The Indoor Football League began in 1999 as an offshoot of the troubled Professional Indoor Football League. Keary Ecklund, the owner of the Green Bay Bombers and Madison Mad Dogs, left the PIFL after its first, financially-troubled, season to start his own league. Unlike the PIFL, the IFL was an "entity league"; teams were owned by the league and franchised out to management groups. NFL Hall-of-Famer Kellen Winslow was brought in as commissioner. The league was successful enough for a major expansion in 2000. Expansion was done regionally to cut down on travel expenses. Hence, the majority of the teams were in the Midwest.
Midway through the 2000 season, the Topeka Knights changed management and nicknames and became the Kings. After the season, the entire league was purchased by the Arena Football League's Orlando Predators. Two teams, the Lincoln Lightning and Peoria Pirates, as well as many players, became a part of their developmental ("farm") league, the af2. The Wichita Warlords were rebranded the Wichita Stealth. Other teams resurfaced with new names in the Indoor Professional Football League (which consisted of the remnants of the PIFL that Ecklund left in 1999) and the National Indoor Football League.
Teams
1999 Season
- Dayton Skyhawks
- Duluth-Superior Lumberjacks
- Green Bay Bombers
- Lincoln Lightning
- Madison Mad Dogs
- Peoria Pirates
- Steel Valley Smash
- Topeka Knights/Kings
2000 Season Expansion Teams
- Bismarck Blaze
- Black Hills Machine
- Billings Thunderbolts
- Casper Cavalry
- Erie Invaders
- Fargo Freeze
- Flint Flames
- Johnstown Jackals
- LaCrosse RiverRats
- Minnesota Purple Rage
- Sioux City Attack
- Sioux Falls Cobras
- Wichita Warlords