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National Indoor Football League

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National Indoor Football League
National Indoor Football League logo
SportIndoor football
Founded2001; 25 years ago (2001)
Folded2008; 18 years ago (2008)
CountryUnited States
Last champion
San Diego Shockwave
Websitehttp://www.niflfootball.com
2004 Beaumont Drillers vs Waco Marshals
2007 San Antonio Steers vs Beaumont Drillers

The National Indoor Football League (NIFL) was a professional indoor football league in the United States. For their first six years, the league had teams in markets not covered by the Arena Football League; however, that changed briefly with their expansion into AFL markets such as Atlanta, Denver, San Antonio, Miami and Los Angeles. The league folded in 2008.

History

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The NIFL, based in Lafayette, Louisiana, was founded by Carolyn Shiver. The league started operations in 2001, with many teams coming from Indoor Football League being bought the previous year and folding operations. In 2002, the league added in the teams from the Indoor Professional Football League. 2003 was the most successful year for the league as 24 teams played a mostly complete schedule, with few cancellations.

Before the 2005 season, nine teams left the league to form United Indoor Football. That same year, the Intense Football League ceased operations and four teams from there joined the league. Those teams, however, left the league before the 2006 season started.

For the 2005 season, the NIFL had an agreement with NFL to handle referee assignment and training.[1]

The 2006 season was the most chaotic for the league to that point. Ten expansion teams were added to the league, but nine of them had problems that reflected badly on the league. The most notable situation was the owner of the Montgomery Maulers firing the entire team.[2] None of the ten expansion teams returned to the league for the next season.

The 2007 season started with the addition of several league-owned expansion teams, primarily to supplement games with the returning teams. However, the teams were all poorly funded and had problems fielding competitive squads. The San Diego Shockwave were declared the official league champion. The league then officially folded prior to the 2008 season.

Former teams

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Teams that left the NIFL to join (or planned to join) another league

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Defunct teams/failed expansion

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Indoor Bowl games

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YearWinnerLoserScore
2001Mississippi Fire DogsWyoming Cavalry55–21
2002Ohio Valley GreyhoundsBillings Outlaws55–52
2003Ohio Valley GreyhoundsUtah Warriors45–37
2004Lexington HorsemenSioux Falls Storm59–38
2005Tri-Cities FeverRome Renegades47–31
2006Billings OutlawsFayetteville Guard59–44
2007San Diego ShockwaveNo playoff

Notable NIFL players and coaches

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Notable players who played in the NIFL include: Green Bay Packers head coach Matt LaFleur, Miami Dolphins executive Champ Kelly, Buffalo Bills running back Fred Jackson, New Orleans Saints quarterback John Fourcade, New York Giants defensive back Tito Wooten, St. Louis Rams Super Bowl champion Ron Carpenter, Pittsburgh Steelers Super Bowl running back Bam Morris and New Orleans Saints hall of famer Tyrone Hughes.

NFL draft picks that played in the NIFL include: Tyrone Hughes 1993 New Orleans Saints 5th; Tito Wooten 1994 New York Giants 4th; Bam Morris 1994 Pittsburgh Steelers 3rd; Pat Palmer 1998 Washington Redskins 6th; Mike Cawley 1996 Indianapolis Colts 6th; Steve Bellisari 2002 St. Louis Rams 6th; Sean Bennett 1999 New York Giants 4th; Mike Green 2000 Tennessee Titans 7th; Carl Greenwood 1995 New York Jets 5th; Brad Ottis 1994 Los Angeles Rams 2nd; Wilmont Perry 1998 New Orleans Saints 5th; Chris Floyd 1998 New England Patriots 3rd; Mareno Philyaw 2000 Atlanta Falcons 6th; Lance Olberding 1992 Cincinnati Bengals 7th; Marquette Smith 1996 Carolina Panthers 4th; Nicky Savoie 1997 New Orleans Saints 6th.

Notable head coaches in the NIFL include: Pro Football Hall of Famer Larry Little, Houston Oilers head coach Ed Biles, Washington Redskins quarterback Heath Shuler, New Orleans Saints quarterback John Fourcade and New York Giants linebacker Corey Miller.

NFL draft picks that coached in the NIFL include: Mike Siani 1972 Oakland Raiders 1st; Heath Shuler 1994 Washington Redskins 1st; Corey Miller 1991 New York Giants 6th; Marc Munford 1987 Denver Broncos 4th; Reggie Mathis 1979 New Orleans Saints 2nd; Chris Duliban 1986 Dallas Cowboys 12th; Marquette Smith 1996 Carolina Panthers 4th; Alexander Wright 1990 Dallas Cowboys 2nd.

See also

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Notes

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  1. ↑ "NFL to NIFL: No Deal". 22 May 2008.
  2. ↑ NIFL squad in Montgomery fired after salary dispute
  3. ↑ Hall, Jamie (April 22, 2001). "Tupelo waits to see whether two teams can survive". Southeast Missourian. Cape Girardeau, Missouri. Retrieved February 24, 2015.
  4. 1 2 Anne Marie Apollo (June 6, 2007). "Short, strange season for Green Cove Lions". The Florida Times-Union. Retrieved December 14, 2010.
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