

in August 2014 to form

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 ...

History

2012 season

The 2012 season began with the

Houston Stallions The Houston Stallions were a professional indoor football team that competed in the Lone Star Football League (LSFL). Based in Houston, Texas, the Stallions played their home games at the Merrell Center in Katy, Texas. 2011 inaugural season In t ...

Amarillo Venom The Amarillo Venom were a professional indoor football team based in Amarillo, Texas. They played their home games at the Amarillo Civic Center. The Venom began play in 2004 as the Amarillo Dusters, a charter member of the Intense Football Leagu ...

Rio Grande Valley Magic The Rio Grande Valley Magic were a professional indoor football team based in Hidalgo, Texas. The Magic were charter members of the Lone Star Football League (LSFL) in 2012, after playing as an expansion team in the Southern Indoor Football Leagu ...

Laredo Rattlesnakes The Laredo Rattlesnakes were a professional indoor football team in the Lone Star Football League that began play in the 2012 season. Based in Laredo, Texas, the Rattlesnakes played their home games at the Laredo Energy Arena. Previously, the Ra ...

West Texas Roughnecks The West Texas Roughnecks were a professional indoor football team based in Odessa, Texas that plays in the Lone Star Football League. The team's nickname was a tribute to the oil industry, which has been the source of Odessa's wealth over the ...

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, and

Abilene Ruff Riders The Abilene Bombers were a professional indoor football team. The Bombers played their home games at the Taylor County Expo Center, in Abilene, Texas. Team history The Bombers began play as the Katy Ruff Riders, a 2007 expansion team of the Int ...

participating. While a number of the other teams scheduled to launch in 2012 did not make it to the start of the regular season, only the Mesquite Bandits had their franchise revoked rather than fold voluntarily. The Houston team was 7–0 when it folded halfway through the season. The Amarillo Venom finished the regular season 10–4 and went on to defeat the Rio Grande Valley Magic 62–40 in the LSFL championship game. Former Clemson linebacker Antonio Clay was practicing with the West Texas Roughnecks in Odessa, Texas in 201

2013 season

For 2013, the LSFL played with just five teams. Amarillo, Laredo, Corpus Christi, and Abilene (now known as the Bombers) returned from the 2012 season. The league added two new teams; the expansion

San Angelo Bandits The San Angelo Bandits were a professional indoor football team based in San Angelo, Texas. They were members of Champions Indoor Football (CIF) and the Lone Star Football League (LSFL). The Bandits began play in 2013 as an expansion team in the ...

and the

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 expa ...

(formerly of the

and the LSFL's first and only team outside of Texas). The league announced in October that the

had been removed from the league due to its ownership violating by-laws. The Amarillo Venom defeated the Laredo Rattlesnakes 70–69 to repeat as league champions. After the season, in late September 2013, the Laredo franchise announced it was ceasing operations due to the financial and legal difficulties of its owner.

2014 season

With the Laredo and Abilene franchises failing to return, the LSFL added the

West Texas Wildcatters The West Texas Wildcatters were a professional indoor football team based in Odessa, Texas. The Wildcatters played their home games at the Ector County Coliseum. The Wildcatters began play in 2014 an expansion team in the Lone Star Football League ...

Odessa Odesa (also spelled Odessa) is the third most populous city and municipality in Ukraine and a major seaport and transport hub located in the south-west of the country, on the northwestern shore of the Black Sea. The city is also the administrativ ...

and the

Rio Grande Valley Sol The Rio Valley Grande Sol were a professional indoor football team based in Hidalgo, Texas. They were members of the X-League Indoor Football (XLIF) in their final season. The Sol played their home games at the State Farm Arena. They were found ...

Hidalgo Hidalgo may refer to: People * Hidalgo (nobility), members of the Spanish nobility * Hidalgo (surname) Places Mexico * Hidalgo (state), in central Mexico * Hidalgo, Coahuila, a town in the north Mexican state of Coahuila * Hidalgo, Nuevo Le� ...

to the league.

Merger with the CPIFL

On August 14, 2014, it was announced at the league website that they merged with the

to create what they say is the largest indoor football league in the country.Merger Between CPIFL and LSFL is a Success
, CPIFL website, August 14, 2014 The merged league became known as

Teams

Abilene Bombers The Abilene Bombers were a professional indoor football team. The Bombers played their home games at the Taylor County Expo Center, in Abilene, Texas. Team history The Bombers began play as the Katy Ruff Riders, a 2007 expansion team of the In ...

– played in LSFL during the 2012 and 2013 seasons *

– played in LSFL for 2012 season, franchise revoked by league for multiple violations of league bylaws *

Frisco Falcons The Frisco Falcons was a planned professional indoor football team in the Lone Star Football League that was scheduled to begin play for the league's inaugural 2012 season. Based in Frisco, Texas, the Falcons would have played their home games at ...

– announced for the 2012 season but folded before the schedule was released *

– Due to the resignations of its general manager and staff, the Stallions were unable to complete the 2012 season *

– played in LSFL during the 2012 and 2013 seasons * Mesquite Bandits – originally set to play in inaugural 2012 season, franchise revoked by league before season started for lack of preparations for inaugural season as well as breach of franchise agreement *

– played in LSFL for 2013 and 2014 seasons *

– played in LSFL for 2012 season, franchise revoked by league for multiple violations of league bylaws *

– played in LSFL for 2012 season, folded after new ownership could not be found

Franchising

The LSFL required a $25,000

franchise fee A franchise fee is a fee or charge that one party, known as the franchisee, pays another party, known as the franchisor, for the right to enter in a franchise agreement. Generally by paying the franchise fee a franchisee receives the rights to se ...

to join, as well as a $25,000

letter of credit A letter of credit (LC), also known as a documentary credit or bankers commercial credit, or letter of undertaking (LoU), is a payment mechanism used in international trade to provide an economic guarantee from a creditworthy bank to an exp ...

References

(Clemson) Antonio Clay WTX Roughnecks waiver LSFL 2012 https://web.archive.org/web/20120402113053/http://www.texaslsfl.com/news/daily-transactions.html
{{Professional gridiron football leagues in North America Defunct indoor American football leagues in the United States Sports leagues established in 2011 2011 establishments in Texas Sports leagues disestablished in 2014 2014 establishments in Texas