Continental Indoor Football League
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Continental Indoor Football League | |
|---|---|
| Current season or competition: 2008 Continental Indoor Football League |
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| Sport | American football |
| Founded | 2006 |
| No. of teams | 15 |
| Country(ies) |  United States |
| Most recent champion(s) |
Rochester Raiders |
| Official website | www.contintentalindoorfootball.com |
The Continental Indoor Football League (CIFL) is an indoor football league based along the Northeastern United States region. It began play in April of 2006 as the Great Lakes Indoor Football League (GLIFL). Formed by Jeff Spitaleri, his brother Eric, and third member, Cory Trapp, all from the Canton, Ohio area.
The league was originally called the OPIFL (short for Ohio-Penn Indoor Football League), but then executives decided to increase the league's appeal to the entire Great Lakes region. So far, the league has been relatively successful, having a cumulative attendance of over 75,000 in the inaugural regular season.[citation needed]. However, the league, like other indoor football associations, has been plagued by folding franchises and unenforceable policies. For example, the 2006 champion Port Huron Pirates were found to have been paying some of their players over the league salary cap. 2007 saw several teams fold during the season, and during the 2008 season, the league's most successful team, the Rochester Raiders, moved to the AIFA due to frustration over the failure of the league to provide notice of an opponent's forfeiture, resulting in lost ticket and advertising revenue. The league also failed to return the Raiders' owners' emergency fund deposit, which was collected specifically to protect against such occurences.[1]
The league's primary competition for talent is the American Indoor Football Association, and teams have moved to and from that league. However, unlike the AIFA, the CIFL remains mostly a regional operation, with most of its teams clustered in the Midwestern United States. A similar but unrelated league, the Intense Football League, plays in Texas.
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[edit] Rule differences
The most notable rule difference in the CIFL from other indoor football leagues is that the CIFL plays seven players to a side, as opposed to most indoor leagues, which play eight men to a side.
The league does not utilize a rebound net, but otherwise, its rules are nearly identical to those of the Arena Football League.
[edit] 2008 CIFL Teams
[edit] Atlantic Conference
[edit] East Division
[edit] West Division
Flint Phantoms
Marion Mayhem
Rochester Raiders (left before playoffs)
Saginaw Sting
[edit] Great Lakes Conference
[edit] East Division
[edit] West Division
[edit] 2009 Expansion teams
[edit] May Play For 2009
[edit] Former teams
[edit] Defunct
- Battle Creek Crunch (2006)
Springfield Stallions (2007)*
Steubenville Stampede (2007)*
Summit County Rumble (2007)*- Michigan Pirates (2006-2007)
(*=The league took over operations and ceased for failure to meet league requirements.)
[edit] Moved
- Rochester Raiders (2008)**
(**=Moved to the AIFA after the league failed to inform the team that an opponent was forfeiting a game.]][3] )
[edit] Players of Signifigance/Award Winners
[edit] 2006
- Most Valuable Player (Vincent Cleveland Memorial Trophy) - Matt Cottengim, Rochester Raiders
- Offensive Player of the Year - Matt Cottengim, Rochester Raiders
- Quarterback of the Year - Matt Cottengim, Rochester Raiders
- Runningback of the Year - Rayshaun Askew, Port Huron Pirates
- Wide Receiver of the Year - Maurice Jackson , Rochester Raiders
- Defensive Player of the Year - Eddie Bynes, Port Huron Pirates
- Linebacker of the Year - Ed Chan, NY/NJ Revolution
- Defensive back of the Year - Eric Gardner , Battle Creek Crunch
- Return Man of the Year - Darius Smith, Rochester Raiders
- Coach of the Year - Brian Hug, Port Huron Pirates
- GLIFL All Star Game MVP - Shane Franzer, Port Huron Pirates
[edit] 2007
- Most Valuable Player (Vincent Cleveland Memorial Trophy) - Robert Height, Port Huron Pirates
- Offensive Player of the Year - Robert Height, Port Huron Pirates
- Defensive Player of the Year - Eddie Bynes, Port Huron Pirates
- Special Teams Player of the Year - Brad Selent, Kalamazoo Xplosion
- Coach of the Year - Karl Featherstone, Port Huron Pirates
- CIFL Indoor Championship Game Most Valuable Player - Mike Condello, Rochester Raiders
[edit] References
- ^ [1]
- ^ New Team to be Called Wildcats | The Intelligencer / Wheeling News-Register
- ^ Nilsen, Dan. "Flint Phantoms forfeit CIFL finale; opponent quits league", Flint Journal, Booth Newspapers, 2008-06-08. Retrieved on 2008-06-09.
[edit] External links
| Continental Indoor Football League | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Atlantic Conference | East Division | West Division | |
| Chesapeake Tide | Flint Phantoms | ||
| Lehigh Valley Outlawz | Marion Mayhem | ||
| New England Surge | Rochester Raiders | ||
| New Jersey Revolution | Saginaw Sting | ||
| Great Lakes Conference | East Division | West Division | |
| Fort Wayne Freedom | Chicago Slaughter | ||
| Kalamazoo Xplosion | Milwaukee Bonecrushers | ||
| Miami Valley Silverbacks | Rock River Raptors | ||
| Muskegon Thunder | |||
| Expansion Teams | Wheeling Wildcats | ||
| CIFL Indoor Championship Game | List of CIFL seasons | Indoor football | Arena football | |||
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