2016 Indoor Football League season
| 2016 IFL season | |
|---|---|
| League | Indoor Football League |
| Sport | Indoor Football |
| Duration | February 20, 2016 – July 23, 2016 |
| Regular season | |
| Season MVP | Charles McCullum (Wichita Falls) |
| Playoffs | |
| Intense champions | Spokane Empire |
| Intense runners-up | Nebraska Danger |
| United champions | Sioux Falls Storm |
| United runners-up | Cedar Rapids Titans |
| 2016 United Bowl | |
| Champions | Sioux Falls Storm |
| Runners-up | Spokane Empire |
The 2016 Indoor Football League season was the eighth season of the Indoor Football League (IFL). Playing with ten teams in two conferences spread across the United States, the league's regular season kicked off on February 20, 2016 and ended on June 24, 2016. The playoffs were held in three rounds, with the top seed in each conference receiving a first-round bye as the second and third seeds face each other in the conference semifinal (both division winners had automatic bids, and the third seed was a wild card), with the winner of that game facing the top seed in a conference championship game followed by the winners of those games meeting in the United Bowl.[1]
Teams
All ten teams from the previous season were scheduled to return, and a new team called the Spokane Empire joining the IFL. The team was originally going to be called the Spokane Shock after the owner of the franchise decided to leave the Arena Football League on September 1, 2015, for the IFL due to easier regional travel. However, on October 12, 2015, the AFL released a statement saying that the franchise and the AFL could not come to terms over the purchase and use of the Shock identity (name, logos, colors, etc.) and that the AFL has retained the rights to the identity.[2] In addition, the IFL accepted the expansion franchise of the Minnesota Havok. Two teams retained their locations but changed their team name; the former Colorado Ice changed its name to the Colorado Crush,[3] and the former Bemidji Axemen changed their name to the Minnesota Axemen.[4]
The IFL originally announced that it would continue with a two-conference format, but would return to having two divisions in each conference, with each of the 12 teams playing 16 games during the 18-week regular season. This was two more teams, games, and weeks than the numbers as played in the 2015 IFL season.[5] However, prior to the season, the league terminated the two Minnesota teams and returned to a division-less two conference format.
| Team | Location | Arena | Capacity | Founded | Joined | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| United Conference | ||||||
| Cedar Rapids Titans | Cedar Rapids, Iowa | U.S. Cellular Center | 6,900 | 2012 | 2012 | |
| Green Bay Blizzard | Green Bay, Wisconsin | Resch Center | 8,600 | 2003 | 2010 | |
| Iowa Barnstormers | Des Moines, Iowa | Wells Fargo Arena | 15,181 | 1995 | 2015 | |
| Sioux Falls Storm | Sioux Falls, South Dakota | Denny Sanford Premier Center | 10,678 | 2000 | 2009 | |
| Wichita Falls Nighthawks | Wichita Falls, Texas | Kay Yeager Coliseum | 7,380 | 2013 | 2015 | |
| Intense Conference | ||||||
| Billings Wolves | Billings, Montana | Rimrock Auto Arena at MetraPark | 7,000 | 2015 | 2015 | |
| Colorado Crush | Loveland, Colorado | Budweiser Events Center | 5,289 | 2007 | 2009 | |
| Nebraska Danger | Grand Island, Nebraska | Eihusen Arena | 6,000 | 2011 | 2011 | |
| Spokane Empire | Spokane, Washington | Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena | 10,771 | 2015 | 2016 | |
| Tri-Cities Fever | Kennewick, Washington | Toyota Center | 6,000 | 2005 | 2010 | |
Expansion/Contraction
On September 9, 2015, the IFL announced the Minnesota Havok would join the league for the 2016 season. The Havok were to play their home games at Verizon Wireless Center in Mankato, Minnesota,[6] however, the league terminated the franchise prior to the start of the season for failing to meet league obligations.[7][8]
On November 25, 2015, the Minnesota Axemen franchise was terminated by the league for failing to meet the league's operational standards and commitments.[9]
Standings
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Playoffs
| Wild Card Round | Conference Championships | 2016 United Bowl | ||||||||||||
| 3 | Nebraska | 44 | ||||||||||||
| 3 | Nebraska | 64 | 1 | Spokane | 55 | |||||||||
| 2 | Billings | 52 | I1 | Spokane | 34 | |||||||||
| U1 | Sioux Falls | 55 | ||||||||||||
| 2 | Cedar Rapids | 28 | ||||||||||||
| 3 | Wichita Falls | 36 | 1 | Sioux Falls | 54 | |||||||||
| 2 | Cedar Rapids | 66 | ||||||||||||
Awards
Individual season awards
| Award | Winner | Position | Team |
|---|---|---|---|
| Most Valuable Player | Charles McCullum | Quarterback | Wichita Falls Nighthawks |
| Offensive Player of the Year | Demarius Washington | Wide Receiver | Colorado Crush |
| Defensive Player of the Year | Jeremiah Price | Defensive Lineman | Cedar Rapids Titans |
| Special Teams Player of the Year | Korey Williams | Wide Receiver | Sioux Falls Storm |
| Offensive Rookie of the Year | Trevor Kennedy | Running Back | Spokane Empire |
| Defensive Rookie of the Year | Jabari Gorman | Defensive Back | Nebraska Danger |
| Most Improved Award | Markeith Summers | Wide Receiver | Green Bay Blizzard |
| Adam Pringle Award | Peter Evans | Offensive Lineman | Iowa Barnstormers |
| Coach of the Year | Billy Back | Head Coach | Wichita Falls Nighthawks |
1st Team All-IFL
| Offense | |
|---|---|
| Quarterback | Charles McCullum, Wichita Falls |
| Running back | Trevor Kennedy, Spokane |
| Wide receiver | Demarius Washington, Colorado Brady Roland, Iowa Jordan Jolly, Wichita Falls |
| Offensive tackle | Myniya Smith, Sioux Falls Dave Lefotu, Spokane |
| Center | Charlie Sanders, Sioux Falls |
| Defense | |
|---|---|
| Defensive line | Jeremiah Price, Cedar Rapids Brandon Peguese, Sioux Falls Xzavie Jackson, Cedar Rapids |
| Linebacker | Tyler Knight, Sioux Falls |
| Defensive Back | Michael Green, Billings Rashard Smith, Colorado Jabari Gorman, Nebraska Robert Brown, Spokane |
| Special teams | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kicker | Rockne Belmonte, Wichita Falls | ||||
| Kick returner | Korey Williams, Sioux Falls | ||||
2nd Team All-IFL
| Offense | |
|---|---|
| Quarterback | Charles Dowdell, Spokane |
| Running back | Tyler Williams, Wichita Falls |
| Wide receiver | Markeith Summers, Green Bay O. J. Simpson, Nebraska Bryan Pray, Iowa |
| Offensive tackle | James Atoe, Colorado A. J. Harmon, Cedar Rapids |
| Center | Nathaniel Ryan, Billings |
| Defense | |
|---|---|
| Defensive end | Benjamin Perry, Spokane Walter Thomas, Wichita Falls Claude Davis, Sioux Falls |
| Linebacker | Nikolas Sierra, Cedar Rapids Nick Haag, Spokane |
| Defensive Back | Boubacar Cissoko, Tri-Cities Elijah Fields, Sioux Falls Dee Maggitt, Jr., Tri-Cities |
| Special teams | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kicker | Nicholas Belcher, Cedar Rapids | ||||
| Kick returner | Chevelle Buie, Green Bay | ||||
References
- ^ http://www.goifl.com/sports/fball/2014-15/releases/20150922icfb35
- ^ AFL Issues Statement on Spokane Shock, ArenaFootball.com, October 12, 2015
- ^ http://www.goifl.com/sports/fball/2014-15/releases/20150715zpxpvt
- ^ "INDOOR FOOTBALL: It's official: Hello 'Minnesota' Axemen". Bemidji Pioneer. September 25, 2015. Retrieved September 25, 2015.
- ^ http://goifl.com/sports/fball/2014-15/releases/20151006lulie0
- ^ "Minnesota Havok Join IFL". Indoor Football League. September 9, 2015. Retrieved September 9, 2015.
- ^ "Minnesota Havok Fold Before Season Starts". Mankato Free Press. January 29, 2016. Retrieved January 29, 2016.
- ^ "Weekly Sports League and Franchise Report". OurSportsCentral. February 1, 2016.
- ^ IFL Issues Statement on Minnesota Axemen, IFL website, November 25, 2015
- ^ "2016 All-IFL Teams Announced". www.oursportscentral.com. OurSports Central. June 30, 2016. Retrieved July 5, 2016.