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27-708: It was announced in December 2009, that the Aces would be taking over for the Marion Mayhem . In January 2010, the Aces were officially announced to the league, as owners Michael Burtch and Stanley Jackson held a press conference announcing that the team's head coach would be Pepe Pearson , and that they team would play at the Ohio Expo Center Coliseum in Columbus, Ohio . The Aces were made up of

54-696: A 7-5 record in 2008, the Mayhem were eliminated from the 2008 CIFL playoffs. The Mayhem players had already turned in their equipment for the year when it was announced that the defending CIFL champion Rochester Raiders (12-0) had been suspended by the league and had to forfeit their playoff spot. The Mayhem were invited to replace the former champs in the CIFL Atlantic Conference Western Division playoffs where they would face their conference foe Saginaw. The Mayhem gathered their players back together and headed to Saginaw to face

81-651: A lease with Randy Brown and the Memorial Coliseum. Brown opted to go with the AF2 franchise. The team had been heavily rumored to move to AF2 for quite some time, and Coffey sold the assets to Golden on November 10, 2006. Golden had already applied for and was awarded an AF2 franchise, but because only the assets and not the Freedom's corporate entity were sold, the Fort Wayne Fusion AF2 franchise

108-490: A losing inaugural season in 2006 (4-6), however the Mayhem were within one game of the 2006 GLIFL playoffs. The Mayhem missed the playoffs due to the Battle Creek Crunch holding the tie breaker between the two teams. Before the season began, 4th Down and Long LLC sold the team to Michael Burtch. Joining the team would be former Ohio State University quarterback , Stanley Jackson . Jackson would later become

135-613: A part owner of the franchise due to their small budget operation. Jackson went on to set league records for pass completions (177), pass attempts (348) and interceptions thrown (16). Marion finished 6-6 in 2007, good enough to make the CIFL playoffs. After knocking off the Muskegon Thunder in the first round of the CIFL playoffs, the Mayhem's season was ended by a loss to the Michigan (formally Port Huron) Pirates . Finishing with

162-484: A smaller than usual roster that had not practiced regularly for a couple of weeks, played with more heart and determination then the Mayhem and won 49-40. On Christmas Eve 2009, the Mayhem announced they would not be playing in Marion in 2010, citing the economic downturn. According to the ownership of the team, "if the situation in Marion improves they may entertain the idea of returning the Mayhem to Marion". As part of

189-514: Is not a continuation of the UIF team. In October 2007, the group Fort Wayne Sports Partners owned by Todd Ellis, John Christener and Mike McCaffrey, adopted the name Freedom as a new franchise in 2008. Only the name, and some players from the 2003–2006 teams were associated with the original franchise. . The team also announced that Eddie Brown , who had coached the Fusion the season before, would be

216-636: The Allen County War Memorial Coliseum . In 2004, the Freedom set the single game record for attendance at 10,225. # = set single game indoor football attendance record with 10,225 fans. The 2005 season was the best season in franchise history. This was the first year in the UIF, the team moved to the association, after two years in the NIFL . Finishing a league-best 14-2, and winning the UIF Midwest Division. In

243-620: The Fort Wayne FireHawks , replaced the Freedom in the CIFL. The owner of the second version of the Freedom was Bill Fahlsing. The Freedom played their home games at Allen County War Memorial Coliseum in Fort Wayne. The original Fort Wayne Freedom was a professional indoor football team. They were most recently a member of the United Indoor Football league (UIF), and played their home games at

270-634: The National Indoor Football League . The Freedom were the original indoor football team to be based in Fort Wayne. After four years of being the only indoor team in Fort Wayne, the franchise was sold to AF2 and the Fort Wayne Fusion was established as part of the AF2 in 2007. After a failed year in AF2, the Freedom came back in 2008 with new ownership and continued through the 2009 season. In 2010, another indoor team,

297-715: The University of St. Francis , an NAIA institution, and NCAA Division II Hillsdale College in Michigan. Pifer also was a high school assistant and played quarterback at the University of California in Pennsylvania. After completing its fourth year of football, the assets of the Freedom were sold to Jeremy Golden, who moved the franchise to AF2. Meanwhile, leaders with United Indoor Football did find an ownership group (that included investor Bill Bean) that also sought

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324-505: The Wisconsin Wolfpack in the playoffs. The Marion Mayhem were the last remaining original GLIFL team left in the CIFL. Running backs Wide receivers Defensive linemen Defensive backs Special teams Inactives Updated May 8, 2010 Rookies in italics 22 Active, 0 Inactive The following is a list of all Marion Mayhem players who have won GLIFL or CIFL awards. Note: Statistics are correct through

351-656: The 2009 season players were not paid promptly and then not at all. Team Co-owners Bill Fahlsing and Mark Chappius were forced to ask for public support to help get the team through the season. Despite the financial issue with salaries, the players continued to play for the Freedom and won the Eastern Conference Championship over the Marion Mayhem but lost the 2009 CIFL championship game to the Chicago Slaughter. The Freedom Force

378-668: The Mayhem were Michael Burtch and Stanley Jackson . They played their home games at the Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Marion, Ohio . The Mayhem were announced to the public on September 16, 2005, as the fourth expansion team for the newly formed Great Lakes Indoor Football League . Their inaugural owners of the Mayhem were 4th Down and Long LLC, run by R.A. Mallonn, Fred Horner, Tim Cugini, and John Slebodnik. The team hired Tracy Smith as their inaugural coach and general manager on November 2, 2005. The Mayhem suffered

405-614: The Sting. The playoff game went down to the wire where a goal-line stand by the Saginaw defense with only seconds left on the clock ended the Mayhem's season. The final score Sting 41 - Mayhem 34. The Mayhem finished the regular season with a 9-3 record in 2009. This was good enough to earn them the 2009 CIFL East Division Regular Season Title and the opportunity to host the East Division Championship Game. This

432-431: The ban and allowed the team to join the CIFL in 2008. In September, 2008, the Freedom announced that former Freedom Assistant GM Brad Harris (who was with the original Freedom from 2003–2005) had been hired as GM. Head coach Matt Land also returned for the 2009 to coach the team for the full season. In 2008, Land, who had been the team's head coach for the 2005 campaign, was asked by team co-owner William Fahlsing to lead

459-600: The disbanding of the Mayhem organization, all players, coaches, and staff were transferred to the new CIFL team starting play in 2010, the Columbus Aces . However, in late January 2010 rumors of the potential folding of the Columbus Aces started circulating. Then a couple of weeks into February 2010 a new rumor began that the Mayhem would be returning to Marion. This was confirmed in the Marion Star when it

486-589: The end of the 2010 Continental Indoor Football League season . Fort Wayne Freedom United Indoor Football (2005–2006) Continental Indoor Football League (2008–2009) UIF: 2005 The Fort Wayne Freedom was a professional indoor football team based in Fort Wayne, Indiana . The team was most recently a member of the Continental Indoor Football League , but originally began play in 2003 as an expansion team in

513-534: The first-round of the UIF playoffs. The Tennessee Valley Raptors upset Freedom 57-22. As Matt Land left the Freedom to become head coach at Tri-State University in NCAA Division III . The Freedom selected offensive coordinator Dan Pifer to be their new head coach. Pifer would later serve as the offensive coordinator for NCAA Division III Tri-State, later renamed Trine, under former coach Matt Land. He had worked previously as an assistant coach at

540-446: The head coach for the Freedom, who would be joining the Continental Indoor Football League . Since the Fusion ownership had failed mid season in 2007, Brown and McCaffrey made majority owner Todd Ellis guaranteed them both that if the team ran into financial trouble they would not be responsible for any of the unpaid bills. The teams poor financial history left every part of owning the franchise more difficult, even as far as ownership of

567-494: The season. This American football team article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This article about a sports team in Ohio is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This article related to sports in Columbus, Ohio is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Marion Mayhem The Marion Mayhem were a professional indoor football team based in Marion, Ohio . The team

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594-471: The staff, coaches, and players were all those of the Mayhem. The Aces failed as an attempted move to Columbus due to not raising the necessary sponsorship funds to accommodate our teams needs. The team returned to Marion under the name of the Mayhem in March, and competed in the 2010 Continental Indoor Football League season , but did not have enough money to finish the season, forfeiting their final four games of

621-509: The team for the final four games of the season when original head coach Willie Davis, Jr. was fired the morning of the May 17 game against the Chicago Slaughter. With only 15 minutes of practice, Land's second term began with a 41-33 loss to the Slaughter, despite a solid performance by the Freedom defense. In 2009, the Freedom had success on the field but struggled financially. Toward the end of

648-520: The team's turf. The team's new ownership also showed signs of financial trouble right away, as they were banned from the CIFL in January 2008, for failing to pay league dues. These troubles made Brown and McCaffrey question the ownership, and Ellis fired them both, replacing Brown with Willie Davis Jr. and McCaffrey with himself. The Freedom were able to work out a deal with CIFL Commissioner, Jeff Spitaleri, and paid their $ 22,500 league fee, which removed

675-575: Was a charter member of the Great Lakes Indoor Football League (GLIFL), later renamed the Continental Indoor Football League (CIFL), joining in 2006 as an expansion team . The Mayhem were the first professional indoor football team to be based in Marion, but were the second pro football team to be based in the area since the NFL 's Oorang Indians . The team folded during the 2010 season due to financial problems. The Owners of

702-443: Was reported that the Marion Mayhem had been purchased by Cheyenne Sports Group and would return to Marion. On May 27, 2010 after starting the season 3-3 it was announced that the Marion Mayhem would forfeit the remaining games on their schedule due to financial issues. When the franchise folded, the players fled to other teams in the league. A majority of the players ended up with the Fort Wayne FireHawks , who would go on to lose to

729-475: Was the third season in a row the Mayhem made the playoffs. Their opponent in the East Division Championship Game was the Fort Wayne Freedom (6-5). Coming into the game the Freedom had been experiencing money problems and up until three days before the East Division Championship Game the Freedom still were not sure they were going to show up in Marion. But when game time came the Freedom, whom brought

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