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52-592: The Bucks were announced as an expansion team on July 8, 2016, as part of the 2017 season in American Indoor Football (AIF). However, the league then folded on July 18, 2016. Bucks owner Tim Viens , a businessman, former Camping World Truck Series auto racer and placekicker at Glenville State College , began negotiations with the Arena Developmental League and the proposed Supreme Indoor Football (both of which are based in

104-558: A 2022 league member. The River Kings would return in 2024, as members of the revived AIF . In August 2011, it was announced that the Cedar Rapids Titans would become an expansion team of the Indoor Football League for the 2012 season owned by Chris Kokalis, Bob Sullivan and Kenneth Moninski. Titans' general manager, Chris Kolalis stated, "We believe that Cedar Rapids is a fantastic market to bring

156-634: A 38–47 loss to open the 2014 season, the Titans went on to win their next 8 games in a row. The Titans entered Week 12, with a chance to claim first place in the United Conference, but fell 36–48 to the undefeated Storm. The Titans avenged the loss during the final game of the season, defeating the Storm 49–37. The victory placed the Titans in second place in the United Conference, and ended the Storm's undefeated season. The Titans' 2nd-place finish meant

208-469: A California-based businessman, with the intentions of keeping the team Cedar Rapids. In a letter to fans posted on the team's website on August 17, 2018, new general manager Ryan Eucker announced that the Titans' name and identity would be replaced as part of a rebranding process after the ownership change. On August 20, 2018, Eucker announced a name-the-team contest to select a new team name and identity with submissions due by September 5. On September 22,

260-542: A road playoff game against the Storm in the United Conference Finals, where they were defeated 36–73. The Titans were tasked with replacing 2014 starting quarterback Spencer Ohm, while also losing the IFL's leading rusher, LaRon Council. The team signed Sam Durley, from the defunct Wyoming Cavalry , to be their new starting quarterback. Durley got the Titans off to a 6–3 start, good enough for second place in

312-479: A team into. We hope to promote economic development and be a part of the growth of the community by being active and giving back to the fans." The team also announced that they would play their home games at the Cedar Rapids Ice Arena , with the intentions to play in the newly renovated, U.S. Cellular Center in 2013. On November 18, 2011, the Titans hired former NFL player, Kyle Moore-Brown , as

364-568: The 2015 Football World Cup and the nephew of Brett Favre ) to lead the team. Favre finished 6th in the league in passing touchdowns and 5 in passing yards as the Titans finished the season 12–4, clinching the 2 seed in the United Conference. The Titans won their first playoff game in team history with a 66–36 victory over the Wichita Falls Nighthawks , but were once again defeated by the Sioux Falls Storm 48–41 in

416-567: The 2020 season before the entire league's season was curtailed during the COVID-19 pandemic . The team also withdrew from the league's 2021 season. In 2024, the River Kings were revived as a member of American Indoor Football . The River Kings lost all of their league games for the rest of the season. They have announced that they are staying in the AIF while the remaining teams left to join

468-750: The Casper Events Center , saw the Reading Express defeat the Wyoming Cavalry for their first title, 65–42. As the 2010 season approached, AIFA continued to expand its nationwide footprint. Expansion franchises had been added in Richmond, Virginia ; Yakima, Washington ; Wasilla, Alaska (believed to be the smallest city in America to host a national professional football franchise) and Wenatchee, Washington . The moves gave

520-635: The Cedar Rapids Titans and first took the field for the 2012 season. Since 2014, the Titans/River Kings franchise has played its home games at the newly renovated Alliant Energy PowerHouse , after having played their first two seasons at the Cedar Rapids Ice Arena . The Titans were the first indoor team to be based in Cedar Rapids. The Titans have appeared in two United Conference championship games (2013, 2014), losing to

572-783: The National Arena League . Initially, it was announced as a "merger", but league owner Larry Clark Jr. and River Kings owner Montero vehemently denied this and they announced that they and Montero's other team, the Coralville Chaos , will play in the AIF for the 2025 season and will challenge the former owners (now in the NAL) with legal action if challenged themselves. Running backs Wide receivers Defensive linemen Defensive backs Special teams The following Titans/River Kings players have been named to All-IFL Teams: The following

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624-572: The National Arena League . Cedar Rapids' former coach stated an intent to form a new indoor team for Cedar Rapids, while Montero confirmed any action the former coach is illegitimate and "will not affect the Cedar Rapids River Kings". On November 5, 2024, the AIF named Mike McCoy as commissioner. McCoy had previously spent the 2024 season as deputy commissioner of the Arena Football League and previously had been

676-571: The San Diego Strike Force , to take over as general manager. Reggie Harris was promoted to the River Kings' general manager. The River Kings finished with a 1–13 record and head coach Stoute was fired after the season. Victor Mann was brought in as head coach after his previous team, the Texas Revolution , had folded the previous season. The River Kings participated in one of the two league games that were completed in

728-418: The Sioux Falls Storm both times. During the 2018 season, the Titans were sold to new ownership and announced that they would rebrand for 2019 with a name-the-team contest, eventually taking on the Cedar Rapids River Kings name. Due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic , the River Kings went dormant for at least the 2021 season. The team website was deactivated in 2020 and the team was not included as

780-710: The Yakima Valley Warriors left, the AIFA ceased operations; it said that it would attempt to relaunch in 2012 with eight to 12 teams in at least two regions of the United States. As of June 2011, Morris had released a statement indicating he still represented the AIFA when he purchased the assets of the Fayetteville Force . On October 27, 2011, the AIFA announced it was relaunching as American Indoor Football (AIF). The move came in light of

832-644: The 2005–06 offseason, the league changed its name to the American Indoor Football League, while nine expansion teams entered the league and a tenth (the Rome Renegades ) joined from the National Indoor Football League . The 2006 season was marred by the folding of two teams, and the league used semi-pro teams to fill scheduling vacancies. The league was briefly acquired by Greens Worldwide , Inc.,

884-509: The AIF for the 2022 season, though no games would be played. In 2023, it was announced that the league was relaunched by president and commissioner John Morris with four new teams: the Cedar Rapids River Kings , Corpus Christi Tritons , RiverCity Rage and West Virginia Miners. The Columbus Lions rejoined the league after winning the most recent AIF Championship in 2016. Several of the AIF's teams were not listed on

936-473: The AIF. In response, AIF owner Jim Morris announced on July 18, 2016, that the AIF was ceasing operations immediately. He also announced his support of the new Arena Developmental League (which later changed its name to National Arena League before its inaugural season) and hoped the new league would take on many of the former AIF teams. The Buffalo Blitz (formerly the Buffalo Lightning) used

988-516: The AIFA a much more significant presence on the West Coast of the United States . To accommodate this, and to keep travel expenses down, for the 2010 season the AIFA adopted a scheduling system that effectively treated the Eastern and Western conferences as separate leagues, with no regular-season crossover between the two conferences. The league also secured a television contract with AMGTV, which

1040-841: The Bucks and the Blaze then were scheduled to meet in the Eastern Division championship, however, Viens then announced the Bucks would play the non-league semi-professional Central Penn Chargers for the division title. The Bucks would defeat the Chargers 46–6 to meet the undefeated Rochester Kings in the Can-Am championship. The Bucks then beat the undefeated Kings in Rochester by a score of 61–41. Viens announced via Facebook in April 2017 that

1092-494: The Bucks announced they were joining Elite Indoor Football (EIF), another semi-professional league, for 2020 with three or four homes games at Collins-Perley Sports Complex in St. Albans, Vermont . The Bucks did not play any EIF games during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and the Bucks continued to be listed as EIF members on the league website as of July 15, 2021, but the team appears to be inactive and has since been removed from

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1144-722: The CIFL, AIF split into two conferences, one bearing the American name and the other (which includes both CIFL refugees) named the Continental Conference. The conference names were changed to Northern and Southern for the 2016 season. The 2016 season saw the league grow from nine teams to a total of 28 announced teams. However, only 21 teams ever played a league game that season, including four teams that folded midseason and several other teams cancelling scheduled games. The Columbus Lions , which joined for 2016, would finish

1196-671: The United Conference Championship. Price repeated as the Defensive Player of the Year. The Titans hired former Iowa Hawkeyes wide receiver, Marvin McNutt as the third coach in team history. After the 2017 season, head coach McNutt took over as general manager and hired Billy Back, the 2016 IFL coach of the year with the Wichita Falls Nighthawks , as the new head coach. However, coach Back would leave

1248-485: The United Conference, but he was released on May 4, 2015, to sign with the New Orleans VooDoo . However, just two weeks prior to Durley's release, the Titans had traded for the 2014 IFL MVP, Willie Copeland. Jeremiah Price was named the Defensive Player of the Year. The Titans were yet again looking for a quarterback heading into 2016. The team selected Dylan Favre (quarterback for the national team from

1300-748: The deal, Morris would acquire the rights to the Eastern Conference teams and merge them into the SIFL, while Mink would retain the western conference teams, rights to the AIFA name, and television contract, the last of which was extended through 2013. The AIFA West originally announced that it would begin its season with four teams, beginning in March 2011, after the Tucson Thunder Kats announced it would be suspending operations until 2012. As of January 2011, no schedule had been released, and

1352-784: The dissolution of the SIFL and its breakup into the Professional Indoor Football League and the Lone Star Football League . AIF announced its intentions to absorb the three remaining SIFL teams not in either the PIFL or LSFL (the Harrisburg Stampede , Trenton Steel and Carolina Speed ), as well as the remaining teams that would have participated in the AIFA West. AIF intended to launch an amateur division as well. In 2015,

1404-611: The final commissioner of Champions Indoor Football . Two rule changes appeared to be inspired by Canadian football rules: Cedar Rapids River Kings The Cedar Rapids River Kings are a professional indoor football team based in Cedar Rapids, Iowa . They are members of American Indoor Football and play their homes at the Alliant Energy PowerHouse . The River Kings joined the Indoor Football League (IFL) as an expansion team in 2011 known as

1456-472: The first coach in franchise history. They won their inaugural game on March 3, 2012, with a 32–13 win over Lehigh Valley Steelhawks . The Titans lost their pre-season warm-up against Green Bay but began the 2013 regular season with three straight wins in a home-and-home series with Chicago and hosting the new Texas Revolution franchise out of Allen. After a two-week bye , the team lost its next three games. The Titans recovered from this stumble and finished

1508-731: The league absorbed the remains of the Continental Indoor Football League , picking up the Saginaw Sting and Chicago Blitz from that league; the CIFL Web site became a redirect to AIF's. (The two other surviving teams from that league chose to play in other leagues: Erie decided to join the PIFL, while the Marion Blue Racers fulfilled an earlier promise to join the X-League ). In homage to

1560-678: The league announced that the Columbus Lions , the last team to win the AIF Championship in 2016, were returning to the league. On August 24, 2023, the league announced that the Amarillo Venom would return and join the AIF for the 2024 season. On September 11, 2023, the league announced that an expansion team to be based in Albany, Georgia , would also join the AIF for 2024 as its eighth franchise. On September 29, 2023,

1612-656: The league announced the Beaumont Renegades as their ninth team for the 2024 season, but on October 30, the league announced that the Renegades will play an exhibition schedule only in 2024, and will join the league full time in 2025, while the AIF granted West Virginia Miners release from the league after change in the team ownership group. After season's end in 2024, the remaining teams of AIF were listed in other leagues, with Corpus Christi joining Arena Football One and Harrisburg, Amarillo, and Columbus joining

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1664-708: The league created a Western Conference. In 2007, the team farthest west was based in Mississippi ; in 2008, the team farthest west was based in Arizona . Three of the four teams who had won the league championship to that point were no longer active league members. The 2009 season culminated in AIFA Championship Bowl III, hosted by the Western Conference champion Wyoming Cavalry on July 25, 2009. The game, played before 6,500 fans at

1716-486: The league in 2007 did not return for the 2008 season , including the 2007 champion Lakeland Thunderbolts . The AIFA became the third league since 2004 (excluding the folded WIFL and NIFL before its folding) to lose its standing champion (the 2004 NIFL champion Lexington Horsemen left to join the newly created UIF and later were in af2 , and the 2006 champion Billings Outlaws also left to join two years later). However, nine teams signed on to begin play in 2008, and

1768-590: The league informed the remaining three teams that there would not be a fourth team representing Eugene, Oregon as the league had earlier promised. The league attempted to work out a schedule with the remaining three teams, but the Reno Barons and Stockton Wolves were unwilling to go forward with such a schedule and broke from the league. Both teams operated as the two-team "Western Indoor Football Association" in 2011, each playing whatever semi-pro teams were willing to face them in addition to each other. With only

1820-409: The league signed a three-year national television broadcast, mobile phone broadcast, and webcast licensing agreement with Simply 4Me Incorporated (d.b.a. SimplyMe TV). However, that deal was subsequently cancelled. Later in the season, FSN Pittsburgh agreed to pick up the remaining games; Erie, Pennsylvania -based Image Sports Network was also involved with the league. Eight teams participating in

1872-695: The league site after the 2024 season. The league has its roots in the Atlantic Indoor Football League, which began play in 2005 under the leadership of Andrew Haines. The first team to join the AIFL was the Johnstown RiverHawks . The league began with six teams, all of them based in the eastern United States . Two teams played all of their games on the road, and the regular season was cut short two weeks because of teams being unable to secure venues for playoff games. In

1924-553: The league site. American Indoor Football American Indoor Football ( AIF ) is a professional indoor football league, one of the several regional professional indoor football leagues in North America. The AIFL began as a regional league with six franchises on the East Coast of the United States in 2005. After a rapid, and largely failed, expansion effort in 2006, most of the league's remaining teams jumped to

1976-431: The merger, had indicated it would play as the AIFA West for the 2011 season but ceased operations January 2011. The league announced it would be relaunching as American Indoor Football in time for spring 2012. After the 2016 season , the AIF ceased operations with the former AIF owner stating his support for the recently created Arena Developmental League . In 2021, league owner John Morris announced he planned to relaunch

2028-478: The neutral site was chosen so that both games could be televised to obtain nationwide exposure for the league. The league then expanded nationwide; some individual teams were able to acquire several players with NFL experience, a sign that the league had achieved a level on par with leagues such as af2 . The league earned a major television contract as well: On September 17, 2007, The American Indoor Football Association owners John Morris and Michael Min announced that

2080-609: The new AIFA (the rest joined the short-lived WIFL ). The AIFA expanded throughout existing territory and, in 2008, expanded into the Western United States . The league legally divided into two entities to allow for a partial merger with the Southern Indoor Football League , which resulted in all of its Eastern teams merging into the SIFL and the AIFA only maintaining its western teams. The league's western component, which remained separate of

2132-481: The new ownership notified the AAL they would not participate in the 2018 season. In June 2018, an organization called Vermont Bucks Professional Arena Football, LLC began attempts at fundraising and a return for a semi-professional team in 2019. They were announced as team in the developmental New England Arena League (NEAL), a league that plays all its games in one location near Boston, for the 2019 season. After one season,

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2184-561: The official AIF football in their press announcement upon joining the Can-Am Indoor Football League , which was created by announced AIF 2017 expansion team Vermont Bucks . The Can-Am also used the AIF footballs in games during their only season. On July 3, 2023, John Morris announced that the league would indeed relaunch in 2024 with four new teams: Cedar Rapids River Kings , Corpus Christi Tritons , RiverCity Rage and West Virginia Miners . On August 4, 2023,

2236-431: The owners of the amateur North American Football League, during the 2006 season, but they terminated the contract soon afterwards. Nine teams left the league after the season, including four who split off to create the short-lived World Indoor Football League . On October 2, 2006, a massive reorganization took place as Morris and Michael Mink set up a new league, which absorbed all of the remaining AIFL franchises, and Haines

2288-600: The same time. The 2007 season was relatively successful for the league, as all 112 scheduled games were played and no teams folded mid-season, a major improvement over the past two seasons (when the AIFA was known as the AIFL). The AIFA Championship Bowl I was a neutral site game held in Florence, South Carolina . In addition, the league held its first All-Star Game the same weekend, also in Florence. League owners stated that

2340-426: The season second in the United Conference with a 9–5 record. They made the post-season but lost to the Sioux Falls Storm in the United Conference Championship. The team fared much better at home than on the road with 5 of its 6 losses coming when it was away from the Cedar Rapids Ice Arena . The Titans were one of eight returning teams plus one expansion team for the 2014 Indoor Football League season . After

2392-644: The season undefeated and win the championship. The Lions then announced that they were leaving the league due to the league's instability, especially in the Southern Division where the Lions were the only team that did not have a cancelled or rescheduled game. On July 7, 2016, the Lions' owners announced the formation of a new league, the Arena Developmental League . On July 13, the Lehigh Valley Steelhawks also announced they were leaving

2444-528: The southeastern United States) about joining for the 2017 season. In August 2016, the Can-Am Indoor Football League was created and listed the Bucks as one of its inaugural teams; the CAN-AM League features teams centered mostly in the northeastern U.S. The Bucks won all but one game in the Can-Am league, their lone loss coming to the Boston Blaze, a traveling team that Tim Viens also owned. Both

2496-410: The team a couple of months after his hiring to coach the expansion Carolina Cobras of the National Arena League for the 2018 season. The Titans then hired former NFL linebacker Marvin Jones as his replacement. On January 30, 2018, the Titans' ownership announced the team was for sale with hopes of selling to new local ownership. In June, it was announced that the Titans had been sold to Roy Choi,

2548-404: The team announced their new name as the Cedar Rapids River Kings with a new logo and color scheme to be unveiled by mid-October. On September 25, 2018, general manager Ryan Eucker announced that Mark Stoute had returned as the head coach of the River Kings. He coached the Titans from 2013 to 2016. A few games into the season, general manager Eucker was sent by the new owner to his other IFL team,

2600-448: The team was in negotiations with another league for the 2018 season; he announced that Arena Pro Football and the Can-Am would merge for 2018 to create the American Arena League (AAL). After the 2017 season, Viens launched another team in the AAL called the Atlanta Havoc . He then sold the Bucks to an ownership group composed of Thomas Sturgis and Kyle Jennings of Exeter, New Hampshire, and Ron Lotti of Boston. However, in January 2018,

2652-410: Was ousted. (Haines would go on to create the Mid-Atlantic Hockey League in 2007, before similar stability problems led to the forced divestiture of that league as well. Haines would, in April 2010, announce he was relaunching his league as the Ultimate Indoor Football League beginning in 2011 and revived two defunct former AIFL teams.) The league took on the American Indoor Football Association name at

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2704-424: Was to syndicate a "Game of the Week" package to regional sports networks and its network of low-powered broadcast stations. In 2010, the Baltimore Mariners completed the league's first-ever perfect season by winning all fourteen regular season games and winning AIFA Championship Bowl IV. The AIFA arranged a split and partial merger with the Southern Indoor Football League after the 2010 season. As part of

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