IFL National Championship

Indoor football championship game

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IFL National ChampionshipFirst played| August 15, 2009

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Trophy| IFL National Championship Trophy
2023 season
2023 IFL National Championship (August 5, 2023)
Bay Area Panthers 51, Sioux Falls Storm 41

The IFL National Championship (formerly the United Bowl) is the Indoor Football League's championship game. It has been played every year since 2009, except for 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The current champions are the Arizona Rattlers, who won their seventh indoor National Championship, defeating the Massachusetts Pirates. [1]

## History

[edit]

The IFL continued to use the "United Bowl" name originally used by United Indoor Football (UIF). The UIF used this name before they merged with Intense Football League to form the Indoor Football League. The UIF held United Bowl I, II, III, and IV in 2005 through 2008, with all four being won by the Sioux Falls Storm. Although the name "National Indoor Bowl Championship" was used for the 2008 contest between the UIF and the Intense Football League, the "United Bowl" name continued to be used for the combined league's championship until 2021 when it was rebranded.

### 2009 United Bowl

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Main article: 2009 United Bowl

Seconds before the Outlaws 2009 United Bowl victory

The 2009 United Bowl featured the Intense Conference champs, the Billings Outlaws, against the upset-minded United Conference champs River City Rage. The game became a scoring onslaught at the start of the first quarter with each team scoring touchdowns. The Outlaws defense snagged a pick in the second quarter which led to another offensive touchdown and a commanding two score lead by halftime. The Rage fought back though, recovering an onside kick at the beginning of the third quarter and driving the ball the length of the field for a touchdown. That would be the closest the game would get for the Rage. The Outlaws would put up just enough points to keep a comfortable lead throughout the fourth and after recovering an onside kick in the last minute of the game, the Outlaws kneeled the ball and took home the crown with a score of 71–62 in a loud, sold-out Rimrock Auto Arena.

### 2010 United Bowl

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Main article: 2010 United Bowl

In the 2010 United Bowl, the Billings Outlaws of the Intense Conference took the league championship by defeating the Sioux Falls Storm of the United Conference by a score of 43–34 in front of a sold-out crowd in the Billings Sportsplex (a training facility, used by the Outlaws after their arena suffered storm damage during the Billings tornado).

### 2011 United Bowl

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Main article: 2011 United Bowl

The 2011 United Bowl was won by the United Conference champion Sioux Falls Storm when they beat the Intense Conference Champion Tri-Cities Fever 37–10 on July 16, 2011.

### 2012 United Bowl

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Main article: 2012 United Bowl

The 2012 United Bowl was a re-match from 2011 and was once again won by the United Conference champion Sioux Falls Storm when they beat the Intense Conference Champion Tri-Cities Fever 59–32 on July 14, 2012.

### 2013 United Bowl

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Main article: 2013 United Bowl

The 2013 United Bowl was once again won by the United Conference champion Sioux Falls Storm when they beat the Intense Conference Champion Nebraska Danger 43–40 on June 29, 2013.

### 2014 United Bowl

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Main article: 2014 United Bowl

The 2014 United Bowl was a rematch from 2013 and was once again won by the United Conference champion Sioux Falls Storm when they beat the Intense Conference Champion Nebraska Danger 63–46 on June 28, 2014.

### 2015 United Bowl

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Main article: 2015 United Bowl

The 2015 United Bowl was a rematch from 2013 and 2014. For the fifth consecutive year the United Conference champion Storm won the league title with at 62–27 victory over the Intense Conference champion (Nebraska Danger). It was Sioux Falls' ninth title in franchise history.

### 2016 United Bowl

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Main article: 2016 United Bowl

For the sixth consecutive year the United Conference Champion Storm won the league title with a 55–34 victory over the first year Intense Conference Champion Spokane Empire on July 23, 2016. It is Sioux Falls' tenth title in franchise history.

### 2017 United Bowl

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Main article: 2017 United Bowl

The Sioux Falls Storm advanced to their eighth consecutive United Bowl but lost to the Arizona Rattlers by a score of 50–41. It was the Rattlers first season in the IFL after 25 years in the Arena Football League. This United Bowl marked the Rattlers sixth championship.

### 2018 United Bowl

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Main article: 2018 United Bowl

The Sioux Falls Storm once again advanced to the United Bowl, their ninth straight. They were defeated by the Iowa Barnstormers 42–38, marking the Barnstormers' first title in the IFL.

### 2019 United Bowl

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The Sioux Falls Storm reached the United Bowl once again, this time their tenth straight. They beat their United Bowl losing streak that started in 2017, and beat the Arizona Rattlers (a rematch from 2017's United Bowl) 56–53. This was their 11th Franchise Title.

### 2021 United Bowl

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For the first time since 2009, the Sioux Falls Storm did not qualify for the United Bowl. On September 12, the Massachusetts Pirates defeated the Arizona Rattlers 37–34 in overtime, earning the Pirates their first title in their first season as a member of the IFL.

### 2022 IFL National Championship Game

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The Indoor Football League struck a deal to rebrand the United Bowl to the IFL National Championship Game for three years. Said games are to all be held at Lee's Family Forum in Henderson, Nevada, home of the Vegas Knight Hawks.

For the first game under the new format, the Northern Arizona Wranglers defeated the Quad City Steamwheelers 47–45, earning the Wranglers their first title in their second season as a member of the IFL.

### 2023 IFL National Championship Game

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The Bay Area Panthers defeated the Sioux Falls Storm 51-41, earning the Panthers their first title in their second season as a member of the IFL.

### 2024 IFL National Championship Game

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The Arizona Rattlers defeated the Massachusetts Pirates 53-16. Arizona secured their 7th team championship, while also avenging their previous championship defeat to the Pirates in 2021.

### Results

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Game | Date | Winning team  | Losing team | MVP | Site | Attendance

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2009 | August 15, 2009 | Billings Outlaws | 71 | RiverCity Rage | 62  | Chris Dixon | Rimrock Auto Arena at MetraPark | 8,351
2010 | July 17, 2010 | Billings Outlaws | 43 | Sioux Falls Storm | 34  | Chris Dixon (2)  | Billings Sports Plex  | 2,500
2011 | July 16, 2011 | Sioux Falls Storm | 37 | Tri-Cities Fever | 10  | Chris Dixon (3)  | Sioux Falls Arena | 4,696
2012 | July 14, 2012 | Sioux Falls Storm | 59 | Tri-Cities Fever | 32  | Jeremiah Price | Sioux Falls Arena  | 4,901
2013 | June 29, 2013 | Sioux Falls Storm | 43 | Nebraska Danger | 40  | Terrance Bryant  | Sioux Falls Arena  | 5,202
2014 | June 28, 2014 | Sioux Falls Storm | 63 | Nebraska Danger | 46  | Chris Dixon (4)
James Terry  | Sioux Falls Arena  | 4,500
2015 | July 11, 2015 | Sioux Falls Storm | 62 | Nebraska Danger | 27  | Brandon Johnson-Farrell  | Denny Sanford Premier Center | 9,245
2016 | July 23, 2016 | Sioux Falls Storm | 55 | Spokane Empire | 34  | Lorenzo Brown  | Denny Sanford Premier Center  | 9,000
2017 | July 8, 2017 | Arizona Rattlers | 50 | Sioux Falls Storm | 41  | Justin Shirk  | Denny Sanford Premier Center  |
2018 | July 7, 2018  | Iowa Barnstormers | 42  | Sioux Falls Storm  | 38  | Ryan Balentine | Wells Fargo Arena |
2019 | July 13, 2019  | Sioux Falls Storm  | 56  | Arizona Rattlers  | 53  | Lorenzo Brown (2)  | Gila River Arena | 14,635
2020 | Season cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic
2021 | September 12, 2021  | Massachusetts Pirates | 37  | Arizona Rattlers  | 34  | Alejandro Bennifield (1)  | Footprint Center | 6,385
2022 | August 13, 2022[2] | Northern Arizona Wranglers | 47  | Quad City Steamwheelers | 45  | Jaquan Artis (1)  | Dollar Loan Center | 4,149
2023 | August 5, 2023[3] | Bay Area Panthers | 51  | Sioux Falls Storm  | 41  | Dalton Sneed  | Dollar Loan Center  | 3,674
2024 | August 17, 2024  | Arizona Rattlers  | 53  | Massachusetts Pirates  | 16  | Davontae Merriweather  | Lee's Family Forum  | 1,977

### Results by team

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Appearances  | Team  | Wins  | Losses  | Win %  | Year(s) Won  | Year(s) Lost

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11  | Sioux Falls Storm  | 7  | 4  | .636  | 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2019  | 2010, 2017, 2018, 2023
3  | Arizona Rattlers  | 2  | 2  | .500  | 2017, 2024  | 2019, 2021
3  | Nebraska Danger  | 0  | 3  | .000  |  | 2013, 2014, 2015
2  | Billings Outlaws  | 2  | 0  | 1.000  | 2009, 2010  |
2  | Tri-City Fever  | 0  | 2  | .000  |  | 2011, 2012
1  | RiverCity Rage  | 0  | 3  | .000  |  | 2009
1  | Spokane Empire  | 0  | 1  | .000  |  | 2016
1  | Iowa Barnstormers  | 1  | 0  | 1.000  | 2018  |
1  | Massachusetts Pirates  | 1  | 1  | .500  | 2021  | 2024  |
1  | Northern Arizona Wranglers  | 1  | 0  | 1.000  | 2022  |
1  | Quad City Steamwheelers  | 0  | 1  | .000  |  | 2022
1  | Bay Area Panthers  | 1  | 0  | 1.000  | 2023  |

## References

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1. ^ "2017 IFL RECORD AND FACT BOOK" (PDF). goifl.com. Retrieved August 2, 2017.
2. ^ "Quad City Steamwheelers VS Northern Arizona Wranglers".
3. ^ "2023 Dollar Loan Center IFL National Championship". YouTube.

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Indoor Football League

2024 season

Eastern Conference|

* Frisco Fighters
* Green Bay Blizzard
* Iowa Barnstormers
* Jacksonville Sharks
* Massachusetts Pirates
* Quad City Steamwheelers
* Sioux Falls Storm
* Tulsa Oilers

Western Conference|

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

IFL National Championship

* v
* t
* e

IFL National Championship

* 2009
* 2010
* 2011
* 2012
* 2013
* 2014
* 2015
* 2016
* 2017
* 2018
* 2019
* ~~2020~~ (season cancelled)
* 2021
* 2022
* 2023
* 2024

* Indoor Football League

* v
* t
* e

IFL National Champions

* 2009: Billings Outlaws
* 2010: Billings Outlaws
* 2011: Sioux Falls Storm
* 2012: Sioux Falls Storm
* 2013: Sioux Falls Storm
* 2014: Sioux Falls Storm
* 2015: Sioux Falls Storm
* 2016: Sioux Falls Storm
* 2017: Arizona Rattlers
* 2018: Iowa Barnstormers
* 2019: Sioux Falls Storm
* 2019: Sioux Falls Storm
* 2021: Massachusetts Pirates
* 2022: Northern Arizona Wranglers
* 2023: Bay Area Panthers
* 2024: Arizona Rattlers

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