American Indoor Football ( AIF ) is a professional indoor football league, one of the several regional professional indoor football leagues in North America.
36-567: The Mississippi MudCats were a team in the American Indoor Football Association . They played their home games at BancorpSouth Arena in Tupelo, Mississippi . The team was announced on June 20, 2006. One month later, Todd Ellis, former Georgia Tech football player, was announced as the team owner and president. A name-the team contest was held, and despite Ellis' preference of Tupelo Kings in honor of Tupelo-born Elvis Presley ,
72-698: A massive reorganization took place as Morris and Michael Mink set up a new league, which absorbed all of the remaining AIFL franchises, and Haines was ousted. (Haines would go on to create the Mid-Atlantic Hockey League in 2007, before similar stability problems led to the forced divestiture of that league as well. Haines would, in April 2010, announce he was relaunching his league as the Ultimate Indoor Football League beginning in 2011 and revived two defunct former AIFL teams.) The league took on
108-572: A rapid, and largely failed, expansion effort in 2006, most of the league's remaining teams jumped to the new AIFA (the rest joined the short-lived WIFL ). The AIFA expanded throughout existing territory and, in 2008, expanded into the Western United States . The league legally divided into two entities to allow for a partial merger with the Southern Indoor Football League , which resulted in all of its Eastern teams merging into
144-640: The Carolina Bombers . However, on October 16, 2006, Pierce folded both franchises. Daytona Beach Thunder player Javan Camon, in his second year with the club, died as a result of injuries received during a game against the Columbus Lions on February 26, 2007. Camon was involved in a helmet-to-helmet block during the late stages of the game. He was attended by paramedics and doctors at the Ocean Center arena for approximately 25 minutes without recovering. He
180-717: The Casper Events Center , saw the Reading Express defeat the Wyoming Cavalry for their first title, 65–42. As the 2010 season approached, AIFA continued to expand its nationwide footprint. Expansion franchises had been added in Richmond, Virginia ; Yakima, Washington ; Wasilla, Alaska (believed to be the smallest city in America to host a national professional football franchise) and Wenatchee, Washington . The moves gave
216-681: The Yakima Valley Warriors left, the AIFA ceased operations; it said that it would attempt to relaunch in 2012 with eight to 12 teams in at least two regions of the United States. As of June 2011, Morris had released a statement indicating he still represented the AIFA when he purchased the assets of the Fayetteville Force . On October 27, 2011, the AIFA announced it was relaunching as American Indoor Football (AIF). The move came in light of
252-621: The 2024 season in a dispute between the league and owner Dominic Montero, after which John Morris resigned his position from AIF immediately thereafter. Following the end of the 2024 season, all of the remaining teams in AIF departed for other leagues, with the Corpus Christi Tritons joining Arena Football One and the remainder joining the National Arena League . With no further teams, Cedar Rapids announced it had reclaimed rights to
288-739: The AIF name and would play under that brand for 2025 along with another team co-owned by River Kings owner Dominic Montero, the Coralville Chaos , also based in Iowa. On November 5, 2024, the AIF named Mike McCoy as commissioner. McCoy had previously spent the 2024 season as deputy commissioner of the Arena Football League and previously had been the final commissioner of Champions Indoor Football . Two rule changes appeared to be inspired by Canadian football rules: World Indoor Football League (2007) The World Indoor Football League (WIFL)
324-465: The AIF. In response, AIF owner Jim Morris announced on July 18, 2016, that the AIF was ceasing operations immediately. He also announced his support of the new Arena Developmental League (which later changed its name to National Arena League before its inaugural season) and hoped the new league would take on many of the former AIF teams. The Buffalo Blitz (formerly the Buffalo Lightning) used
360-505: The AIFA a much more significant presence on the West Coast of the United States . To accommodate this, and to keep travel expenses down, for the 2010 season the AIFA adopted a scheduling system that effectively treated the Eastern and Western conferences as separate leagues, with no regular-season crossover between the two conferences. The league also secured a television contract with AMGTV, which
396-463: The AIFA for 2008 at 13–1. They won their division championship playoff game against the Columbus Lions before losing in the conference championship to the Wyoming Cavalry . In late 2008, owner Jim Waide has said he would not field a team in 2009. American Indoor Football Association The AIFL began as a regional league with six franchises on the East Coast of the United States in 2005. After
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#1733085117422432-601: The American Indoor Football Association name at the same time. The 2007 season was relatively successful for the league, as all 112 scheduled games were played and no teams folded mid-season, a major improvement over the past two seasons (when the AIFA was known as the AIFL). The AIFA Championship Bowl I was a neutral site game held in Florence, South Carolina . In addition, the league held its first All-Star Game
468-616: The Augusta Spartans defeating the host Columbus Lions 63-60 before a crowd of 3,529. Two teams – Columbus and Augusta – announced on September 28, 2007, that they were moving to a reformed American Indoor Football Association for 2008. [3] The announcement came after the Daytona Beach Thunder announced they were leaving the WIFL in hopes of joining AF2 for either the 2008 or 2009 season. [4] . The World Indoor Bowl
504-703: The CIFL, AIF split into two conferences, one bearing the American name and the other (which includes both CIFL refugees) named the Continental Conference. The conference names were changed to Northern and Southern for the 2016 season. The 2016 season saw the league grow from nine teams to a total of 28 announced teams. However, only 21 teams ever played a league game that season, including four teams that folded midseason and several other teams cancelling scheduled games. The Columbus Lions , which joined for 2016, would finish
540-529: The SIFL and the AIFA only maintaining its western teams. The league's western component, which remained separate of the merger, had indicated it would play as the AIFA West for the 2011 season but ceased operations January 2011. The league announced it would be relaunching as American Indoor Football in time for spring 2012. After the 2016 season , the AIF ceased operations with the former AIF owner stating his support for
576-676: The deal, Morris would acquire the rights to the Eastern Conference teams and merge them into the SIFL, while Mink would retain the western conference teams, rights to the AIFA name, and television contract, the last of which was extended through 2013. The AIFA West originally announced that it would begin its season with four teams, beginning in March 2011, after the Tucson Thunder Kats announced it would be suspending operations until 2012. As of January 2011, no schedule had been released, and
612-689: The dissolution of the SIFL and its breakup into the Professional Indoor Football League and the Lone Star Football League . AIF announced its intentions to absorb the three remaining SIFL teams not in either the PIFL or LSFL (the Harrisburg Stampede , Trenton Steel and Carolina Speed ), as well as the remaining teams that would have participated in the AIFA West. AIF intended to launch an amateur division as well. In 2015,
648-537: The indoor football ranks when arena football legend Barry Wagner joined the team in March 2007; Daytona Beach had previously attempted such a publicity stunt by signing Terry Bradshaw to a similar contract in 2006. The Osceola Ghostriders also featured former New England Patriot Greg Jefferson for one game. On June 30, the league's only championship game, the World Indoor Bowl, took place in Columbus, Georgia with
684-692: The league absorbed the remains of the Continental Indoor Football League , picking up the Saginaw Sting and Chicago Blitz from that league; the CIFL Web site became a redirect to AIF's. (The two other surviving teams from that league chose to play in other leagues: Erie decided to join the PIFL, while the Marion Blue Racers fulfilled an earlier promise to join the X-League ). In homage to
720-623: The league after winning the most recent AIF Championship in 2016. All except Cedar Rapids left the league after 2024. The league has its roots in the Atlantic Indoor Football League, which began play in 2005 under the leadership of Andrew Haines. The first team to join the AIFL was the Johnstown RiverHawks . The league began with six teams, all of them based in the eastern United States . Two teams played all of their games on
756-596: The league announced that the Columbus Lions , the last team to win the AIF Championship in 2016, were returning to the league. On August 24, 2023, the league announced that the Amarillo Venom would return and join the AIF for the 2024 season. On September 11, 2023, the league announced that an expansion team to be based in Albany, Georgia , would also join the AIF for 2024 as its eighth franchise. On September 29, 2023,
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#1733085117422792-526: The league announced the Beaumont Renegades as their ninth team for the 2024 season, but on October 30, the league announced that the Renegades will play an exhibition schedule only in 2024, and will join the league full time in 2025, while the AIF granted West Virginia Miners release from the league after change in the team ownership group. Cedar Rapids negotiated its release from the league midway through
828-678: The league created a Western Conference. In 2007, the team farthest west was based in Mississippi ; in 2008, the team farthest west was based in Arizona . Three of the four teams who had won the league championship to that point were no longer active league members. The 2009 season culminated in AIFA Championship Bowl III, hosted by the Western Conference champion Wyoming Cavalry on July 25, 2009. The game, played before 6,500 fans at
864-486: The league in 2007 did not return for the 2008 season , including the 2007 champion Lakeland Thunderbolts . The AIFA became the third league since 2004 (excluding the folded WIFL and NIFL before its folding) to lose its standing champion (the 2004 NIFL champion Lexington Horsemen left to join the newly created UIF and later were in af2 , and the 2006 champion Billings Outlaws also left to join two years later). However, nine teams signed on to begin play in 2008, and
900-584: The league informed the remaining three teams that there would not be a fourth team representing Eugene, Oregon as the league had earlier promised. The league attempted to work out a schedule with the remaining three teams, but the Reno Barons and Stockton Wolves were unwilling to go forward with such a schedule and broke from the league. Both teams operated as the two-team "Western Indoor Football Association" in 2011, each playing whatever semi-pro teams were willing to face them in addition to each other. With only
936-409: The league signed a three-year national television broadcast, mobile phone broadcast, and webcast licensing agreement with Simply 4Me Incorporated (d.b.a. SimplyMe TV). However, that deal was subsequently cancelled. Later in the season, FSN Pittsburgh agreed to pick up the remaining games; Erie, Pennsylvania -based Image Sports Network was also involved with the league. Eight teams participating in
972-408: The league used semi-pro teams to fill scheduling vacancies. The league was briefly acquired by Greens Worldwide , Inc., the owners of the amateur North American Football League, during the 2006 season, but they terminated the contract soon afterwards. Nine teams left the league after the season, including four who split off to create the short-lived World Indoor Football League . On October 2, 2006,
1008-549: The official AIF football in their press announcement upon joining the Can-Am Indoor Football League , which was created by announced AIF 2017 expansion team Vermont Bucks . The Can-Am also used the AIF footballs in games during their only season. On July 3, 2023, John Morris announced that the league would indeed relaunch in 2024 with four new teams: Cedar Rapids River Kings , Corpus Christi Tritons , RiverCity Rage and West Virginia Miners . On August 4, 2023,
1044-501: The recently created Arena Developmental League . In 2021, league owner John Morris announced he planned to relaunch the AIF for the 2022 season, though no games would be played. In 2023, it was announced that the league was relaunched by president and commissioner John Morris with four new teams: the Cedar Rapids River Kings , Corpus Christi Tritons , RiverCity Rage and West Virginia Miners. The Columbus Lions rejoined
1080-616: The road, and the regular season was cut short two weeks because of teams being unable to secure venues for playoff games. In the 2005–06 offseason, the league changed its name to the American Indoor Football League, while nine expansion teams entered the league and a tenth (the Rome Renegades ) joined from the National Indoor Football League . The 2006 season was marred by the folding of two teams, and
1116-591: The same weekend, also in Florence. League owners stated that the neutral site was chosen so that both games could be televised to obtain nationwide exposure for the league. The league then expanded nationwide; some individual teams were able to acquire several players with NFL experience, a sign that the league had achieved a level on par with leagues such as af2 . The league earned a major television contract as well: On September 17, 2007, The American Indoor Football Association owners John Morris and Michael Min announced that
Mississippi MudCats - Misplaced Pages Continue
1152-690: The season undefeated and win the championship. The Lions then announced that they were leaving the league due to the league's instability, especially in the Southern Division where the Lions were the only team that did not have a cancelled or rescheduled game. On July 7, 2016, the Lions' owners announced the formation of a new league, the Arena Developmental League . On July 13, the Lehigh Valley Steelhawks also announced they were leaving
1188-517: The team was named the Mississippi MudCats for the state's catfish industry. Brian Brents was announced as the inaugural head coach. In the 2007 season, the Mudcats averaged over 3,200 fans per game, more than any other team in the AIFA. At the end of the season, civil rights attorney Jim Waide bought the team from Todd Ellis. The 2008 MudCats lost only one regular season game for best record in
1224-527: Was an indoor football league founded by Harry Pierce, owner of the Rome Renegades and Raleigh Rebels of the American Indoor Football League . The league was a splinter league that formed after disgruntled ownership in the AIFL, caused significant turmoil and resulted in several teams leaving the league. Both the Rebels and Renegades were to play in the league, with the Rebels to be renamed as
1260-583: Was pronounced dead on arrival at an area hospital. [1] So, in his honor, the league's MVP award was named after him as the Javan Camon Award. [2] The award was given to Marvin Stone of the Augusta Spartans. Columbus Lions' Jason Gibson was named Coach of the Year, and Danny Burnham of Rome, Georgia. was named Fan of the Year for his efforts assisting the league's PR department. Daytona Beach also made some news in
1296-531: Was to syndicate a "Game of the Week" package to regional sports networks and its network of low-powered broadcast stations. In 2010, the Baltimore Mariners completed the league's first-ever perfect season by winning all fourteen regular season games and winning AIFA Championship Bowl IV. The AIFA arranged a split and partial merger with the Southern Indoor Football League after the 2010 season. As part of
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