UNITED INDOOR FOOTBALL
EAST DIVISION
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|---|---|---|
| BLOOMINGTON | EVANSVILLE | LEXINGTON |
| EXTREME | BLUECATS | HORSEMEN |
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|---|---|---|
| OHIO VALLEY | RIVER CITY | ROCK RIVER |
| GREYHOUNDS | RAGE | RAPTORS |
NORTH DIVISION
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|---|---|---|
| BILLINGS | COLORADO | OMAHA |
| OUTLAWS | ICE | BEEF |
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|---|---|
| SIOUX FALLS | SIOUX CITY |
| STORM | BANDITS |
Above is the 2007 alignment for the UIF. The Fort Wayne Freedom and Peoria Rough Riders are gone. Taking their place are two NIFL defections, the Billings Outlaws and River City Rage, and a new franchise, the Colorado Ice.
HISTORICAL TEAMS
BILLINGS OUTLAWS
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| 2007 - present |
The Outlaws play their home games in Billings, MT. The team left the NIFL following the 2006 season. They have been around in one form or another since 2000, as the Billings Thunderbolts of the IFL.
BLACK HILLS RED DOGS
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|---|
| 2005 |
The Red Dogs played in the NIFL for several years before leaving to help form the UIF in 2005. Officially the team is considered "inactive" and ownership still retains the rights to a UIF franchise.
In 2006, another indoor team, the Black Hills Flying Aces, became active in the NIFL. I don't know if there's any relationship between the two teams.
BLOOMINGTON EXTREME
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|---|
| 2006 - present |
The Extreme play their home games in Bloomington, IL. As a new franchise, and not a team transplanted from another league, the Extreme are the first UIF expansion team.
COLORADO ICE
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| 2007 - present |
The Ice play their home games in Fort Collins, CO. They are a new franchise for 2007. They are the first indoor team to play in Fort Collins since the ill-fated Colorado Venom folded after one game in the 2004 NIFL season.
EVANSVILLE BLUE CATS
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|---|---|
| 2005 | 2006 -present |
The Blue Cats play their home games in Evansville, IN. They were one of the teams that left the NIFL to form the UIF in 2005.
FORT WAYNE FREEDOM
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|---|
| 2005 - 2006 |
The Freedom played their home games in Fort Wayne, IN. They left the NIFL following the 2004 season to help found the UIF. Financial problems forced the team to shut down after two seasons.
LEXINGTON HORSEMEN
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|---|
| 2005 - present |
The Horsemen play their home games in Lexington, KY. They left the NIFL following the 2004 season to help found the UIF.
OHIO VALLEY GREYHOUNDS
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|---|---|
| 2005 | 2006 - present |
The Greyhounds play their home games in Wheeling, WV. They were one of the teams which left the NIFL in 2004 to found the UIF.
The team is one of the oldest indoor franchises, tracing its roots back to the Steel Valley Smash of the IFL. They were very successful in the NIFL, winning back-to-back championships, but have yet to duplicate that success in the UIF.
OMAHA BEEF
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|---|---|
| 2005 - 2006 | 2007 - present |
The Beef play the their home games in Omaha, NE. They left the NIFL following the 2004 season to help found the UIF.
Before playing in the NIFL, the Beef were members of the PIFL, making them one of the more "seasoned" indoor franchises. I have a feeling that the Beef ownership were the driving force behind the mass defection from the NIFL and the formation of the UIF, based on the fact that the league offices are in Omaha. But this is just conjecture on my part.
PEORIA ROUGH RIDERS
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|---|
| 2005 - 2006 |
The Rough Riders played their home games in Peoria, IL. As the Peoria Pirates, they were rather successful in AF2, before leaving along with the Tennessee Valley Vipers to help form the UIF in 2005.
Originally the team was set to play in the UIF as the Mutineers, but fan outrage and confusion forced a change to the Rough Riders prior to the first game. Name changes didn't help draw in fans however, and the team folded after two seasons.
RIVER CITY RAGE
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|---|
| 2007 - present |
The Rage play their home games in St. Charles, MO. The team left the NIFL following the 2006 season.
The team got it's start as the River City Renegades in the 2001 IPFL season. They joined the NIFL in 2002, but suspended operations before the end of the season. The team resurfaced the following year as the Show Me Believers. In 2005, the team became the River City Rage.
ROCK RIVER RAPTORS / TENNESSEE VALLEY RAPTORS / TENNESSEE VALLEY PYTHONS
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|
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|---|---|---|
pre-2005 |
2005 |
2006 - present |
TENNESSEE VALLEY PYTHONS |
TENNESSEE VALLEY RAPTORS |
ROCK RIVER RAPTORS |
The Raptors play their home games in Rockford, IL.
The team originally played as the Tennessee Valley Vipers in the AF2. They left the league to help form the UIF in 2005. Based in Huntsville, AL, the team planned to play as the Pythons in the inaugural UIF season, but changed to the Raptors prior to the first game. Following the season, the team moved north and became the Rock River Raptors.
SIOUX CITY BANDITS
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|---|---|
| 2005 | 2006 - present |
The Bandits play their home games in Sioux City, IA. They left the NIFL following the 2004 season to help found the UIF.
Another longtime indoor franchise, the Bandits played as the Attack in the IFL.
SIUOX FALLS STORM
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|---|
| 2005 - present |
The Storm play their home games in Sioux Falls, SD. They left the NIFL following the 2004 season to help found the UIF. The team overcame an 8-8 regular season record to win the first UIF championship.
The Storm played as the Cobras in the IFL prior to joining the NIFL.
TUPELO FIRE ANTS
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|---|
| 2005 |
The Fire Ants played their home games in Tupelo, MS. The team folded after their first season in the UIF.
COMMENTS
The United Indoor Football League, or UIF, began in 2005. The UIF was originally composed of several teams which departed the NIFL -- the Fort Wayne Freedom, Ohio Valley Greyhounds, Black Hills Red Dogs, Omaha Beef, Sioux City Bandits, Sioux Falls Storm, Evansville Bluecats, Lexington Horsemen and Tupelo Fire Ants. Rounding out the roster were two former AF2 teams using different monikers -- the Tennessee Valley Raptors (formerly the Vipers) and the Peoria Rough Riders (formerly the Pirates). One completely new franchise, the Dayton Warbirds, was all set to play as well, but was suspended by the league before the start of the season. I have only heard rumors about why there was a mass exodus in the NIFL, but many of these teams were fairly successful in their former league, and I suspect that the UIF will do okay.
In 2006, two teams folded, another team relocated and an expansion team was added. Unlike some of the other "minor" indoor leagues, the UIF seem to be playing it smart, keeping expansion limited and focusing on strengthening its base before spreading itself too thin.
In 2007, another expansion team was added and two more teams defected from the struggling NIFL. However, two existing UIF teams closed their doors as well. Overall, the UIF remains relatively stable with several teams' history going back 7-8 years through at least two other indoor leagues.