2016 Indoor Football League season

Sports season

2016 IFL season

League| Indoor Football League
Sport| Indoor Football
Duration| February 20, 2016 – July 23, 2016
Number of teams| 10
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
IFL seasons

← 2015

2017 →

The 2016 Indoor Football League season was the eighth season of the Indoor Football League (IFL). Playing with ten teams in two conferences located primarily in mid-level cities in the central 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 facing 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

[edit]

All ten teams from the previous season were scheduled to return, and a new team called the Spokane Empire joined 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

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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

[edit]

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

[edit]

| 2016 Intense Conference

* view
* talk
* edit

| W | L | T | PCT | PF | PA | GB | STK
y-Spokane Empire | 12 | 4 | 0 | .750 | 815 | 709 | \-- | L2
x-Billings Wolves | 8 | 8 | 0 | .500 | 643 | 647 | 4.0 | W2
x-Nebraska Danger | 6 | 10 | 0 | .375 | 765 | 794 | 6.0 | W1
Colorado Crush | 4 | 12 | 0 | .250 | 849 | 914 | 8.0 | W2
Tri-Cities Fever | 3 | 13 | 0 | .188 | 577 | 758 | 9.0 | L9
| 2016 United Conference

* view
* talk
* edit

| W | L | T | PCT | PF | PA | GB | STK
y–Sioux Falls Storm | 15 | 1 | 0 | .938 | 951 | 720 | \-- | W11
x–Cedar Rapids Titans | 12 | 4 | 0 | .750 | 781 | 628 | 3.0 | W7
x–Wichita Falls Nighthawks | 11 | 5 | 0 | .688 | 1001 | 861 | 4.0 | W2
Green Bay Blizzard | 5 | 11 | 0 | .313 | 682 | 932 | 10.0 | L1
Iowa Barnstormers | 4 | 12 | 0 | .250 | 737 | 838 | 11.0 | L7

## Playoffs

[edit]

| Wild Card Round | | | Conference Championships | | | 2016 United Bowl |

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|  |  |  | | |  |  |  | | |  |  |  |
| | | | 3 | Nebraska | 44 | |
| United Conference |
| | | 1 | Spokane | 55 |
| 3 | Nebraska | 64 |

| 2 | Billings | 52 |
| | I1 | Spokane | 34 |
|  |
| | | U1 | Sioux Falls | 55 |
| | |

| |
| | 2 | Cedar Rapids | 28 |
| Intense Conference |
| | | 1 | Sioux Falls | 54 |
| 3 | Wichita Falls | 36 |

| 2 | Cedar Rapids | 66 |

## Awards

[edit]

### Individual season awards

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Award | Winner | Position | Team

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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

[edit]

| 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

[edit]

| 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

[10]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "IFL Concludes Annual Meetings - Indoor Football League". Archived from the original on November 24, 2015.
2. ^ AFL Issues Statement on Spokane Shock[usurped], ArenaFootball.com, October 12, 2015
3. ^ "Introducing the Colorado Crush - Indoor Football League". Archived from the original on July 16, 2015.
4. ^ "INDOOR FOOTBALL: It's official: Hello 'Minnesota' Axemen". Bemidji Pioneer. September 25, 2015. Retrieved September 25, 2015.
5. ^ "IFL Announces 2016 Schedule - Indoor Football League". Archived from the original on October 9, 2015.
6. ^ "Minnesota Havok Join IFL". Indoor Football League. September 9, 2015. Retrieved September 9, 2015.
7. ^ "Minnesota Havok Fold Before Season Starts". Mankato Free Press. January 29, 2016. Retrieved January 29, 2016.
8. ^ "Weekly Sports League and Franchise Report". OurSportsCentral. February 1, 2016.
9. ^ IFL Issues Statement on Minnesota Axemen, IFL website, November 25, 2015
10. ^ "2016 All-IFL Teams Announced". www.oursportscentral.com. OurSports Central. June 30, 2016. Retrieved July 5, 2016.

* v
* t
* e

2016 IFL season

| United Conference| Intense Conference

|

* Cedar Rapids Titans
* Green Bay Blizzard
* Iowa Barnstormers
* Sioux Falls Storm
* Wichita Falls Nighthawks

* Billings Wolves
* Colorado Crush
* Nebraska Danger
* Spokane Empire
* Tri-Cities Fever

Related Articles
2016 Indoor Football League season
2016 United Bowl

* v
* t
* e

Indoor Football League

2025 season

Eastern Conference|

* Fishers Freight
* Green Bay Blizzard
* Iowa Barnstormers
* Jacksonville Sharks
* Massachusetts Pirates
* Quad City Steamwheelers
* Tulsa Oilers

Western Conference|

* Arizona Rattlers
* Bay Area Panthers
* Northern Arizona Wranglers
* San Antonio Gunslingers
* San Diego Strike Force
* Tucson Sugar Skulls
* Vegas Knight Hawks

Dormant teams|

* Buffalo Destroyers (2026)
* Dakota Bucks (2026)
* Duke City Gladiators (2026)
* Frisco Fighters (2026)
* Sioux Falls Storm (2026)

Seasons|

* Seasons
* by team
* IFL National Championship
* champions

History|

* Merger
* Intense Football League (2004–2008)
* champions
* United Indoor Football (2005–2008)
* champions
* 2008 National Indoor Bowl

Related|

* Awards

*[W]: Wins
*[L]: Losses
*[T]: Ties
*[PCT]: Winning percentage
*[PF]: Points For (Total points scored)
*[PA]: Points Against (Total points allowed)
*[GB]: Games Back
*[STK]: Current Winning or Losing Streak
*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template