Major Indoor Soccer League (2008–2014)
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The Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL), originally known as the National Indoor Soccer League, was a professional
indoor soccer Indoor soccer or arena soccer is a form of five-a-side football, five-a-side or six-a-side version of minifootball. It is derived from association football and adapted to be played in walled hardcourt indoor arenas. It differs from the FIFA, FIFA ...
league which began play in 2008. It was the third league to be known as the Major Indoor Soccer League after the
MISL I Major Indoor Soccer League has been the name of three different American professional indoor soccer leagues: *Major Indoor Soccer League (1978–1992), known in its final two seasons as the Major Soccer League *Major Indoor Soccer League (2001–2 ...
and
MISL II Major Indoor Soccer League has been the name of three different American professional indoor soccer leagues: *Major Indoor Soccer League (1978–1992), known in its final two seasons as the Major Soccer League *Major Indoor Soccer League (2001–2 ...
. The MISL name is arguably the most recognizable name in indoor soccer due to its history dating back to 1978. The league name and assets are currently owned by the
United Soccer Leagues United may refer to: Places * United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community * United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community Arts and entertainment Films * ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film * ''United'' (2011 film), a BBC Two f ...
. The departure of six teams which joined the Professional Arena Soccer League (now the
Major Arena Soccer League The Major Arena Soccer League (MASL) is a professional indoor soccer league in North America. The MASL features teams playing coast-to-coast in the United States and Mexico. The league is the highest level of arena soccer in North America. The le ...
) after the 2013–14 season effectively ended the MISL.


History


Launch as NISL

The NISL was one of three leagues that organized in late 2008 after the demise of the second MISL; the other two being the
PASL-Pro The Major Arena Soccer League (MASL) is a professional indoor soccer league in North America. The MASL features teams playing coast-to-coast in the United States and Mexico. The league is the highest level of arena soccer in North America. The le ...
(an offshoot of the
Premier Arena Soccer League The Premier Arena Soccer League (PASL) was a professional men's and women's indoor soccer league; along with a number of amateur teams across North America. The PASL was previously known as the Federation of Sports Arenas (FSA). The PASL logo form ...
) and the
Xtreme Soccer League The Xtreme Soccer League (XSL) was an indoor soccer league that began play in December 2008. Four teams from the former Major Indoor Soccer League participated in the first XSL season: the Chicago Storm, Detroit Ignition, Milwaukee Wave, and ...
. The NISL and the
XSL In computing, the term Extensible Stylesheet Language (XSL) is used to refer to a family of languages used to transform and render XML documents (e.g., XSL is used to determine how to display a XML document as a webpage). Historically, the W3C XS ...
were more closely related, with both leagues first announcing four former MISL teams respectively and using the same game rules as the MISL. Originally, five teams had been announced to play in the inaugural season; four who were in the previous MISL (Baltimore, Monterrey, Orlando Sharks, and Philadelphia) and one formerly in the
American Indoor Soccer League The American Indoor Soccer League was a semi-professional indoor soccer league founded in 2002 and folded in 2008. History Founded in 2002, the AISL's headquarters were in West Springfield, Massachusetts, but the media relations office was ...
(Rockford). However, the
Orlando Sharks The Orlando Sharks were a professional American indoor soccer team based in Orlando, Florida Orlando ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Orange County, Florida, United States. The city proper had a population of 307,573 at the 2020 censu ...
were forced to go inactive because of scheduling conflicts with
Amway Arena Amway Arena (originally known as Orlando Arena and later TD Waterhouse Centre) was an indoor arena located in Orlando, Florida. It was part of the Orlando Centroplex, a sports and entertainment complex located in Downtown Orlando. The arena wa ...
. Later, a second former AISL franchise, the
Massachusetts Twisters The Massachusetts Twisters were an American indoor soccer team that was based in West Springfield, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 2001, the team played in the Arena Soccer League and every American Indoor Soccer League season and played ...
, were brought in to take the place of the Sharks. In July 2009, the XSL announced they were going on a one-year hiatus due to a lack of monetary backing during the
Great Recession The Great Recession was a period of market decline in economies around the world that occurred from late 2007 to mid-2009.
. The NISL attempted to attract the former MISL teams from the folded XSL to join for the 2009–10 season, and succeeded in acquiring the
Milwaukee Wave The Milwaukee Wave are an American professional indoor soccer team based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, that competes in the Major Arena Soccer League (MASL). Founded in 1984, they have been the oldest continuously operating professional indoor footbal ...
as a result. The other XSL franchises, minus the Chicago Storm, folded along with the XSL. Shortly after the Wave joined the NISL, the Massachusetts Twisters folded, leaving the 2009–10 season with only five teams again. Shortly before the league launched its 2009–10 season, the opportunity arose to purchase the rights to the "Major Indoor Soccer League" name; the league successfully acquired the rights and immediately rebranded itself as the newest MISL. The MISL expanded into Missouri (Kansas City area) and Omaha starting with the 2010–11 season.


Merger with I-League

For the 2010–11 season, the league consisted of only five teams, with the Rockford Rampage and Monterrey La Raza no longer active league members. On October 15, 2010, the ''
Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel The ''Milwaukee Journal Sentinel'' is a daily morning broadsheet printed in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where it is the primary newspaper and also the largest newspaper in the state of Wisconsin, where it is widely read. It was purchased by the G ...
'' reported the exodus of the Philadelphia KiXX and the addition of a Chicago franchise. In October 2010, the
United Soccer Leagues United may refer to: Places * United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community * United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community Arts and entertainment Films * ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film * ''United'' (2011 film), a BBC Two f ...
(USL), which also oversees the men's
USL Pro The USL Championship (USLC) is a men's professional soccer league in the second tier of the United States league system. It is organized by the United Soccer League (USL) as its premier league for men above USL League One. Operating under a f ...
and
USL Premier Development League USL League Two (USL2), formerly the Premier Development League (PDL), is a semi-professional soccer league sponsored by United Soccer Leagues in the United States, forming part of the United States soccer league system. The league will featu ...
s proposed a new league which was to begin play in the fall of 2011, the USL I-League''. However, in May 2011, the USL, struggling to sign teams for the new league, agreed instead to take over operation of the MISL. Three teams from the proposed league were added: the
Norfolk SharX The Norfolk SharX were briefly a member of the Major Indoor Soccer League (2008–14), third Major Indoor Soccer League. They began play in the 2011–2012 season., but on June 25, 2012, the team announced that because of economic hardsh ...
, Rochester Lancers and
Syracuse Silver Knights Syracuse most commonly refers to: * Syracuse, Sicily, Italy; in the province of Syracuse * Syracuse, New York, USA; in the Syracuse metropolitan area Syracuse may also refer to: Places * Syracuse railway station (disambiguation) Italy * Provi ...
. In June 2012, the MISL announced that a new Chicago franchise was awarded to Armando Gamboa and Dave Mokry for the 2012–13 season. The club was subsequently named the Chicago Soul, with the club making its home at the
Sears Centre The Now Arena (originally known as the Sears Centre, Sears Centre Arena and stylized as NOW Arena) is a multi-purpose arena in Hoffman Estates, Illinois, a northwest suburb from Chicago, near land which formerly contained the Poplar Creek Musi ...
. Meanwhile, the Norfolk SharX announced that the team would cease operations effective immediately because of financial difficulties.


Final season

A new incarnation of the St. Louis Ambush were announced as an expansion team in June 2013. This was St. Louis' first professional indoor soccer team since the
St. Louis Steamers St. Louis Steamers has been the name of two different indoor soccer franchises based in St. Louis, Missouri: *St. Louis Steamers (1979–88); American soccer team which played in the first Major Indoor Soccer League *St. Louis Steamers (1998–2006 ...
folded in 2006. One day after the 2013–14 MISL Championship game, USL President Tim Holt released a video stating that the USL was reevaluating the MISL to create a more "sustainable" league that features the highest level of professional indoor soccer. He noted that the process would take "more than a few months" and that the possibility of not having a 2014–15 playing season existed. In the following months, six of the seven teams from the final MISL season joined the Professional Arena Soccer League, which was renamed the
Major Arena Soccer League The Major Arena Soccer League (MASL) is a professional indoor soccer league in North America. The MASL features teams playing coast-to-coast in the United States and Mexico. The league is the highest level of arena soccer in North America. The le ...
. This was the effective end of MISL III.


Commissioner


Teams

† Never played an NISL/MISL game


Championships


Average attendance

# A third "mini-game" had to decide the winner after one or more series were tied at 1 game a piece.


References


External links


MISL official websiteAll-Time MISL III Standings

All-Time MISL III Attendance

All-Time MISL III Scores

MISL III Coaching Records

Broadcast partner's official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Major Indoor Soccer League (2008-) Defunct indoor soccer leagues in the United States 2008 establishments in the United States 2014 disestablishments in the United States