Post by 50yardfan on Jan 17, 2011 11:18:38 GMT -5
by Jerry Hewitt - With the BCS Championship behind us and the NFL playoffs winding down, it's time I turned my attention to the indoor game and the season ahead. It's a new year and I've got plenty of coffee and the promise of a great season to keep me going. So let me be the first to welcome you to the 2011 indoor football season! It seems like just yesterday the Billings Outlaws of the IFL were winning their second championship with the league and here we are just about a month from the new UIFL kicking off our new season.
It appears we will enter the indoor football season with the same number of leagues we did in 2010. All indications are that the AIFA West will take at least 2011 off, leaving us with just four leagues: the Continental Indoor Football League (CIFL), the Indoor Football League (IFL), the Southern Indoor Football League (SIFL), and the Ultimate Indoor Football League (UIFL). If the AIFA West finds its way into the mix I'll be covering them as well. In the coming weeks I will take a more in depth look at each league and its teams, but this morning I want to just give an overview of what's on tap for 2011.
Before I get into the new season I'd like to share some history of the game. In 1998 Dick Suess had a vision, a league to compete against the more established AFL, but at a much lower cost. Suess' Professional Indoor Football League lasted one season before being renamed the Indoor Professional Football League. Splitting off that year was the original Indoor Football League. The old IFL concentrated on setting up shop in smaller midsize cities, while the IPFL chose to still go head to head against the AFL in larger markets. The IFL concept proved to be the one that worked and after it was sold to the Orlando Predators of the AFL, most of the orphaned markets found a home in the new National Indoor Football League set up by ex-IPFL owner, Carolyn Shiver.
Today we still enjoy the sport as a result of those who chose a game other than the AFL back in the late nineties and early 21st century. It is their efforts that have brought us to the four leagues we have playing no-net indoor football in 2011.
The more things change, the more they stay the same. That old quote may best describe the CIFL for 2011. The CIFL enters its sixth season as the oldest of the leagues playing in 2011. Information on the league is slim at this time, but it will play with six teams: Cincinnati, OH, Chicago, IL, Port Huron, MI, Dayton, OH, Marion, OH, and Indianapolis, IN. Yes, Indy, not Grand Rapids as rumored. Once again the CIFL goes with a travel only team. This year it is Indy. Gone from the field are Fort Wayne and Wisconsin. Wisconsin decided to focus their attention on their outdoor semi-pro team and Fort Wayne left the scene due to a lack of fan support and financial considerations.
This will be the first time to my understanding that the league champion has returned for another season. In the past they have all joined other leagues after winning the CIFL crown, but 2010 champion Cincinnati will come back for a second season. Chicago will be in its second season and hopes to improve both on and off the field. Chicago also has a new name, the Knights. Dayton returns with a new name as well, last called the Miami Valley Silverbacks, now the Dayton Silverbacks to more closely associate themselves with their home community. The Silverbacks were last years CIFL road only team, but this year plays a home and away schedule. Port Huron is brand new, but the city had a CIFL team back in 2006 and 2007. As of this writing I have zero information on the travel only team out of Indianapolis. Last is Marion who suspended operations mid season in 2010, but returns now with new ownership and is the third CIFL team to sport a new name, the Blue Racers.
The league itself has remained steady with the same leadership from the start, the Spitaleri brothers, which accounts for some stability and consistent direction. Over the course of the last five years the CIFL has changed, but it still remains the same small regional league it started out to be, at least for the most part. All six teams need to complete the schedule without any bumps in the road. The CIFL will play a ten-game schedule starting February 26th and end with the championship game on June 11th.
The IFL enters its third season with 22 teams and is coming off its worst year. 2010 saw three teams get into financial trouble with one, the Alaska Wild, folding mid season. In the off season the league saw two of their Texas teams defect to the Southern Indoor Football League and one to the American Professional Football League, which many consider semi-pro. Moving to the APFL could be considered a step down for the Sioux City Bandits. Also lost was one of the sports oldest teams, the Billings Outlaws, who called it a day citing financial woes and an inability to reach an agreement with the county over losses sustained when a tornado destroyed their venue near the end of last season. In the off season the league trimmed some fat, letting go three other teams that appeared to be under capitalized. The IFL picked up two major assets when Reading, PA and Casper, WY jumped from the now defunct AIFA to the league. Also from the AIFA was Wenatchee, WA, which is in their second year. Newcomers to the game are Prescott, AZ, Oklahoma City, Grand Island, NE, and Bethlehem, PA.
The offseason hit a bump with questions surrounding the Kent, WA franchise and whether it would play this season although both league and team officials indicated it would. The latest on Kent is new ownership has been approved by the league, but it puts the second year team in a catch up mode. Questions about stability also surround the Prescott, AZ club, even though league officials maintain the team is on solid ground financially.
Commissioner Tommy Benizio has led the IFL for the most part of its three-year existence and owners tell me he does a good job with what they've put on his plate. All indicators point to a successful season even though there may be a bump or two along the way. The IFL season kicks off on February 19th with the championship scheduled in July. The IFL plays with a 14-game slate
The biggest news in the sport this offseason was the American Indoor Football Association selling off its eastern assets to the SIFL to create the sports second largest league. Some question if this merger will work as neither league prior to the agreement showed much stability. Also reported was that SIFL founder Thom Hager has sold the league, but no official word on that matter yet. Between the merger and new additions, the SIFL will enter its third season with 16 teams. Of the sixteen, 7 are new to the sport. That means almost 50% of the teams in this new SIFL are unproven on and off the field. People can argue with me all they want, but new teams can certainly be the biggest trouble areas for a league and more than just one or two of these in the SIFL might just make for another rocky season for a league that has proven to be unstable to date.
New to the sport for 2011 are Mobile Bay, AL, Houston, TX., Huntsville, AL, Charlotte, NC, Fayetteville, NC, Hidalgo, TX, and Trenton, NJ. Huntsville hosted an AFL team last season. Also of note the Fayetteville team is completely new and shouldn't be confused with the old Guard that was part of the AIFA last season. Jumping on board with the SIFL this season are IFL defectors Corpus Christi, TX and Abilene, TX. Overall the SIFL South returns all four teams that finished the 2010 season. Pick-ups from the AIFA include holdovers Richmond, VA, Erie, PA, and Harrisburg, PA.
New leadership in the offseason came to the SIFL with Gary Tufford replacing Dan Blum as commissioner. The book is still open on Tufford, but we know that since he took over, official SIFL information has almost come to a standstill. There are many questions about this new sixteen-team league. The SIFL 2011 season begins on March 18th with each team playing a twelve-game schedule. The championship game is scheduled for July 2nd.
The UIFL is the new kid on the block. They will enter the 2011 season with six teams, all new. Even though Saginaw sports a name that has been around the for several years, it is brand new. Joining the league for its inaugural season are Canton, OH, Saginaw, MI, Highland Heights, KY, Johnstown, PA, Huntington, WV, and Pikesville, KY. Long-time fans might remember that Canton, Johnstown, and Huntington have fielded indoor teams in the past.
The new league had to remove the Saginaw ownership and put it under league control. Canton is owned by Andrew Haines, co-founder of the league. This means a third of the teams in the league are either controlled by the league itself or owned by a league official.
The biggest question mark surrounding this new league isn't the stability of its teams, but leadership and if one man, Andrew Haines, has learned from past mistakes in his involvement with other leagues he has started. If he has, the UIFL could survive and if not could, it could fade into history sooner rather than later, along with Haines' past endeavors. February 18th starts the UIFL season with the championship scheduled in June. The UIFL will play a 14-game schedule.
To recap when each league begins play, the UIFL starts off the season on February 18th, followed by the IFL on the 19th. The CIFL starts play on February 26th and fans of the SIFL will have to wait until March 18th for the start of the season.
Jerry Kurz, commissioner of the new Arena Football League, has long referred to indoor football leagues and teams as "ankle biters" and in the first two or three years of the sport, I find it hard to disagree with that statement. Indoor football is now set to enter its 14th season. It has survived the break up of the original AFL and af2. When the NIFL was formed in 2000 it led the way for this sport to find its own place on the map and although the road hasn't been smooth, it has survived and evolved to become a major force in the football world. Most who are in the sport today don't want any part of the AFL, preferring to play their own game and be proud of it.
We look ahead to the 2011 season with 50 teams in four leagues spread out coast to coast. Thousands of fans will make their way to venues across this country to watch their favorite teams. They will see competition on the field equal to that anywhere else, drink a few brews and enjoy good, affordable family entertainment. This is their sport. Without the fan, the sport is nothing and I for one thank the fan for giving the "ankle biters" a place in a game we love.
Next up for me will be a league by league, team by team preview of what we can expect in 2011.
It appears we will enter the indoor football season with the same number of leagues we did in 2010. All indications are that the AIFA West will take at least 2011 off, leaving us with just four leagues: the Continental Indoor Football League (CIFL), the Indoor Football League (IFL), the Southern Indoor Football League (SIFL), and the Ultimate Indoor Football League (UIFL). If the AIFA West finds its way into the mix I'll be covering them as well. In the coming weeks I will take a more in depth look at each league and its teams, but this morning I want to just give an overview of what's on tap for 2011.
Before I get into the new season I'd like to share some history of the game. In 1998 Dick Suess had a vision, a league to compete against the more established AFL, but at a much lower cost. Suess' Professional Indoor Football League lasted one season before being renamed the Indoor Professional Football League. Splitting off that year was the original Indoor Football League. The old IFL concentrated on setting up shop in smaller midsize cities, while the IPFL chose to still go head to head against the AFL in larger markets. The IFL concept proved to be the one that worked and after it was sold to the Orlando Predators of the AFL, most of the orphaned markets found a home in the new National Indoor Football League set up by ex-IPFL owner, Carolyn Shiver.
Today we still enjoy the sport as a result of those who chose a game other than the AFL back in the late nineties and early 21st century. It is their efforts that have brought us to the four leagues we have playing no-net indoor football in 2011.
The more things change, the more they stay the same. That old quote may best describe the CIFL for 2011. The CIFL enters its sixth season as the oldest of the leagues playing in 2011. Information on the league is slim at this time, but it will play with six teams: Cincinnati, OH, Chicago, IL, Port Huron, MI, Dayton, OH, Marion, OH, and Indianapolis, IN. Yes, Indy, not Grand Rapids as rumored. Once again the CIFL goes with a travel only team. This year it is Indy. Gone from the field are Fort Wayne and Wisconsin. Wisconsin decided to focus their attention on their outdoor semi-pro team and Fort Wayne left the scene due to a lack of fan support and financial considerations.
This will be the first time to my understanding that the league champion has returned for another season. In the past they have all joined other leagues after winning the CIFL crown, but 2010 champion Cincinnati will come back for a second season. Chicago will be in its second season and hopes to improve both on and off the field. Chicago also has a new name, the Knights. Dayton returns with a new name as well, last called the Miami Valley Silverbacks, now the Dayton Silverbacks to more closely associate themselves with their home community. The Silverbacks were last years CIFL road only team, but this year plays a home and away schedule. Port Huron is brand new, but the city had a CIFL team back in 2006 and 2007. As of this writing I have zero information on the travel only team out of Indianapolis. Last is Marion who suspended operations mid season in 2010, but returns now with new ownership and is the third CIFL team to sport a new name, the Blue Racers.
The league itself has remained steady with the same leadership from the start, the Spitaleri brothers, which accounts for some stability and consistent direction. Over the course of the last five years the CIFL has changed, but it still remains the same small regional league it started out to be, at least for the most part. All six teams need to complete the schedule without any bumps in the road. The CIFL will play a ten-game schedule starting February 26th and end with the championship game on June 11th.
The IFL enters its third season with 22 teams and is coming off its worst year. 2010 saw three teams get into financial trouble with one, the Alaska Wild, folding mid season. In the off season the league saw two of their Texas teams defect to the Southern Indoor Football League and one to the American Professional Football League, which many consider semi-pro. Moving to the APFL could be considered a step down for the Sioux City Bandits. Also lost was one of the sports oldest teams, the Billings Outlaws, who called it a day citing financial woes and an inability to reach an agreement with the county over losses sustained when a tornado destroyed their venue near the end of last season. In the off season the league trimmed some fat, letting go three other teams that appeared to be under capitalized. The IFL picked up two major assets when Reading, PA and Casper, WY jumped from the now defunct AIFA to the league. Also from the AIFA was Wenatchee, WA, which is in their second year. Newcomers to the game are Prescott, AZ, Oklahoma City, Grand Island, NE, and Bethlehem, PA.
The offseason hit a bump with questions surrounding the Kent, WA franchise and whether it would play this season although both league and team officials indicated it would. The latest on Kent is new ownership has been approved by the league, but it puts the second year team in a catch up mode. Questions about stability also surround the Prescott, AZ club, even though league officials maintain the team is on solid ground financially.
Commissioner Tommy Benizio has led the IFL for the most part of its three-year existence and owners tell me he does a good job with what they've put on his plate. All indicators point to a successful season even though there may be a bump or two along the way. The IFL season kicks off on February 19th with the championship scheduled in July. The IFL plays with a 14-game slate
The biggest news in the sport this offseason was the American Indoor Football Association selling off its eastern assets to the SIFL to create the sports second largest league. Some question if this merger will work as neither league prior to the agreement showed much stability. Also reported was that SIFL founder Thom Hager has sold the league, but no official word on that matter yet. Between the merger and new additions, the SIFL will enter its third season with 16 teams. Of the sixteen, 7 are new to the sport. That means almost 50% of the teams in this new SIFL are unproven on and off the field. People can argue with me all they want, but new teams can certainly be the biggest trouble areas for a league and more than just one or two of these in the SIFL might just make for another rocky season for a league that has proven to be unstable to date.
New to the sport for 2011 are Mobile Bay, AL, Houston, TX., Huntsville, AL, Charlotte, NC, Fayetteville, NC, Hidalgo, TX, and Trenton, NJ. Huntsville hosted an AFL team last season. Also of note the Fayetteville team is completely new and shouldn't be confused with the old Guard that was part of the AIFA last season. Jumping on board with the SIFL this season are IFL defectors Corpus Christi, TX and Abilene, TX. Overall the SIFL South returns all four teams that finished the 2010 season. Pick-ups from the AIFA include holdovers Richmond, VA, Erie, PA, and Harrisburg, PA.
New leadership in the offseason came to the SIFL with Gary Tufford replacing Dan Blum as commissioner. The book is still open on Tufford, but we know that since he took over, official SIFL information has almost come to a standstill. There are many questions about this new sixteen-team league. The SIFL 2011 season begins on March 18th with each team playing a twelve-game schedule. The championship game is scheduled for July 2nd.
The UIFL is the new kid on the block. They will enter the 2011 season with six teams, all new. Even though Saginaw sports a name that has been around the for several years, it is brand new. Joining the league for its inaugural season are Canton, OH, Saginaw, MI, Highland Heights, KY, Johnstown, PA, Huntington, WV, and Pikesville, KY. Long-time fans might remember that Canton, Johnstown, and Huntington have fielded indoor teams in the past.
The new league had to remove the Saginaw ownership and put it under league control. Canton is owned by Andrew Haines, co-founder of the league. This means a third of the teams in the league are either controlled by the league itself or owned by a league official.
The biggest question mark surrounding this new league isn't the stability of its teams, but leadership and if one man, Andrew Haines, has learned from past mistakes in his involvement with other leagues he has started. If he has, the UIFL could survive and if not could, it could fade into history sooner rather than later, along with Haines' past endeavors. February 18th starts the UIFL season with the championship scheduled in June. The UIFL will play a 14-game schedule.
To recap when each league begins play, the UIFL starts off the season on February 18th, followed by the IFL on the 19th. The CIFL starts play on February 26th and fans of the SIFL will have to wait until March 18th for the start of the season.
Jerry Kurz, commissioner of the new Arena Football League, has long referred to indoor football leagues and teams as "ankle biters" and in the first two or three years of the sport, I find it hard to disagree with that statement. Indoor football is now set to enter its 14th season. It has survived the break up of the original AFL and af2. When the NIFL was formed in 2000 it led the way for this sport to find its own place on the map and although the road hasn't been smooth, it has survived and evolved to become a major force in the football world. Most who are in the sport today don't want any part of the AFL, preferring to play their own game and be proud of it.
We look ahead to the 2011 season with 50 teams in four leagues spread out coast to coast. Thousands of fans will make their way to venues across this country to watch their favorite teams. They will see competition on the field equal to that anywhere else, drink a few brews and enjoy good, affordable family entertainment. This is their sport. Without the fan, the sport is nothing and I for one thank the fan for giving the "ankle biters" a place in a game we love.
Next up for me will be a league by league, team by team preview of what we can expect in 2011.