2025 Indoor Football League season
| 2025 IFL season | |
|---|---|
| League | Indoor Football League |
| Sport | Indoor football |
| Duration | March 21 – August 23, 2025 |
| Number of teams | 14 |
| TV partner(s) | CBS Sports |
| Streaming partner(s) | YouTube |
| Regular season | |
| Playoffs | |
| 2025 IFL National Championship | |
| Date | August 23, 2025 |
| Venue | Tucson Convention Center |
The 2025 IFL season will be the 17th season of the Indoor Football League (IFL). The season will begin on March 21, 2025, with the Jacksonville Sharks facing the Massachusetts Pirates during the IFL Opening Weekend. The regular season will conclude on July 27. The playoffs start date is to be announced but will conclude with the 2025 IFL National Championship, the league's championship game, at the Tucson Convention Center in Tucson, Arizona, on August 23.
Team movement
[edit]Expansion
[edit]The IFL announced that one team would be established:
- On October 24, 2023, the IFL announced the addition of an expansion team in Indianapolis, Indiana who would play at the brand-new Fishers Event Center starting in 2025.[1] On December 15, the team was named the Fishers Freight.[2]
Dormancy
[edit]The IFL announced that three teams were going dormant:
- On October 16, 2024, the Duke City Gladiators owner Gina Prieskorn-Thomas announced that the team would be going dormant. She stated that there were problems with the team's marketing strategies due to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.[3]
- On October 16, 2024, the Frisco Fighters announced that they would be entering dormant status without specifying why.[4]
- On October 30, 2024, the Sioux Falls Storm announced that they would be going dormant due to their inability to find a secure location to field a team.[5]
Rule changes
[edit]The following rule changes were approved at the IFL annual league meeting on January 13–14 in Phoenix, Arizona:[6]
- Any kicked ball that passes through the end zone without touching the field of play will now be marked at the kicking team’s 20-yard line. The previous adjustment to the 25-yard line has been removed for consistency.
- If a team leading by 14 points or fewer has possession of the ball during the last minute, they must gain positive yardage; otherwise, the clock will stop. The former rule requiring positive yardage in the final 60 seconds of the game has been reinstated.
- A linebacker who declares a blitz may now rush from inside or outside the alley. The league has eliminated the restriction on linebackers blitzing outside of the alley.
- Defensive linemen are now permitted to execute twist moves.
- The 1-yard grace for wide receivers in motion crossing the line of scrimmage has been removed. A receiver’s foot crossing the line at the snap will now be considered a false start. Other body parts, such as the knee, hand, or head, will not determine the penalty.
Regular season
[edit]The season will be played over a 19-week schedule, beginning on March 21, 2025, and ending on July 27, 2025. Each of the league's 14 teams will play 16 games, with three bye weeks.
Regular season standings
[edit]
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Postseason
[edit]2025 IFL playoffs
[edit]| Conference Quarterfinals | Conference Championships | 2025 IFL National Championship | ||||||||||||
| 1 | ||||||||||||||
| 4 | ||||||||||||||
| Eastern Conference | ||||||||||||||
| 2 | ||||||||||||||
| 3 | ||||||||||||||
| 1 | ||||||||||||||
| 4 | ||||||||||||||
| Western Conference | ||||||||||||||
| 2 | ||||||||||||||
| 3 | ||||||||||||||
Awards
[edit]| Award | Winner | Position | Team |
|---|---|---|---|
| Most Valuable Player | — | — | — |
| Offensive Player of the Year | — | — | — |
| Defensive Player of the Year | — | — | — |
| Special Teams Player of the Year | — | — | — |
| Offensive Rookie of the Year | — | — | — |
| Defensive Rookie of the Year | — | — | — |
| Coach of the Year | — | — | — |
| Assistant Coach of the Year | — | — | — |
| IFL National Championship Most Valuable Player | — | — | — |
All-IFL teams
[edit]
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Players of the Week
[edit]The following were named the top performers during the season:
| Week | Offensive | Defensive | Special Teams |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | |||
| 2 | |||
| 3 | |||
| 4 | |||
| 5 | |||
| 6 | |||
| 7 | |||
| 8 | |||
| 9 | |||
| 10 | |||
| 11 | |||
| 12 | |||
| 13 | |||
| 14 | |||
| 15 | |||
| 16 | |||
| 17 | |||
| 18 | |||
| 19 |
Head coaching changes
[edit]Off-season
[edit]| Team | Departing coach | Incoming coach | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fishers Freight | — | Dixie Wooten | Wooten was hired as Fishers' first head coach on August 22, 2024, after spending two seasons as the offensive coordinator for the Bay Area Panthers. This is his third head coaching job, having previously served as the head coach of the Iowa Barnstormers from 2017–2019 and Sioux Falls Storm from 2022–2023. He compiled a regular season record of 85–38 (.691) while making four playoff appearances, two United Bowl appearances, and winning the 2018 United Bowl.[7] |
| Massachusetts Pirates | Rod Miller | Ameer Ismail | After one season, an 8–8 (.500) regular season record, and a 2024 IFL National Championship appearance, Miller left Massachusetts and joined the San Diego Strike Force as their associate head coach and defensive coordinator on October 11, 2024.[8]
On November 25, the Pirates hired Ameer Ismail as their head coach, this will be his second stint with the team. Ismail previously served as the head coach of the Bloomington Edge in 2017, Massachusetts Pirates in 2018, and the Iowa Barnstormers from 2020–2021. He has compiled a 34–16 (.680) regular season record and is 0–3 (.000) in three playoff appearances.[9] |
| Northern Arizona Wranglers | Les Moss | Ron James | On August 31, 2024, Moss stepped down as the head coach of Northern Arizona after leading the team to two playoff appearances, an IFL National Championship title, and a 28–19 (.596) regular season record.[10]
James was hired as Northern Arizona's head coach on September 16, after serving five seasons as the head football coach of Juan Diego Catholic High School. This is James' seventh indoor football head coaching job, serving as the head coach of the Las Vegas Gladiators from 2005–2006, Utah Blaze from 2010–2013, Pittsburgh Power in 2014, Portland Steel in 2016, Tampa Bay Storm in 2017, and Atlantic City Blackjacks in 2019. In his time as an Arena Football League (AFL) head coach, James compiled a 74–77 (.490) regular season record, two AFL Coach of the Year awards, and an ArenaBowl XXX appearance.[11] |
In-season
[edit]Arenas
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ Van Beek, Eric (23 October 2023). "INDIANAPOLIS TO JOIN IFL IN 2025". Indoor Football League. Retrieved 4 February 2025.
- ^ "Kicking off March 2025..." Fishers Freight. 15 December 2023. Retrieved 4 February 2025.
- ^ Critchfield, Tristen (17 October 2024). "'We're just taking a little bit of a break': Duke City Gladiators going dormant in 2025". Albuquerque Journal. Retrieved 4 February 2025.
- ^ Yanes, Zachary (16 October 2024). "Frisco Fighters announces it will not participate in 2025 Indoor Football League season". WFAA. Retrieved 4 February 2025.
- ^ Hartigan, J.J. (30 October 2024). "Storm Announce Dormancy For 2025 Season". Sioux Falls Storm. Retrieved 4 February 2025.
- ^ Van Beek, Eric (17 January 2025). "INDOOR FOOTBALL LEAGUE CONCLUDES ANNUAL MEETINGS, ANNOUNCES 2025 RULE CHANGES". Indoor Football League. Retrieved 4 February 2025.
- ^ "Fishers Freight Announce Dixie Wooten as Franchise's First Head Coach". Fishers Freight. 22 August 2022. Retrieved 4 February 2025.
- ^ "STRIKE FORCE ADD ROD MILLER TO COACHING STAFF". San Diego Strike Force. 11 October 2024. Retrieved 6 February 2025.
- ^ Moninghoff, Mick (25 November 2024). "Pirates Name Ameer Ismail Head Coach for 2025 Presented by Gulf". Massachusetts Pirates. Retrieved 6 February 2025.
- ^ "Les Moss Steps Down as NAZ Wranglers Head Coach". KYCA. 11 September 2024. Retrieved 4 February 2025.
- ^ "NORTHERN ARIZONA WRANGLERS APPOINT TWO-TIME AFL COACH OF THE YEAR RON JAMES AS NEW HEAD COACH". Northern Arizona Wranglers. 16 September 2024. Retrieved 6 February 2025.