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 either the Arena Football League or its developmental league, AF2, however, that changed briefly with their expansion into AFL markets such as Atlanta, Denver, and Los Angeles, and AF2 markets such as Fort Myers and Houston. Green Bay Packers head coach Matt LaFleur, Buffalo Bills running back Fred Jackson, New Orleans Saints quarterback John Fourcade and Pittsburgh Steelers Super Bowl running back Bam Morris, all played in the NIFL. The league folded in 2008.
The Austin Wranglers were an arena football team based in Austin, Texas. They played four seasons in the Arena Football League from 2004 to 2007 and spent one season in af2, the AFL's developmental league, in 2008. They made playoff appearances in the AFL in 2006 and in af2 in 2008. They played their home games at the Frank Erwin Center at the University of Texas at Austin.
The Evansville BlueCats were a professional indoor football team based in Evansville, Indiana. They were a member of the United Indoor Football Association (UIF). They debuted in 2003 as a member of the National Indoor Football League.
The Marshals were a professional indoor football team based out of Dayton, Ohio. They played their 2007 home games out of Hara Arena in Dayton, Ohio, but are more famous for playing as the Cincinnati Marshals at U.S. Bank Arena for two seasons. The Marshals played their 2004 inaugural season in Waco, Texas, as the Waco Marshals.
The Fayetteville Guard was a professional indoor football team in the National Indoor Football League (NIFL) and American Indoor Football Association (AIFA). They played home games at the Cumberland County Crown Coliseum from 2005 to 2010.
The Lubbock Gunslingers were a professional indoor football team. They played their home games in Lubbock, Texas, at Lubbock Municipal Coliseum.
The Everett Hawks were a professional minor league arena football team based in Everett, Washington. The team was in existence for five years (2002–07) in three leagues, the Northwest Football League (NWFL), the National Indoor Football League (NIFL), and af2 and in two locations, the Eastside and Everett. They were first members of the Northwest Football League as the Eastside Hawks. After the 2004 season, they became a member of the NIFL as the Everett Hawks. In 2006 they switched to the af2. They played their home games at Everett Events Center.
The Tri-Cities Fever were a professional indoor football franchise based in Kennewick, Washington. The Fever joined National Indoor Football League (NIFL) in 2005 as an expansion team. The Fever were owned by Teri Carr. From 2005 to 2016, the Fever played their home games at the Toyota Center in Kennewick, Washington. On June 30, 2016, the team announced it would go dormant for the 2017 season and beyond.
The Daytona Beach ThunderBirds were an arena football team based in Daytona Beach, Florida. They were founded in 2005 as the Daytona Beach Hawgs playing in the National Indoor Football League. In 2006, they changed their name to the Daytona Thunder and played in three different indoor football leagues over three seasons: the American Indoor Football League in 2006, the World Indoor Football League in 2007, and the AF2, the Arena Football League's developmental league, in 2008. They folded after the 2008 season. The Marquee player for the Thurnderbirds was 6'3" 230 pound Left handed Quarterback Matt Bohnet, an Eastern Michigan Graduate, who completed 160 out of 307 passes for 1,890 Yards 28 Touchdowns and 17 interceptions.
The Leonard E. Merrell Center is a 7,200-seat multi-purpose arena in Katy, Texas. It was built in 2005 and was the former home of the Katy Copperheads and the Katy Ruff Riders of the Intense Football League. The Merrell Center has hosted the Southland Conference Men's and Women's Basketball Tournaments from 2008 to 2022, but both tournaments will move to The Legacy Center on the campus of McNeese State University in Lake Charles, Louisiana in 2023. The Houston Stallions of the Lone Star Football League moved to the Merrell Center in 2011.
The Reading Express were a professional indoor football team based in Reading, Pennsylvania. They were most recently a member of the United Conference of the Indoor Football League (IFL). The Express began play in 2006, as an expansion team of the American Indoor Football League. The team was originally going to be named the Reading RiverRats, but passed on that name in favor of the "Reading Express." The RiverRats name and logo was moved to an AIFA team in Pittsburgh in 2007. The owners of the Express were Ted & Lisa Lavender. They played their home games at the Sovereign Center.
The Palm Beach Phantoms were a professional indoor football team that were members of the National Indoor Football League in 2006. A new team with the same name played two replacement games for the Ultimate Indoor Football League in 2012.
The Peoria Pirates were a professional arena football team that last played in AF2, the minor league to the Arena Football League (AFL). They played their home games at Carver Arena, part of the Peoria Civic Center in Illinois, and were coached by Mike Hohensee and Bruce Cowdrey. The Pirates originally began play as a charter member of the original Indoor Football League in 1999.
The Abilene Bombers were a professional indoor football team. The Bombers played their home games at the Taylor County Expo Center, in Abilene, Texas.
Brett Dietz is American football coach and former quarterback. He is the head football coach at DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana, a position he has held since 2020. Dietz played college football at Hanover College in Hanover, Indiana and professionally with several teams including the Turku Trojans in Finland Vaahteraliiga and in Arena Football League (AFL), Af2, and the National Indoor Football League (NIFL) for the Cincinnati Marshals, Louisville Fire, Tampa Bay Storm and California Redwoods.
The Austin Turfcats were a professional indoor football team based in Austin, Texas. The Turfcats were a member of the Indoor Football League (IFL) during the 2010 season, after being a charter member of the Southern Indoor Football League (SIFL) during their inaugural 2009 season. The Turfcats played their home games at Luedecke Arena at the Travis County Exposition Center. This was Austin's fourth attempt at an indoor football team; the prior three were the Indoor Professional Football League's Texas Terminators (1999), the National Indoor Football League's Austin Knights/Rockers (2002–2003), and the Arena Football League Austin Wranglers (2004–2008).
The Houston Lightning were an indoor football team which was to begin Southern Indoor Football League play in 2010. Based in Houston, Texas, their home arena was announced as the Reliant Arena.
Stephen "Steve" Wasil is a former Arena football quarterback who played for the Muskegon Thunder, Texas Copperheads, Albany Firebirds, Alabama Vipers, Kansas City Command and Tampa Bay Storm. He is currently the Offensive Coordinator at Albion College.
James Stanley is an American gridiron football Linebackers Coach & Pass Game Analyst for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the Canadian Football League (CFL). Stanley played professional indoor football from 2004 to 2007 for various teams in the Arena Football League (AFL), AF2, National Indoor Football League (NIFL) and American Indoor Football League (AIFL) and was the first overall pick in the AIFL draft in 2005. He has coached for several teams at the college and professional levels. Stanley was the linebackers coach for the Toronto Argonauts when won the 100th Grey Cup in 2012.
The Arena Football Hall of Fame is the official Hall of Fame of the Arena Football League (AFL). The inaugural class was announced in 1998 and the Hall was not formally organized until 2011. Prior to 2011, there were four classes: 1998–2000 and then another in 2002. The Arena Football Hall of Fame is the highest honor for players, coaches, and contributors involved in the AFL. The voting process consists of fans and current Hall of Fame members voting on the finalists. The finalists are selected by the League Office in which they collect ballots from the Arena Football Hall of Fame Advisory Board, a group which consisted of former players, executives, journalists and media personnel with a long-time involvement in the league. The league began to decline in 2015, so no Hall of Fame announcements have been made since this year. The league folded for a second time in 2019. After the league's second closure, ArenaFan, a long-running fan site, announced it had taken over operations of the Arena Football Hall of Fame.