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108-496: 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 a losing inaugural season in 2006 (4-6), however

216-418: A touchdown , but stops after an extra point or two-point conversion attempt. If a quarter ends as a touchdown is scored, an untimed conversion attempt takes place. The play clock is 30 seconds, starting at the end of the previous play. In all arenas, the final minute of the period is measured in tenths of a second. Prior to the 2018 season, during the final minute of the fourth quarter, the clock stopped if

324-515: A "dead" player may participate on kickoffs, or as long snapper or holder. In 2006, the AFL changed its substitution rules such that free substitutions were allowed on all kickoffs. The most significant change was the introduction of free substitution , the so-called " Elway Rule". Previously, AFL coaches were limited to one substitution per position per quarter. From 2007 to 2019 and come 2024 , coaches can substitute players at will. The rationale

432-538: A 1-4 seed based on their W-L-T records. The one seed hosted the four seed, and the two seed hosted the three seed. The winners advanced to the Great Lakes Bowl I , and the highest remaining seed hosted. Due to expansion in 2007, the playoff format was expanded to eight teams making the playoffs. The top team in each division would clinch homefield advantage throughout the playoffs. The rest were wild card teams that are seeded second through fourth. From that point,

540-435: A 15-minute halftime ( ArenaBowl has a 30-minute interval). Teams are allowed three timeouts per half, and two per overtime period if regulation ends tied. Teams must use a timeout if there's an injury inside a half-minute left in regulation or overtime; exception applies to when team has no timeouts, and this occurs, they're granted an extra timeout. The clock stops for out-of-bounds plays, incomplete passes, or sacks only in

648-641: A 6-team single-elimination playoff beginning in April, culminating in the CIFL Championship Game in May. Traditionally, American high school football games are played on Friday nights, American college football games are played on Thursday nights and Saturdays, and most NFL games are played on Sunday. Because the CIFL season is played at a different season from the high school, college, and NFL seasons,

756-660: A certain level of stability, however. The National Indoor Football League (NIFL) began in 2001 and was the most successful league in the early 2000s. The Indoor Football League (IFL) began in the autumn of 2008 when two already-established leagues (the Intense Football League and United Indoor Football ) chose to merge into a single organization. The IFL's expansion model has been based less on establishing new teams and more on acquiring existing teams from other leagues. The IFL has 16 teams as of 2024. Other, regional leagues include Champions Indoor Football (CIF),

864-508: A few team names and logos owned by outside parties, in a December 2009 bankruptcy auction. Shortly after the purchase, AF1 adopted the Arena Football League name, and the AFL relaunched in 2010 . The "iron man" rule, requiring at least six of the eight players to play on both offense and defense, was dropped, but most other past AFL rules remained unchanged. The relaunched league saw franchises return and renewed interest, but by

972-507: A field that was identical in size to a standard North American ice hockey rink, 200 by 85 feet (61 m × 26 m). This resulted in the field being 50 yards long (half of the length of a standard American football field) with eight-yard end zones (which may, if necessary, be curved in the end zones as hockey rinks are), and the field being slightly over half as wide as a standard football field. Foster adopted short-pile artificial turfs (which were then standard) such as AstroTurf for

1080-417: A hockey rink; this is much like some Canadian football fields where the end zones can be cut off by a track). Each sideline has a heavily padded barrier, with the padding placed over the hockey dasher boards. The goalpost uprights are 9 feet (2.7 m) wide, and the crossbar is 15 feet (4.6 m) above the playing surface. Taut rebound nets on either side of the posts bounce any missed field goals back into

1188-463: A kickoff leaves the field of play after making contact with the field or a player on either team, the ball comes out to the 5-yard line, or the point in which it leaves the field of play, whichever is closest to the kicking team's goal line. Offense – No punting is allowed. The offense must attempt to gain a first down or touchdown, or may attempt a field goal (by placement or drop kick). Coaches – Starting in 2013, coaches were permitted to coach on

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1296-466: A major network television broadcasting contract with NBC , and eventually launched an official minor league , af2 , beginning in 2000. This effort basically served two purposes: one as a developmental league for the AFL, and as a place where former collegiate players could develop while at the same time learning and becoming accustomed to the unique arena rules, and secondly as a pre-emptive way of shutting out potential new indoor football competitors (this

1404-681: A network, such as the Arena Football League with the CBS Sports Network . Individual teams are free to work out deals with their local affiliates to broadcast their games. Each CIFL team usually works out its own radio network deal with local stations, and the stations employ its announcers. Nationally, the CIFL is heard on the CIFL Radio Network, which can be used online via the CIFL GameCenter on

1512-472: A new ownership group that had acquired the league's trademarks and social media accounts announced another revival of the league, which began play in 2024. On May 12, 2024, kicker Melissa Strother made an extra point while playing for the Washington Wolfpack , making her the first female player to score a point in the league. Other indoor football leagues have been formed, without the use of

1620-536: A non-traditional (spring-summer) season, was in operation in 1983–1985. When the USFL ceased operations, Foster saw his opportunity. He staged a "test" game in Rockford, Illinois in 1986 and put together a four-team league for a "demonstration season" in the spring of 1987, with games televised on ESPN . Foster had to adopt a field that would fit within the smaller playing surfaces found in most arenas and thus created

1728-402: A punt striking the ceiling. The end zones were slightly shorter—eight yards instead of the standard ten (coincidentally, the eight-yard endzone length is the standard in modern indoor football). While several attempts to create a true indoor football game have been made since shortly after American football was developed, the first version to meet with relatively widespread success and acceptance

1836-793: A roster full of Port Huron's championship team. The 2007 season brought big changes, as the league changed its name to the Continental Indoor Football League , and the league expanded to 14 teams with only the Crunch not returning. The league suspended operations in October 2014, when the league's five remaining teams, the champion Erie Explosion , the Saginaw Sting , Marion Blue Racers , Chicago Blitz , and Northern Kentucky River Monsters , either suspended operations or joined other leagues. Shortly thereafter,

1944-618: A small field was actually played outdoors at the original open-air Madison Square Garden . Using nine-man sides , Pennsylvania defeated Rutgers 10–0 at the annual meeting of the Amateur Athletic Union on January 16, 1889. The first documented indoor football game was an exhibition between the Springfield YMCA Training School and a Yale Senior Class team played on December 12, 1890, at Madison Square Garden II . James Naismith scored

2052-585: A three- or four-point stance at the start of the snap. Two defenders serve as linebackers , called the Mac and the Jack. The Mac may blitz from the side of the line opposite the offensive Tight End. The Jack's role has changed after new rules set in place by the league in 2008. The Jack cannot blitz, but under new, more defense-friendly rules, the Jack Linebacker may roam sideline to sideline within five yards of

2160-477: A time from a 21-man active roster. Before 2007, players played both offense and defense except for the Quarterback , Kicker , and Offensive Specialist (Wide Receiver/Running Back combination) and two Defensive Specialists (Defensive Backs). If a player enters and leaves, from the moment he leaves the player is considered "dead" and cannot return to play until the designated time is served. Exception:

2268-439: A time. This player can blitz from any direction, but must be at least five yards off the line of scrimmage/goal line prior to the snap. Players do not have to announce their eligibility to blitz. Defensive backs are not allowed to blitz. Linebackers – At least two defensive players must line up at least 5 yards behind the line of scrimmage. The other two nonlinemen must either line up face-to-face with an offensive non-lineman on

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2376-551: A touchdown for Springfield, though Yale won the exhibition 16–10. The following day a second exhibition game was played, with Pennsylvania defeating Rutgers 20–12. The field at Madison Square Garden measured 260 feet (79 m) long and 100 feet (30 m) wide. The first documented indoor regulation football games were those played at the Chicago Coliseum in the late 1890s. The first such game matched Michigan against Chicago on Thanksgiving Day 1896. The match

2484-425: A travel team being in the league since 2009. The current rule reads: The CIFL regular season consists of a schedule of 10 games for each team. This allows for travel teams to play all their games on the road, and gives every team in the league an extra home game for each travel team in the league. Although this scheduling formula determined each of the 10 teams' respective opponents, the league usually did not release

2592-556: A year during the 1930s; the stadium stopped hosting games in 1940 and did not resume hosting football games until 1961. In the 1960s, the Boardwalk Bowl , a post-season game involving small college teams, was contested at the convention center. The Bowl was an attempt to make Atlantic City more of a year-round resort in the pre-gambling era as opposed to a single-season one (the Miss America Pageant , also held at

2700-474: Is 17,000 square feet (1,600 m )). The scrimmage area is 50 yards (46 m) long (unlike the field in NFL which is 100 yards (91 m) long), and each end zone is approximately 8 yards deep, two yards less than the standard 10 yards. Depending on the venue in which a game is being played, the end zones may be rectangular (like a basketball court) or, where necessary because of the building design, rounded (like

2808-413: Is a variety of gridiron football designed to be played indoors. The game is played on a smaller field than American or Canadian football, designed to fit in the same surface area as a standard North American ice hockey rink , and features between six and eight players for each team playing at any given time depending on the league, resulting in a faster and higher-scoring game that can be played on

2916-420: Is an eligible receiver if he is wearing an eligible receiver number (1–49, 80–89). Defensive linemen – The three defensive linemen must line up on the nose, or can line up inside foot-to-outside foot outside of an offensive lineman. Linemen must rush inside if nose up or slanted into if shaded, and they must make contact before any movement to the outside is made. Blitzing – Only one non-lineman can blitz at

3024-403: Is kicked off from the goal line, to start the halves and odd overtimes, or after any score. The team with the ball is given four downs to gain ten yards or score. Punting is illegal because of the size of the playing field, however, a field goal that either misses wide (therefore bouncing off the nets surrounding the goalposts) or falls short, may be returned. Thus an impossibly long field goal

3132-449: Is most recently known as American Indoor Football (AIF) went through three names and two ownership changes in its first three seasons. Several other indoor leagues have been announced without ever actually commencing play, or operating only briefly with a handful of teams. Some were claimed attempts to form a second "major" league of indoor football while others were strictly efforts to form a new "minor" league. A few leagues have achieved

3240-434: Is played exclusively indoors, in arenas usually designed for either basketball or ice hockey teams. The field is the same width 85 feet (26 m) and length 200 feet (61 m) as a standard NHL hockey rink, making it approximately 30% of the dimensions of a regular American gridiron football field , and 19% of a Canadian gridiron football field (the total playing area, including the end zones of an Arena football field

3348-413: Is tantamount to a punt in other football variants. A receiver jumping to catch a pass needs to get only one foot down in bounds for the catch to be ruled a completed catch, just as in college football . Practically, this means that one foot must touch the ground before the receiver is pushed into the boards by an opposing player. Passes that bounce off the rebound nets remain "live." Balls that bounce off

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3456-877: The American Arena League (AAL) and National Arena League (NAL). Both CIF and the AAL were formed by mergers of existing leagues. The CIF was formed from a merger of the Champions Professional Indoor Football League and the Lone Star Football League in 2015. The AAL was formed in late 2017 as the combination of three leagues that each played one season: the Can-Am Indoor Football League , Arena Pro Football , and Supreme Indoor Football . Champions Indoor Football merged with

3564-667: 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 was reported that the Marion Mayhem had been purchased by Cheyenne Sports Group and would return to Marion. On May 27, 2010 after starting

3672-585: The " World Series of Pro Football ." The games were played on a 70-yard by 35-yard dirt field but otherwise adhered to outdoor rules. Poor attendance led to the tournament being discontinued after two years. The Chicago Bears of the National Football League hosted an experimental game against their crosstown rivals, the Cardinals , after the 1930 NFL season , at the indoor Chicago Stadium . Two years later, poor weather conditions led to

3780-554: The "deuce": if a kickoff goes through the uprights, the kicking team receives two points. This rule had previously been in effect in the IFL and the NAL . The league also instituted the rouge / single , as used in the CFL , whereby, on a kickoff, the kicking team receives one point if the receiving team fails to bring the ball out of its own end zone. After scoring a touchdown, the scoring team has

3888-429: The 10-yard line after any touchdown, if they want to. Any kickoff that goes through the uprights is scored as a "deuce", or two points. Four offensive players must be on the line of scrimmage at the snap ; one of the linemen must declare himself the tight end . One offensive player may be moving forward at the time of the snap as long as he has not yet crossed the line of scrimmage. Three defensive players must be in

3996-482: The AFL's erstwhile developmental league , which played 10 seasons from 2000 through 2009; and the China Arena Football League , which played two abbreviated seasons in 2016 and 2019 but was not directly affiliated with the now-defunct AFL. A 2024 reboot of the Arena Football League uses the original league's rulebook with minor variations. Through the late 1990s, the Arena Football League was

4104-636: The Bears hosting the 1932 NFL Playoff Game against the Portsmouth Spartans (now the Detroit Lions ) at the stadium. A dirt and tanbark field measuring 80 yards long (60 yards plus two ten-yard end zones ) and 45 yards wide was constructed on the arena's floor. The Chicago Stadium games were notable for introducing several rule changes, including the introduction of hash marks to keep play away from spectators who were seated next to

4212-579: 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 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

4320-476: The CIFL scheduled Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and (new for 2013) Monday games. During minicamps in the winter, CIFL teams typically played one or two exhibition games from early January through early February. Each team was free to schedule these games, but all games were approved by the league. No games were allowed within one week of the team's first regular-season game. The games were useful for new players who were not used to playing indoor football. Following

4428-560: The CIFL to Indoor Football Incorporated, which included Rob Licht, Jim O'Brien, and Stuart Schweigert . The group also owned the Saginaw Sting. The new ownership of the league sought to help current teams brand their product better, as well as look to expand the league, but its primary goal was to have competitive franchises. The Great Lakes Indoor Football League was founded in 2005 by brothers Eric and Jeff Spitaleri and their friend Cory Trapp. The league's first franchise accepted

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4536-419: The CIFL was a very unstable and somewhat informal organization. Many teams entered and left the league annually, with the worst instance of teams exiting occurring when the new Indoor Football League was formed and the league lost five teams. The league fielded at least six teams in each year of its existence, gaining and losing teams each year from both expansion and teams shifting leagues. The Saginaw Sting

4644-488: 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 the end of the 2010 Continental Indoor Football League season . Great Lakes Indoor Football League The Continental Indoor Football League ( CIFL )

4752-606: The CIFL. Excluding all-female leagues, the CIFL is one of only three professional football leagues (the Atlantic Coast Football League in 1970, the Indoor Football League in 2014) to have hired female players; the CIFL is the only league to have hired more than one, and the only one to have allowed its female players to score points. Since 2013, the CIFL season featured a 10-game, 12-week regular season running from February to April and

4860-488: 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 the disbanding of the Mayhem organization, all players, coaches, and staff were transferred to the new CIFL team starting play in 2010,

4968-674: 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 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

5076-568: The Pirates, and the Raiders defeated the Revolution 71–13. The league's first playoff format was a four-team setup with the number-one seed hosting the number-four seed, and the number-two seed hosting the number-three seed. The semifinals featured a pair of blowout games, with Port Huron and Rochester advancing to Great Lakes Bowl I , which was to be played at McMorran Arena as Port Huron

5184-603: The X cup (formerly Legends Cup and Lingerie Bowl), the LFL played a variant of indoor rules with most of its games in indoor stadiums, although a few teams experimented with playing in outdoor stadiums. The league's brief foray into Australia was played in outdoor stadiums; these teams nevertheless played under indoor football rules. All other women's leagues play on outdoor fields with outdoor rules; there have been several other attempts to form indoor women's football leagues, but none have made it to play. As its name implies, arena football

5292-406: The ball makes its way through the uprights. Backfield in motion – One player may be in motion in any direction behind the line of scrimmage prior to the snap. Offensive linemen – Three linemen must be in a three- or four-point stance prior to the snap. They must line up guard, center, guard and next to one another. Any offensive lineman not covered up by the fourth man on the line of scrimmage

5400-438: The center, likewise began as an attempt to extend the season beyond Labor Day). The Atlantic Coast Football League played its inaugural championship game at the convention center in 1962, but the game only drew 2,000 fans and the game would thereafter move to the home stadium of the team with the best regular season record. The Philadelphia -based Liberty Bowl game, which had been played at Municipal Stadium from 1959 to 1963,

5508-496: 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 was the third season in a row the Mayhem made the playoffs. Their opponent in the East Division Championship Game

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5616-466: The defensive team for two points. Coaches are given two challenges per game, as in the NFL; to challenge, they must throw their red flag before the next play. If the play stands as called after review, the challenging team loses a timeout. If a team wins both challenges used, a third is granted. Video review is automatic in the final half-minute of regulation, all overtime periods, and all scoring plays and turnovers. A game has four 15-minute quarters with

5724-559: The end of the 2017 season, almost all of the league's teams had either folded or moved to other leagues, with only the Philadelphia Soul having existed prior to 2016. Five expansion teams, all in the Mid-Atlantic United States , were established over the next two years, before the league announced after the 2019 season that it was dissolving in a second Chapter 7 bankruptcy. However, on February 1, 2023,

5832-446: The entire field acted as an extension of the ground (only "out of bounds" if contact made by opposing player that forces player into the dasher wall, much like a 'down by contact' rule). Goal posts – Goal posts are 12 feet (3.7 m) from the floor to the crossbar. The crossbar is 10 feet (3.0 m) in width. Anything used to hang the goalpost is considered a part of the upright. Number of players – Eight players per team were on

5940-685: The fewest schedule conflicts (only competing with touring stadium rock concerts). The spring schedule has since been adopted by virtually all other professional indoor leagues as of 2010. Within a year of the AFL kicking off, its first challenger, the World Indoor Football League formed. The WIFL planned to play a schedule with six teams beginning in summer of 1988 with its own set of indoor-inspired rules, including an unusual system that would have eight men on offense and seven men on defense. Despite having backing from former NFL players, veteran coaches, and singer John Mellencamp ,

6048-514: The field (much like modern indoor football), while goal posts were moved to the goal line. To compensate for the smaller field, teams were "penalized" 20 yards upon crossing midfield. (The Bears' official Web site goes further and claims that field goals were outlawed for the 1932 game.) In 1930, the Atlantic City Convention Center constructed a nearly full-size indoor football field, and used it for one to three games

6156-449: The field again, which improved communication between their players and them. Overtime – Overtime is played with NCAA-style rules (each team gets one possession), but each possession is started with a kickoff rather than at the 25-yard line. Teams must go for a two-point conversion (by scrimmage play) starting with the third overtime session. Co-ed play – Two female placekickers, Katie Hnida and Julie Harshbarger , have played for

6264-547: The field at one time. Starting in 2013, teams were allowed to expand their active rosters from 19 players to 21, and are required to carry a backup quarterback and kicker. In the league's earliest seasons, the GLIFL/CIFL played with only seven players on each side, one less than the standard eight used in other indoor football leagues. Playing time – Four 15-minute quarters were used, with a running clock. Clocks stopped only for incomplete passes and out-of-bounds plays during

6372-399: The field because of its ability to be easily rolled up when the arena is being used for other sports. Foster adopted a modified version of eight-man football . He also mandated a one-platoon system that required at least six players to play on both offensive and defensive downs. This had the added desirable effect of limiting team payrolls. There were numerous other rules designed to help

6480-492: The field of play and allow the ball to remain live; the rebound nets were the only part of the patent that was upheld until it expired. As a result, some non-AFL arena leagues that formed after the patent expired like the National Arena League have used rebound nets, while other leagues such as the Indoor Football League and American Indoor Football opt to not use them. The first demonstration of football on

6588-402: The field of play. The ball is "live" when rebounding off these nets or their support apparatus. The entire goalframe and goalside rebound net system is suspended on cables from the rafters. The bottom of the two goalside rebound nets are 8 feet (2.4 m) off the playing surface. Each netframe is 32 feet (9.8 m) high by 30 feet (9.1 m) wide. A player is not counted as out of bounds on

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6696-408: The final minute of the second and fourth quarters. A 25-second play clock also was used. Scoring – Six points were awarded for a TD, 2 points for run or pass conversion, or drop-kick PAT, 1 point for place-kick PAT, 2 points for defensive conversion following TD, 2 points for a safety, 3 points for a field goal, and 4 points for a drop-kick field goal. Teams score a single point on their kickoff if

6804-404: The final regular schedule with specific dates and times until the winter; the CIFL needed several months to coordinate the entire season schedule so that, among other reasons, games are worked around various scheduling conflicts. The CIFL has gone through many teams, so the playoff format was changed several times throughout the years. In the league's first season, 2006, the playoff format featured

6912-590: The floors of indoor arenas . The sport was invented in 1981 , and patented in 1987 , by Jim Foster , a former executive of the National Football League and the United States Football League . The name is trademarked by Gridiron Enterprises and had a proprietary format until its patent expired in 2007. Three leagues have played under official arena football rules: the Arena Football League , which played 32 seasons in two separate runs from 1987 to 2008 and 2010 to 2019; arenafootball2 ,

7020-529: The last half-minute of regulation or overtime (there is only a half-minute warning , as opposed to the two-minute warning in the XFL /NFL and the three-minute warning in the CFL) or because of penalties, injuries or timeouts . The clock also stops for any change in possession, until the ball is marked ready for play; for example, aside from the final half-minute of regulation or overtime, time continues to run down after

7128-483: The league salary cap . In 2007, several teams folded during the season, and during the 2008 season, the league's most successful team, the Rochester Raiders , moved to another league due to frustration over the failure of the league to provide notice of an opponent's forfeiture, resulting in lost ticket and advertising revenue. The league also failed to return the Raiders' owners' emergency fund deposit, which

7236-490: The league administrators and team owners had allowed player salaries and other costs to rise to the point where the league and many of the teams were losing a substantial amount of money. Late in the summer of 2009, with the team owners unable to agree on a plan for making the league viable again the AFL announced that it was folding, eventually putting its assets up in a Chapter 7 bankruptcy liquidation. The developmental af2, however, played its 2009 season as scheduled. Most of

7344-623: 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 the Sting. The playoff game went down to the wire where a goal-line stand by the Saginaw defense with only seconds left on

7452-453: The league canceled its 1988 season, folded half of its franchises (including Mellencamp's), and made an unsuccessful bid for the remaining three teams to join the AFL; the WIFL never played a single game. In 1990, Foster patented the rules of arena football, meaning that only persons authorized by him could use his rules and his name for the sport. While the AFL asserted throughout the 1990s that

7560-403: The league had actively promoted for 20 seasons, and that the change took away a key component of what made arena football a distinctive sport. The iteration of the league that began play in 2024 restored the "ironman" rules at the beginning of the season. After the league reorganized, the league abandoned ironman play and restored free substitution; unlike in 2007, the reason for the 2024 change

7668-656: The league was able to sell ownership to four of them. In December, it was finalized that the league would begin with six teams in their inaugural season, with each team playing a 10-game season over a 12-week span. On April 7, 2006, the league held its first games with the Battle Creek Crunch hosting the Port Huron Pirates and the Rochester Raiders hosting the New York/New Jersey Revolution . The Crunch were defeated 62–22 by

7776-589: The league website redirected to American Indoor Football. On August 23, 2015, it was announced that the CIFL would return for the 2016 season (playing an interlocking schedule with another proposed league, Supreme Indoor Football, as part of the Indoor Football Alliance ) and the Explosion, Sting, and Blue Racers will return to the CIFL as a result. However, the league effectively disbanded again later that fall after no other teams agreed to join

7884-441: The league's appeal to the entire Great Lakes region . Initially, the league was relatively successful, having a cumulative attendance over 75,000 in the inaugural regular season. However, the league, like other indoor football associations, was plagued by folding franchises and unenforceable policies throughout its existence. For example, the 2006 champion Port Huron Pirates were found to have been paying some of their players over

7992-489: The league's history. Prior to its disbanding, the CIFL claimed itself to be the longest continually operating current indoor football league in the United States, noting that older leagues such as the Arena Football League and American Indoor Football had suspended operations at least once since the CIFL's founding. In July 2012, the CIFL changed ownership for the first time in its history, when Jeff Spitaleri sold

8100-494: The league's inaugural season, and Terrell Owens joining the following year ( Michael Vick was also announced as a player midseason but would not play). FCF suspended operations following the 2022 season. The best-known indoor women's football league is the X League (formerly known as the Legends Football League, and Lingerie Football League ). Known for its scantily-clad players and its signature event,

8208-533: The league's website. In 2010, the CIFL introduced the CIFL GameCenter which allows statisticians wired to into the CIFL Network. As they use the stat software to record the game, it is updated live in the GameCenter. Base player salaries must be no less than $ 50 per game and no more than $ 200 per game. There are no win bonuses since the 2010 season, as agreed at the owner meetings. For the 2010 season,

8316-460: The line of scrimmage and drop into coverage once the Quarterback pump fakes . (Before this rule, the Jack could not drop back into coverage until the ball is thrown or the quarterback is no longer in the pocket , and the Jack had to stay within the box designated by the outside shoulders of the offensive line , the line of scrimmage, and five yards back from the line of scrimmage.) The ball

8424-433: The line of scrimmage, while defensive linemen were hindered by restrictions that prevented them from using certain techniques to penetrate the offensive line. Quarterbacks and placekickers were exempt from the one-platoon system, allowing two key scoring positions to be more specialized. The AFL also adopted the USFL's concept of playing in the late spring and summer, since this is when most hockey and basketball arenas have

8532-478: The line, or be 5 yards behind the line of scrimmage. After the snap, this rule is eliminated and the players can roam anywhere they wish, provided it does not violate blitzing rules. Linebackers can line up at the goal line if the offense is within five yards of scoring. Kickoffs – If a kickoff leaves the field of play on the fly, the ball comes out to the 25-yard line. The sideline walls and end zone walls are not out of bounds, and balls can be played off of them. If

8640-474: The matchups would remain the same as the previous year, with the exception that the winners of each divisional playoff would meet in the CIFL Championship Game . In 2009, the league returned to its original format of a four-team playoff. This stayed in place until 2012, when the league decided to just have the regular-season first and second seeds meet for the championship. The league put on an All-Star game once, in its inaugural 2006 season. In its early years,

8748-424: The new Arena Football League prior to 2024. Fan Controlled Football launched in 2021 following an interactive format inspired by video games, with "power-ups" and fans voting on plays. It generally targeted a higher caliber of player than the typical indoor league, with outdoor football veterans such as Johnny Manziel , Robert Turbin , Quinton Flowers , Quinn Porter , Shawn Oakman and Josh Gordon playing in

8856-410: The offense and ensure high-scoring games: To further an offensive passing advantage over the defense, Foster also imposed strict restrictions on the defensive formation, mandating that all defenses were required to play a 3-2-Monster formation with three defensive linemen, two linebackers, two cornerbacks, and one safety. Linebackers were not permitted to blitz and were required to stay in boxes behind

8964-425: The offensive team had the lead and did not advance the ball past the line of scrimmage. This prevented the "victory formation" (the offensive team merely kneeling down), or running other plays that are designed solely to exhaust the remaining time rather than to advance the ball downfield. This rule was eliminated in the interest of player safety. In the first overtime , each team gets one possession to score. Whoever

9072-460: The only league playing any variant of the sport designed for indoor play. A clarification limiting the scope of its patent allowed for competing indoor football leagues (sometimes known as arena leagues ) to use the same size field and most other aspects of the game. Arena football is distinguished from the other indoor leagues by its use of large rebound nets attached to the side of each goalpost, which keep any missed field goal or overthrown ball in

9180-468: The option of attempting a four-point conversion (akin to the three-point conversion seen in the UFL and its predecessors) from the opponent's ten-yard line, alongside the existing extra point and two-point conversion options. The rule was carried over as part of a pre-launch merger with Champions Indoor Football . Teams may go for two points from the 2.5-yard line, three from the 5-yard line, or four from

9288-498: The padded walls that surround the field are "live"; the end zone walls were not live until the 2006 season. Come 2025 gunners must line up on their own 20-yard line on kickoffs, with one receiving player fielding from the end zone. The scoring is the same as in the NFL with the addition of a drop kick field goal worth four points during normal play or two points as a post-touchdown conversion . Blocked extra points and turnovers on two-point conversion attempts may be returned by

9396-564: The patent covered virtually every aspect of the game (from the 50-yard field to the eight-man format), a 1998 lawsuit ( Arena Football League v. Professional Indoor Football League ) established that the patent specifically covered the rebound net feature, meaning that competitors could not use this aspect of the rules. However, under provisions of U.S. patent law , Foster's patent expired on March 27, 2007, enabling competitors to use rebound nets (at least as originally envisioned, without other innovations that he may have patented). The AFL signed

9504-417: The preseason, each of the 10 teams embarked on a 12-week, 10-game schedule, with the extra weeks consisting of a bye to allow teams a rest sometime in the middle of the season. The league had been using a scheduling formula to determine which teams play which during a given season. Under the formula since 2010, each of the six teams' respective 10-game schedule consisted of: This format was tweaked due to

9612-626: The rebound nets at the ends of the field. Like the AFL, their playing seasons are entirely or primarily outside the traditional fall/early winter season of the outdoor sport so as not to be competing with it directly for fan support. Since the first such league, the Professional Indoor Football League, began play in the 1998, there has often been a pattern of instability. Each off-season has seen teams jumping from league to league. In addition, leagues have annually merged, changed names, and separated. The organization that

9720-499: The revived league; the Blue Racers and Sting joined American Indoor Football, and the Explosion eventually announced they would not play in 2016. Field size – fields were 50 yards long by 25 yards wide, with end zones a minimum of 5 yards in depth. Fields may vary in size due to physical constraints within facility, with CIFL permission. End zones may be rounded due to hockey board configurations. Padded dasher board walls around

9828-551: 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 the Wisconsin Wolfpack in the playoffs. The Marion Mayhem were the last remaining original GLIFL team left in

9936-402: The sidelines unless he is pushed into or falls over the sideline barrier. This rule was put in place before the 2006 season. Before that time, a sideline with only a small amount of space (typically 6" to 12") existed between the sideline stripe and the barrier which would provide the space for a ball carrier to step out of bounds before hitting the sideline barrier. Each team fields 8 players at

10044-430: The teams made a sustainable profit and the team owners were eager to see the league continue for another year. However, with the AFL owning 50.1% of the af2, it would fold if the AFL folded. At the end of the 2009 season, a gathering of af2 and remaining AFL team owners set out to form their own organization, originally known as Arena Football 1 (AF1). AF1 went on to purchase all assets of the original AFL and af2, except for

10152-430: The weekly team salary cap was $ 3,000 per week. Any team in violation of the salary cap will be fined and could have either players suspended for the season or forfeiture of games in which they violated the cap. Since then, the league has changed to a weekly salary cap of $ 2,500 per week, with every player making anywhere from 50 to 200 dollars in a single game. Indoor American football Arena football

10260-469: Was "the first collegiate game of football played under a roof." Adding to the novelty, as daylight turned to darkness, the field inside the Coliseum was lit with electric lighting. With seven acres of floor space, the sprawling Coliseum is believed to have not needed any compromises to accommodate an American football field. According to a newspaper account, the field grew dark in the second half, and play

10368-747: Was an indoor football league based along the Midwestern United States region that played nine seasons from 2006 to 2014. It began play in April 2006 as the Great Lakes Indoor Football League ( GLIFL ). It was formed by Jeff Spitaleri, his brother Eric, and a third member, Cory Trapp, all from the Canton, Ohio , area. The league was originally called the Ohio-Penn Indoor Football League, but then executives decided to increase

10476-404: Was collected specifically to protect against such occurrences. The CIFL is among several indoor football leagues that maintained a mostly regional operation, with most of its teams clustered in the Midwestern United States . Teams went back and forth between the CIFL and the other regional leagues, as well as the Indoor Football League (a national league of similar caliber), over the course of

10584-497: Was devised by Jim Foster , a former executive of the United States Football League and the National Football League . He devised his game while watching indoor soccer , another game derived from a sport played outdoors. He worked on the game in the early 1980s, but put any plans for full development of it on hold while the United States Football League, an attempt to play traditional American football in

10692-405: Was especially important as the 2007 expiration of Foster's patent on the rebound nets approached). At times over forty teams participated in this league, almost uniformly in cities which also had minor league ice hockey teams and hence suitable arenas. Shortly before the end of 2008, the Arena Football League announced that it would not be playing a 2009 spring season. During the previous few years,

10800-424: Was halted for ten minutes to discuss whether play should continue. Play was resumed, and the lights were finally turned on after Michigan scored a touchdown. The press proclaimed the experiment in indoor football to be a success: One thing at least was settled by the game, and that is, that indoor football is literally and figuratively speaking a howling success. The men had no trouble in catching punts, and football

10908-434: Was in part to justify salary cuts that were required when a previous commissioner—Lee Hutton, who was ousted in the reorganization —made promises to cover higher salaries but had no revenue to fund such promises (since under ironman, a player would fill the roles of what would have otherwise been two roster spots, justifying their higher price compared to a one-way player in other indoor leagues). The league also instituted

11016-574: Was moved into the Convention Center in 1964 for the contest between Utah and West Virginia . The game drew just over 6,000 fans, though, and the Liberty Bowl moved to Memphis the next year, where it has remained. Unlike modern indoor football, the size of the playing surface and hence the rules were essentially the same as in the standard outdoor game, with rules updated to deal with contingencies for what could happen indoors, such as

11124-504: Was played on its merits, without the handicaps of a wet field or a strong wind. Toward the end of the second half it got very dark, and the spectators were treated to a novelty in the shape of football by electric light." Although both critically and commercially successful, the Coliseum was destroyed in a fire less than two years after its opening, and its replacement could not accommodate an American football field. Later, at Madison Square Garden in 1902 and 1903, there were games known as

11232-455: Was that free substitution would improve the overall quality of football in the league by giving coaches the freedom to put their best players on the field for every play of the game, and that teams would be able to select from a wider player talent pool when building their rosters. Traditionalists, however, believed the rule changes were the beginning of the removal of the " ironman " (two-way offense and defense) style of play of arena football that

11340-545: 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 a smaller than usual roster that had not practiced regularly for a couple of weeks, played with more heart and determination then

11448-714: Was the Lehigh Valley Outlawz , who joined in late June, 2005. During the league's first season, it cost a new owner a $ 15,000 franchising fee, with a capped salary of $ 5,400 per team, per week, with no player earning more than $ 300 per game. While trying to attract teams, the league agreed to arena contracts before securing owners in efforts to attract owners in those specific market areas. They reached agreements with markets in Danville, Illinois , Battle Creek, Michigan , Rochester, New York , Port Huron, Michigan , Toledo, Ohio and Marion, Ohio . Of those markets,

11556-692: Was the franchise with the most time in the league; they completed their fourth season at the end of 2014. The Erie Explosion was the league's oldest team; it has been in operation since 2007 and joined the league in 2013. A potential for a merger with the American Professional Football League was expected in 2013, but this never came to fruition; likewise, a proposal to form an Indoor Football Alliance between three former CIFL teams and an upstart "Supreme Indoor Football" league for 2016 also collapsed. Motor City Reapers The league does not have its television rights sold to

11664-419: Was the number-one seed on July 22. The Pirates were able shut down the Raiders' offense for most of the second half, earning a 40–34 victory for Port Huron, thus completing the first undefeated season in league history. At the conclusion of the first season, the league also put together an All-Star Game at Stabler Arena , where they split up three teams each for an East vs. West matchup. The West dominated, with

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