The 2016 Indoor Football League season will be the eighth season of the Indoor Football League. Playing with ten teams in two conferences spread across the United States, the league's regular season will kick off on February 20, 2016 and is scheduled to end on June 25, 2016. The playoffs will be held in three rounds, with the top seed in each conference receiving a first-round bye as the second and third seeds face each other in the conference semifinal (both division winners will have automatic bids, and the third seed will be a wild card), with the winner of that game facing the top seed in a conference championship game followed by the winners of those games meeting in the United Bowl.[1]
Teams
All ten teams from the previous season will return, and a new team called the Spokane Empire joining the IFL. The team was originally going to be called the Spokane Shock after the owner of the franchise decided to leave the Arena Football League on September 1, 2015, for the IFL due to easier regional travel. However, on October 12, 2015, the AFL released a statement saying that the franchise and the AFL could not come to terms over the purchase and use of the Shock identity (name, logos, colors, etc.) and that the AFL has retained the rights to the identity.[2] In addition, the IFL accepted the expansion franchise of the Minnesota Havok. Two teams retained their locations but changed their team name; the former Colorado Ice changed its name to the Colorado Crush,[3] and the former Bemidji Axemen changed their name to the Minnesota Axemen.[4]
The IFL originally announced that it would continue with a two-conference format, but would return to having two divisions in each conference, with each of the 12 teams playing 16 games during the 18-week regular season. This was two more teams, games, and weeks than the numbers as played in the 2015 IFL season.[5] However, prior to the season, the league terminated the two Minnesota teams and returned to a division-less two conference format.
| Team |
Location |
Arena |
Capacity |
Founded |
Joined |
| United Conference |
| Cedar Rapids Titans |
Cedar Rapids, Iowa |
U.S. Cellular Center |
6,900 |
2012 |
2012 |
| Green Bay Blizzard |
Green Bay, Wisconsin |
Resch Center |
8,600 |
2003 |
2010 |
| Iowa Barnstormers |
Des Moines, Iowa |
Wells Fargo Arena |
15,181 |
1995 |
2015 |
| Sioux Falls Storm |
Sioux Falls, South Dakota |
Denny Sanford Premier Center |
10,678 |
2000 |
2009 |
| Wichita Falls Nighthawks |
Wichita Falls, Texas |
Kay Yeager Coliseum |
7,380 |
2013 |
2015 |
| Intense Conference |
| Billings Wolves |
Billings, Montana |
Rimrock Auto Arena at MetraPark |
7,000 |
2015 |
2015 |
| Colorado Crush |
Loveland, Colorado |
Budweiser Events Center |
5,289 |
2007 |
2009 |
| Nebraska Danger |
Grand Island, Nebraska |
Eihusen Arena |
6,000 |
2011 |
2011 |
| Spokane Empire |
Spokane, Washington |
Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena |
10,771 |
2015 |
2016 |
| Tri-Cities Fever |
Kennewick, Washington |
Toyota Center |
6,000 |
2005 |
2010 |
Expansion/Contraction
On September 9, 2015, the IFL announced the Minnesota Havok would join the league for the 2016 season. The Havok were to play their home games at Verizon Wireless Center in Mankato, Minnesota,[6] however, the league terminated the franchise prior to the start of the season for failing to meet league obligations.[7][8]
On November 25, 2015, the Minnesota Axemen franchise was terminated by the league for failing to meet the league's operational standards and commitments.[9]
Standings
Playoffs
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Wild Card Round |
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Conference Championships |
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2016 United Bowl |
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United Conference |
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3 |
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1 |
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2 |
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U |
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I |
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Intense Conference |
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3 |
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1 |
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2 |
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References
- ↑ http://www.goifl.com/sports/fball/2014-15/releases/20150922icfb35
- ↑ AFL Issues Statement on Spokane Shock, ArenaFootball.com, October 12, 2015
- ↑ http://www.goifl.com/sports/fball/2014-15/releases/20150715zpxpvt
- ↑ "INDOOR FOOTBALL: It’s official: Hello ‘Minnesota’ Axemen". Bemidji Pioneer. September 25, 2015. Retrieved September 25, 2015.
- ↑ http://goifl.com/sports/fball/2014-15/releases/20151006lulie0
- ↑ "Minnesota Havok Join IFL". Indoor Football League. September 9, 2015. Retrieved September 9, 2015.
- ↑ "Minnesota Havok Fold Before Season Starts". Mankato Free Press. January 29, 2016. Retrieved January 29, 2016.
- ↑ "Weekly Sports League and Franchise Report". OurSportsCentral. February 1, 2016.
- ↑ IFL Issues Statement on Minnesota Axemen, IFL website, November 25, 2015
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