# 2016 Indoor Football League season

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.

## Teams

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. 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, and the former Bemidji Axemen changed their name to the Minnesota Axemen.
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. 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 |
| 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

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, however, the league terminated the franchise prior to the start of the season for failing to meet league obligations.
On November 25, 2015, the Minnesota Axemen franchise was terminated by the league for failing to meet the league's operational standards and commitments.

## Standings

2016 Intense Conference :
| viewtalkedit | 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 :
| viewtalkedit | 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

| Wild Card Round | Wild Card Round | Wild Card Round | Conference Championships | Conference Championships | Conference Championships | 2016 United Bowl | 2016 United Bowl | 2016 United Bowl |
| | | | 3 | Nebraska | 44 | | | |
| United Conference | United Conference | United Conference | 3 | Nebraska | 44 | | | |
| United Conference | United Conference | United Conference | 1 | Spokane | 55 | | | |
| 3 | Nebraska | 64 | 1 | Spokane | 55 | | | |
| 2 | Billings | 52 | | | | | | |
| 2 | Billings | 52 | | | | I1 | Spokane | 34 |
| | | | | | | U1 | Sioux Falls | 55 |
| | | | 2 | Cedar Rapids | 28 | | | |
| Intense Conference | Intense Conference | Intense Conference | 2 | Cedar Rapids | 28 | | | |
| Intense Conference | Intense Conference | Intense Conference | 1 | Sioux Falls | 54 | | | |
| 3 | Wichita Falls | 36 | 1 | Sioux Falls | 54 | | | |
| 2 | Cedar Rapids | 66 | | | | | | |

## Awards
### Individual season awards

| Award | Winner | Position | Team |
| 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

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

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 |