indoor fan
03-15-2007, 08:14 PM
From the Minor League football News:
NATIONAL INDOOR FOOTBALL LEAGUE-A STUDY IN FAILURE AND DECEPTION
The National Indoor Football League was formed in 2002 after the Indoor Professional Football League disbanded. The founder of the NIFL was Carolyn Shiver, a owner of a Louisiana franchise in the Professional Indoor Football League, which kicked off with 8 teams in 1998. The PIFL was the first league to challenge the old established Arena League's claim that they had a patent on the game. The PIFL won a historic court case against the Arena League, who's only patent was the rebound nets, and that patent has expired. iT resulted in the birth of a lot of pro indoor football league, some good and some bad.
The PIFL changed their name in 1999 to the IPFL, and lasted two years under Mike Storen, the former commissioner of the old American Basketball Association, who ran the IPFL into the ground, just like he did with the ABA.
Shiver gathered together most of the former IPFL teams, plus a lot of new teams to form the NIFL, and it looked like it was on its way to being a success until the owners discovered Shiver was running the whole show from her soil testing lab without a commissioner, media director or a separate phone for the league while collecting dues from all the franchise owners. In the coming years she added new teams, but old teams were starting to drop out faster than new ones came in due to a lack of leadership. The new teams were paying a franchise fee and nobody knew where the money or dues was going as she continued with running the league out of her personal business using her personal employees to do the work. She may have know the soil testing business, but she did not know the football business. The only real improvement in coming years was the web site, and that didn't last long either. Teams began leaving to form their own leagues out of frustration.
The NIFL has had 26 teams fold since it was organized. In 2005, nine teams left the league to form the United Indoor Football League. The house built of cards was starting to crumble. Shiver lured the entire Intense Football League into merging with her league in 2005, but they all pulled out after one year and are back in business again.
After a chaotic 2006 season, more than half the league's franchises left for other indoor leagues that included the new World Indoor League, United Indoor Football League, AF2 and American Indoor Football League.
Over the years, Shiver continued to run havoc on teams making decisions that defied description they were so bad. The Twin City Gators, West Palm Beach Phantoms, Tennessee River Sharks and Big Sky (Mt) Thunder folded during the 2006 season and Shiver replaced the games with repleacement teams made up of unpaid semipro players. The Rapid City Flying Aces owner took all the team's cash and fled town when it was discovered he had been indicted in the past for embezzlement and bled funds from several NIFL franchises in the past. Local investors put up the money to finish the season and the moved out of the NIFL at the end of the season. During the playoffs, the Cincinnati Marshals and Oseola (Fla) team were due in Osceola. The arena was booked with a week long rodeo, so Shiver asked the two teams to play in St.Louis, Missouri and stay over to play the next day against the St.Louis River Rage,who had advanced to the playoff's next round. Shiver had promised transportation costs for the two teams to travel to St.Louis, but it never happened and the game was never played.
This year Shiver hired former NFL player Cleveland Gary to take over as commissioner and implement a new set of stringent financial requirements that would prevent more failures. Each team was to put $150,000 in a "safety fund" and show a net worth of $700,000 to qualify for a franchise. The league currently lists five teams and nineteen expansion teams and kicks off this weekend.
But, wait a minute it may not happen. A lot of the new franchises mainly in California and Colorado are reported to be playing in small rodeo arena's, and trouble is already starting. Its seems a mysterious investor group owns most of these teams and has not come up with the money for the player equipment, playing turf, dasher boards and there has been little to no publicity in the cities where they are supposed to be playing. If you go to the NIFL web site (www.niflfootball.com) and click on to the teams listed very few have a website, or list the names of the owners, etc. The NIFL website is a joke its so bad. And so are the new team logos,which obviously have been done by the same high school graphic artist who designed them.
The San Antonio Steer franchise was to be owned by Will Hanna, who owns the San Antonio Ravens of the outdoor minor league Southwest Football Association. Here is his letter to Cleveland withdrawing from the NIFL. Its a letter that Cleveland is going to be getting from a lot of teams owned by the mysterious California big time investor group:
To: Cleveland Gary, NIFL Commissioner
I would like to hereby announce that myself, Will J. Hanna, II, the San Antonio Ravens and HMG Sports due hereby withdraw its affiliation with the NIFL and its San Antonio Steers franchise. This announcement comes as a result of the NIFL's lack of committed resources to the team, the players,and the coaches. While we feel that the City of San Antonio is ready for indoor/arena style football, the NIFL may not be the answer right now, therefore, we will seek other avenues to bring arena football to the City of San Antonio.
As we are 3 weeks from the start of the season, we have not yet received uniforms, footballs, a secured practice facility, turf for our venue, nor has our venue been secured for the season. In fact, the check that was written as a deposit bounced. That is not the type of business that I do here in this city.
Cleveland (Commissioner), as you stated that you have people already in place to replace such as myself, I would suggest that you move swiftly in getting them in place here in San Antonio as they will have three weeks to put in place a team with the same limitations that I've had here and I live here. I would have enjoyed the opportunity to help further develop these young men, but your lack of compassion and commitment to the future of these men has deteriorated the interest in playing for your organization. Just thought you may want to consider that in the future. These same problems are occuring all over as I talk with some of your other people.
Will Hanna
*Note-This story was written by Ralph Parkson, Pro Indoor Insider News.It obvious that most of the new franchises were being backed by the California investment group who had more mouth than money.
NATIONAL INDOOR FOOTBALL LEAGUE-A STUDY IN FAILURE AND DECEPTION
The National Indoor Football League was formed in 2002 after the Indoor Professional Football League disbanded. The founder of the NIFL was Carolyn Shiver, a owner of a Louisiana franchise in the Professional Indoor Football League, which kicked off with 8 teams in 1998. The PIFL was the first league to challenge the old established Arena League's claim that they had a patent on the game. The PIFL won a historic court case against the Arena League, who's only patent was the rebound nets, and that patent has expired. iT resulted in the birth of a lot of pro indoor football league, some good and some bad.
The PIFL changed their name in 1999 to the IPFL, and lasted two years under Mike Storen, the former commissioner of the old American Basketball Association, who ran the IPFL into the ground, just like he did with the ABA.
Shiver gathered together most of the former IPFL teams, plus a lot of new teams to form the NIFL, and it looked like it was on its way to being a success until the owners discovered Shiver was running the whole show from her soil testing lab without a commissioner, media director or a separate phone for the league while collecting dues from all the franchise owners. In the coming years she added new teams, but old teams were starting to drop out faster than new ones came in due to a lack of leadership. The new teams were paying a franchise fee and nobody knew where the money or dues was going as she continued with running the league out of her personal business using her personal employees to do the work. She may have know the soil testing business, but she did not know the football business. The only real improvement in coming years was the web site, and that didn't last long either. Teams began leaving to form their own leagues out of frustration.
The NIFL has had 26 teams fold since it was organized. In 2005, nine teams left the league to form the United Indoor Football League. The house built of cards was starting to crumble. Shiver lured the entire Intense Football League into merging with her league in 2005, but they all pulled out after one year and are back in business again.
After a chaotic 2006 season, more than half the league's franchises left for other indoor leagues that included the new World Indoor League, United Indoor Football League, AF2 and American Indoor Football League.
Over the years, Shiver continued to run havoc on teams making decisions that defied description they were so bad. The Twin City Gators, West Palm Beach Phantoms, Tennessee River Sharks and Big Sky (Mt) Thunder folded during the 2006 season and Shiver replaced the games with repleacement teams made up of unpaid semipro players. The Rapid City Flying Aces owner took all the team's cash and fled town when it was discovered he had been indicted in the past for embezzlement and bled funds from several NIFL franchises in the past. Local investors put up the money to finish the season and the moved out of the NIFL at the end of the season. During the playoffs, the Cincinnati Marshals and Oseola (Fla) team were due in Osceola. The arena was booked with a week long rodeo, so Shiver asked the two teams to play in St.Louis, Missouri and stay over to play the next day against the St.Louis River Rage,who had advanced to the playoff's next round. Shiver had promised transportation costs for the two teams to travel to St.Louis, but it never happened and the game was never played.
This year Shiver hired former NFL player Cleveland Gary to take over as commissioner and implement a new set of stringent financial requirements that would prevent more failures. Each team was to put $150,000 in a "safety fund" and show a net worth of $700,000 to qualify for a franchise. The league currently lists five teams and nineteen expansion teams and kicks off this weekend.
But, wait a minute it may not happen. A lot of the new franchises mainly in California and Colorado are reported to be playing in small rodeo arena's, and trouble is already starting. Its seems a mysterious investor group owns most of these teams and has not come up with the money for the player equipment, playing turf, dasher boards and there has been little to no publicity in the cities where they are supposed to be playing. If you go to the NIFL web site (www.niflfootball.com) and click on to the teams listed very few have a website, or list the names of the owners, etc. The NIFL website is a joke its so bad. And so are the new team logos,which obviously have been done by the same high school graphic artist who designed them.
The San Antonio Steer franchise was to be owned by Will Hanna, who owns the San Antonio Ravens of the outdoor minor league Southwest Football Association. Here is his letter to Cleveland withdrawing from the NIFL. Its a letter that Cleveland is going to be getting from a lot of teams owned by the mysterious California big time investor group:
To: Cleveland Gary, NIFL Commissioner
I would like to hereby announce that myself, Will J. Hanna, II, the San Antonio Ravens and HMG Sports due hereby withdraw its affiliation with the NIFL and its San Antonio Steers franchise. This announcement comes as a result of the NIFL's lack of committed resources to the team, the players,and the coaches. While we feel that the City of San Antonio is ready for indoor/arena style football, the NIFL may not be the answer right now, therefore, we will seek other avenues to bring arena football to the City of San Antonio.
As we are 3 weeks from the start of the season, we have not yet received uniforms, footballs, a secured practice facility, turf for our venue, nor has our venue been secured for the season. In fact, the check that was written as a deposit bounced. That is not the type of business that I do here in this city.
Cleveland (Commissioner), as you stated that you have people already in place to replace such as myself, I would suggest that you move swiftly in getting them in place here in San Antonio as they will have three weeks to put in place a team with the same limitations that I've had here and I live here. I would have enjoyed the opportunity to help further develop these young men, but your lack of compassion and commitment to the future of these men has deteriorated the interest in playing for your organization. Just thought you may want to consider that in the future. These same problems are occuring all over as I talk with some of your other people.
Will Hanna
*Note-This story was written by Ralph Parkson, Pro Indoor Insider News.It obvious that most of the new franchises were being backed by the California investment group who had more mouth than money.