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 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 ...

(five former SIFL teams and one expansion team in total). Despite the name, this PIFL had no connections to the original Professional Indoor Football League.

History

The PIFL began in 2012 with six teams in the

southeastern United States The Southeastern United States, also referred to as the American Southeast or simply the Southeast, is a geographical List of regions in the United States, region of the United States. It is located broadly on the eastern portion of the south ...

, five of which joined from the

, and the expansion Knoxville NightHawks. On March 10, 2012, the Richmond Raiders defeated the

Columbus Lions The Columbus Lions are a professional indoor football team based in Columbus, Georgia and are a member of the American Indoor Football Alliance. The were a founding member of the National Arena League (NAL) for the 2017 season. The Lions were ...

, 64–58, in the first ever PIFL game. On June 30, 2012, PIFL Cup I was played in

Albany, Georgia Albany ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Georgia. Located on the Flint River, it is the seat of Dougherty County, and is the sole incorporated city in that county. Located in southwest Georgia, it is the principal city of the Albany, Georgia m ...

between the

Albany Panthers The Albany Panthers were an indoor football team based in Albany, Georgia. The team joined the Southern Indoor Football League (SIFL) during their inaugural season in 2010. When the SIFL folded, the team joined the Professional Indoor Footbal ...

and the Raiders. It was played at the James H. Gray Civic Center in front of 6,194 people. Albany won the game, 60–56. Following a successful 2012, the PIFL added two new teams for the 2013 season. The Lehigh Valley Steelhawks 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 am ...

, as well as the Charlotte Speed, another former SIFL team who had previously committed to play in the IFL as well. On July 8, 2013, PIFL Cup II was played in

Huntsville, Alabama Huntsville is a city in Madison County, Limestone County, and Morgan County, Alabama, United States. It is the county seat of Madison County. Located in the Appalachian region of northern Alabama, Huntsville is the most populous city in ...

between the Alabama Hammers and the Richmond Raiders. It was played at the

Von Braun Center The Von Braun Center (known as the Von Braun Civic Center until 1997) is an entertainment complex, with a maximum arena seating capacity of 9,000, located in Huntsville, Alabama. The original facility debuted in 1975 and has undergone several si ...

in front of 3,133 people. Alabama won the game, 70–44. In the fall of 2013, two teams from the Northeast were added to the PIFL roster for the 2014 season. The expansion Trenton Freedom and the

Nashville Venom The Nashville Venom were a professional indoor football team, one of eight franchises of the Professional Indoor Football League (PIFL). Based in Nashville, Tennessee, the Venom were members of the American Conference. The team began play in 201 ...

joined the league for the 2014 season, as well as the Harrisburg Stampede, a former

American Indoor Football American Indoor Football (AIF) was a professional indoor football league, one of the several regional professional indoor football leagues in North America. The AIFL began as a regional league with six franchises on the East Coast of the United ...

(AIF) team. Knoxville and Albany, according to the teams' respective websites, suspended play for the 2014 season. As they did not continue into the PIFL's final season of 2015, they had no opportunity to attempt to latch on to another league upon the PIFL's demise. Neither did the former Charlotte Speed franchise, which had not been allowed to participate in 2013 after announcing an intention to do so. This team is also now fully defunct. For the 2015 season, the league added the Erie Explosion, the two-time defending champions of the

Continental Indoor Football League The Continental Indoor Football League (CIFL) was an indoor football league based along the Midwestern United States region that played nine seasons from 2006 to 2014. It began play in April 2006 as the Great Lakes Indoor Football League (GLIF ...

, which had disbanded after the 2014 season. On September 9, 2015, the league disbanded after several of its teams folded, with the exception of the

(the final PIFL champions) and the Lehigh Valley Steelhawks, both of which would join the

league and would go on to become founding members of the

National Arena League The National Arena League (NAL) is a professional indoor football league that began play in 2017. It consists of teams based on the East Coast of the United States. Teams' typical payroll budget is $600,000 per season, while players are paid $ ...

in 2017. The Erie Explosion held out until January 2016, initially joining the Indoor Football Alliance, before suspending operations.

Teams

Thirteen different franchises were issued during the PIFL's existence, but only 12 ever took the field for actual play – the Charlotte Speed never fielded a team in the PIFL as the franchise was revoked prior to the 2013 season. During the regular season, each team was allowed a maximum of 27 players on their roster; only 20 of these were eligible to be active (eligible to play) on game days.

Teams that played

* Alabama Hammers – played in PIFL from 2012 to 2015. Team folded after league folded. *

– played in PIFL for 2012 and 2013 seasons before an unresolved conflict with the Albany Civic Center left the Panthers without an arena. Folded soon after. * Charlotte Speed – originally set to play 2013 season, but franchise revoked prior to season opener. *

– played in the PIFL from 2012 to 2015, joined the

league after PIFL folded. * Erie Explosion – played in the PIFL during the 2015 season, left to rejoin the proposed revival of the

. *

Georgia Fire The Georgia Fire were a professional indoor football team based in Rome, Georgia. They were members of the American Conference in the Professional Indoor Football League (PIFL) during the 2014 season. The Fire joined the PIFL in 2014 as an expa ...

– played in the PIFL for the 2014 season, filling in the void for the Albany Panthers. * Harrisburg Stampede – played in the PIFL for the 2014 season before folding. * Lehigh Valley Steelhawks – played in the PIFL from 2013 to 2015, joined the

league after PIFL folded. * Knoxville NightHawks – played in PIFL for 2012 and 2013 seasons before folding. *

Louisiana Swashbucklers The Louisiana Swashbucklers were a professional indoor football team based in Lake Charles, Louisiana. They were formed in 2005 as an expansion member of the National Indoor Football League (NIFL) and were originally known as the Southwest Loui ...

– played in PIFL for 2012 and 2013 seasons before folding. *

– played in PIFL from 2014 to 2015. Team folded after league folded. * Richmond Raiders – played in PIFL from 2012 to 2015. Owners folded team at season's end. * Trenton Freedom – played in PIFL for 2014 and 2015 seasons before folding.

PIFL Champions

Player and coach awards

The PIFL recognized a number of awards for their players and coaches.

2012

* Most Valuable Player – Antwon Young, Richmond Raiders * Offensive Player of the Year – Maurice Dupree,

* Defensive Player of the Year – Damian Daniels,

* Offensive Rookie of the Year – London Crawford,

* Defensive Rookie of the Year – Ginikachi Ibe, Knoxville NightHawks * Special Teams Player of the Year – T. C. Stevens, Richmond Raiders * Coach of the Year – James Fuller, Richmond Raiders

2013

* Most Valuable Player – Mico McSwain, Alabama Hammers * Offensive Player of the Year – Mico McSwain, Alabama Hammers * Defensive Player of the Year – Anthony Shutt,

* Offensive Rookie of the Year – Thomas Gilson, Lehigh Valley Steelhawks * Defensive Rookie of the Year – Jake Trantin, Alabama Hammers * Special Teams Player of the Year – Armando Cuko, Knoxville NightHawks * Coach of the Year –

Dean Cokinos Dean Cokinos is an American football coach. College career Cokinos attended University of Massachusetts Boston, where he was a running back for the Beacons. He was a college teammate of Pat Sperduto, whom he later served under in Nashville. C ...

, Alabama Hammers

2014

* Most Valuable Player – Warren Smith, Trenton Freedom * Offensive Player of the Year –

Phillip Barnett Phillip Barnett (born June 3, 1990) is an American football wide receiver who is currently a free agent. He previously played for the Washington Valor of the Arena Football League (AFL) and played college football at the University of Toledo. ...

* Defensive Player of the Year – Devin Jones, Richmond Raiders * Offensive Rookie of the Year – Roger Jackson, Trenton Freedom * Defensive Rookie of the Year – Devin Jones, Richmond Raiders * Special Teams Player of the Year –

Dwayne Hollis Dwayne Hollis (born July 7, 1989) is an American football defensive back for the Albany Empire of the National Arena League (NAL). He played college football at North Carolina Wesleyan College and attended Denbigh High School in Newport News, ...

, Lehigh Valley Steelhawks * Coach of the Year – Billy Back,

2015

* Most Valuable Player – Terrence Ebagua,

* Offensive Player of the Year –

Jonathan Bane Jonathan Bane (born September 4, 1991) is an American football quarterback for the Orlando Predators of the National Arena League (NAL). He played college football at Dakota Wesleyan. Early years Bane first played high school football for the ...

, Richmond Raiders * Defensive Player of the Year – Jerome Hayes, Trenton Freedom * Offensive Rookie of the Year – Casey Kacz,

* Defensive Rookie of the Year – Joe Powell, Lehigh Valley Steelhawks * Special Teams Player of the Year – T. C. Stevens, Richmond Raiders * Coach of the Year – James Fuller, Richmond Raiders

References

{{Professional gridiron football leagues in North America Defunct indoor American football leagues in the United States Sports leagues established in 2012 2012 establishments in the United States Organizations disestablished in 2015 2015 disestablishments in the United States