2026 Indoor Football League season
Sports season
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The 2026 IFL season is the 18th season of the Indoor Football League. There are 14 teams with the addition of the New Mexico Chupacabras and the exit of the Bay Area Panthers. The season began on March 14 with the Fishers Freight defeating the Quad City Steamwheelers during IFL Opening Weekend, and will conclude with the 2026 IFL National Championship Game at Tucson Arena in Tucson, Arizona, on August 16.
| 2026 IFL season | |
|---|---|
| League | Indoor Football League |
| Sport | Indoor football |
| Duration | March 14 – August 16 |
| Teams | 14 |
Preseason
On August 22, 2025, the former Duke City Gladiators announced that they were returning to the IFL for the 2026 season under new ownership, rebranding as the New Mexico Chupacabras, moving back to Albuquerque and the Tingley Coliseum and hiring current Vegas Knight Hawks offensive line coach Kyle Moore-Brown as their new head coach.[1]
On September 18, 2025, it was announced that the Bay Area Panthers were going dormant for the 2026 season and that the players were released as free agents [2][3]
On October 18, 2025, the Massachusetts Pirates announced that they were "leaving Massachusetts" after seven seasons.[4]
On November 17, 2025, the IFL website announced the Pirates moved to Orlando and will play in the 2026 season in the Kia Center.[5]
Teams
For the 2026 season, the league is split into two conferences.[6]
The playoffs will have the top four teams per conference qualifying, and will be seeded first through fourth.
Regular season
Standings
Eastern Conference
| Team | W | L | PCT | GB | CONF |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Green Bay Blizzard | 13 | 3 | .813 | - | 11-3 |
| Jacksonville Sharks | 11 | 5 | .688 | 2.0 | 8-3 |
| Tulsa Oilers | 11 | 5 | .688 | 2.0 | 7-4 |
| Orlando Pirates | 10 | 6 | .625 | 3.0 | 7-4 |
| Fishers Freight | 8 | 8 | .500 | 5.0 | 6-8 |
| Quad City Steamwheelers | 5 | 11 | .313 | 8.0 | 4-9 |
| Iowa Barnstormers | 1 | 15 | .063 | 12.0 | 1-13 |
Western Conference
| Team | W | L | PCT | GB | CONF |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| San Diego Strike Force | 13 | 3 | .813 | - | 11-2 |
| Vegas Knight Hawks | 12 | 4 | .750 | 1.0 | 9-3 |
| Arizona Rattlers | 11 | 5 | .688 | 2.0 | 10-3 |
| Tucson Sugar Skulls | 7 | 9 | .438 | 6.0 | 6-8 |
| San Antonio Gunslingers | 5 | 11 | .313 | 8.0 | 4-5 |
| Northern Arizona Wranglers | 3 | 13 | .188 | 10.0 | 2-12 |
| New Mexico Chupacabras | 2 | 14 | .636 | 11.0 | 2-11 |
Notes
Playoffs
| Conference Semifinals | Conference Finals | National Championship (August 16) | ||||||||||||
| 1 | San Diego | 54 | ||||||||||||
| 4 | Tucson | 47 | ||||||||||||
| 1 | San Diego | 37 | ||||||||||||
| 3 | Arizona | 43 | ||||||||||||
| 2 | Vegas | 36 | ||||||||||||
| 3 | Arizona | 47 | ||||||||||||
| 3 | Arizona | |||||||||||||
| 1 | Green Bay | |||||||||||||
| 1 | Green Bay | 73 | ||||||||||||
| 4 | Orlando | 59 | ||||||||||||
| 1 | Green Bay | 67 | ||||||||||||
| 3 | Tulsa | 60 | ||||||||||||
| 2 | Jacksonville | 28 | ||||||||||||
| 3 | Tulsa | 31 | ||||||||||||
Awards
All-IFL teams
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