History
2014
The merger which formed the CIF was announced on August 22, 2014,[2] after it had been rumored that the CPIFL and LSFL had been in discussions of a possible merger since July 31, 2014.[3]2015
Main article: 2015 Champions Indoor Football season
The Gary Dawgs, originally announced as a charter member of the CIF, rebranded as the Illiana Eagles (now the Chicago Eagles) after a change in ownership and delayed their entry into the league until 2016.[4][5] On February 21, 2015, the new owners of the New Mexico Stars
announced that the team would not enter the league as planned after
head coach Dominic Bramante resigned two weeks before the scheduled
start of training camp.[6] On March 3, the Albuquerque-based Duke City Gladiators
announced they were joining the CIF for the 2015 season and would play
an abbreviated 11-game schedule as a partial replacement for the New
Mexico Stars. At the end of the regular season, the four teams (ordered
by seeding) that made the postseason were the Sioux City Bandits, Texas
Revolution, Wichita Force, and Amarillo Venom. On Thursday, June 11,
Texas defeated Wichita 39-27. Two days later, Sioux City beat Amarillo
83-52. This pitted Texas against Sioux City in Champions Bowl I on June 20 in Iowa. It was a highly-anticipated event in both Siouxland and the Dallas-Fort Worth area,
as the number one offense (Sioux City) faced the top defense (Texas).
It was a well-fought game, especially at halftime, as the score was tied
35-35. But a rushing touchdown for eventual Champions Bowl MVP Andrew
Prohaska and a Rahn Franklin interception sealed the deal for the
Bandits as they defeated the "Revs", 76-61 in front of a raucous crowd
of 3,757.2016
Main article: 2016 Champions Indoor Football season
The Mesquite Marshals, Salina Liberty, and Bloomington Edge
have announced their entrance into the league, bringing the total
amount of teams to 12. The league meetings were on August 19 in Dodge
City, Kansas. Many league changes were announced, including Darlene Jones
resigning as commissioner citing personal health-related reasons. Ricky
Bertz was then appointed interim commissioner, with the help of Indoor
Football League Hall-of-Famer, Tommy Benizio (who was the IFL's
commissioner). Stephanie Tucker also joined Bertz and Benizio. Also
announced at that time was the Northern/Southern divisional alignment.
Later, on January 11, 2016, Bertz stepped down to focus on his team's
sales, and Randy Sanders was named the interim commissioner.[7]
The updated alignment had each division with six teams. The top three
teams reaching the playoffs and the team with the best record in each
division received a bye in the first round. The division leader would
then play the winners of the 2 vs. 3 seeds playoff game.2017
At the end of the 2016 season the Mesquite Marshals changed their name to the Dallas Marshals. Later, the San Angelo Bandits folded but were immediately replaced by an expansion team called the CenTex Cavalry out of Belton, Texas. The CIF continued to expand for the 2017 season by adding the West Michigan Ironmen from the recently defunct American Indoor Football and two expansion teams in Kansas City and Bismarck, North Dakota. The CIF has also announced the league will realign from two to three divisions known as the South, Central, and North.Teams
| Team | Location | Arena | Capacity | Head Coach | Founded | Joined |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Northern Division | ||||||
| Bloomington Edge | Bloomington, Illinois | U.S. Cellular Coliseum | 7,000 | Ameer Ismail | 2006 | 2016 |
| Chicago Eagles | Chicago, Illinois | UIC Pavilion | 9,500 | Tim Arvantis | 2016 | 2016 |
| Omaha Beef | Ralston, Nebraska | Ralston Arena | 4,000 | Cory Ross | 2000 | 2015 |
| Salina Liberty | Salina, Kansas | Bicentennial Center | 7,583 | Eric Clayton | 2016 | 2016 |
| Sioux City Bandits | Sioux City, Iowa | Tyson Events Center | 6,941 | Erv Strohbeen | 2000 | 2015 |
| Wichita Force | Wichita, Kansas | Intrust Bank Arena | 13,450 | Paco Martinez | 2015 | 2015 |
| Southern Division | ||||||
| Amarillo Venom | Amarillo, Texas | Amarillo Civic Center | 4,912 | Julian Reese | 2004 | 2015 |
| Dallas Marshals | Mesquite, Texas | Mesquite Arena | 7,000 | Larry Hendrix, Jr. | 2016 | 2016 |
| Dodge City Law | Dodge City, Kansas | United Wireless Arena | 5,500 | Sean Ponder | 2014 | 2015 |
| Duke City Gladiators | Albuquerque, New Mexico | Tingley Coliseum | 9,286 | Dominic Bramante | 2015 | 2015 |
| Texas Revolution | Allen, Texas | Allen Event Center | 6,006 | Victor Mann | 2000 | 2015 |
Announced future teams
| Team | Location | Arena | Capacity | Head Coach | Founded | Joined |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bismarck[8] | Bismarck, North Dakota | Bismarck Event Center | 10,100 | Richard Davis | 2016 | 2017 |
| CenTex Cavalry | Belton, Texas | Bell County Expo Center | 6,559 | Michael Finney | 2016 | 2017 |
| Kansas City[9][10] | Kansas City, Missouri | 2016 | 2017 | |||
| West Michigan Ironmen | Muskegon, Michigan | L. C. Walker Arena | 5,100 | Tyrese Lynk | 2015 | 2017 |
Map of teams
Bismarck
Kansas City
Current CIF team locations (Northern Division teams in blue; Southern Division teams in red)
Former teams
- San Angelo Bandits (San Angelo, Texas) — Played in the CIF in 2015 and 2016 after joining from the LSFL. Folded and replaced by the CenTex Cavalry for 2017.
- New Mexico Stars (Rio Rancho, New Mexico) — Joined from the LSFL but left the league prior to the start of the 2015 season following the resignation of the team's head coach. The team was most recently a member of the now defunct AIF.
- Salina Bombers (Salina, Kansas) — Joined from the CPIFL. Suspended by the league on May 28, 2015, for failing to meet league obligations with one game left to play. The organization folded later the same day.
Champions Bowl
When the CPIFL started in 2013, the championship game was known as the "Champions Bowl", so the CIF used the same name for their title game.| Year | Title | Home Team | Away Team | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Champions Bowl I | Sioux City Bandits | Texas Revolution | 76-61 |
| 2016 | Champions Bowl II | Wichita Force | Amarillo Venom | 48-45 |
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