Eastern Conference (IFL)
| League | Indoor Football League |
|---|---|
| Sport | Indoor football |
| Founded | 2022 |
| No. of teams | 7 |
| Most recent champion | Quad City Steamwheelers (1st title) |
| Most titles | Frisco Fighters (2 titles) |
The Eastern Conference (EC) is a conference of the Indoor Football League (IFL), the highest level of professional indoor football in the United States. The Eastern Conference and its counterpart, the Western Conference, each have seven teams and were created as part of the 2022 IFL expansion.
Teams
Active teams
| Team | Location | Arena | Joined |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fishers Freight | Fishers, Indiana | Fishers Event Center | 2025 |
| Green Bay Blizzard | Ashwaubenon, Wisconsin | Resch Center | 2022 |
| Iowa Barnstormers | Des Moines, Iowa | Casey's Center | 2022 |
| Jacksonville Sharks | Jacksonville, Florida | VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena | 2024 |
| Orlando Pirates | Orlando, Florida | Kia Center | 2022 |
| Quad City Steamwheelers | Moline, Illinois | Vibrant Arena | 2022 |
| Tulsa Oilers | Tulsa, Oklahoma | BOK Center | 2022 |
EC championships
| Season | Date | Winning team | Score | Losing team | Arena | Location | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | July 29 | Quad City Steamwheelers | 48–41 | Frisco Fighters | Comerica Center | Frisco, Texas | [1] |
| 2023 | July 29 | Sioux Falls Storm | 45–44 | Frisco Fighters | Comerica Center | Frisco, Texas | [2] |
| 2024 | August 2 | Massachusetts Pirates | 51–28 | Green Bay Blizzard | Resch Center | Green Bay, Wisconsin | [3] |
| 2025 | August 9 | Green Bay Blizzard | 71–64 | Quad City Steamwheelers | Resch Center | Green Bay, Wisconsin | [4] |
Division champions
| Season | Team | Record | Postseason results |
|---|---|---|---|
| Eastern Conference | |||
| 2022 | Frisco Fighters (1) | 14–2 | Won Round One (Barnstormers) 64–39 Lost WC Championship (Steamwheelers) 41–48 |
| 2023 | Frisco Fighters (2) | 13–2 | Won Round One (Steamwheelers) 57–29 Lost WC Championship (Storm) 44–45 |
| 2024 | Green Bay Blizzard (1) | 13–3 | Won Round One (Steamwheelers) 34–23 Lost WC Championship (Pirates) 51–28 |
| 2025 | Quad City Steamwheelers (1) | 11–5 | Won Round One (Sharks) 57–41 Lost WC Championship (Blizzard) 64–71 |
Wild Card qualifiers
| Season | Team | Record | Postseason results |
|---|---|---|---|
| Eastern Conference | |||
| 2022 | Massachusetts Pirates | 11–5 | Lost Round One (Steamwheelers) 38–39 |
| Quad City Steamwheelers | 9–7 | Won Round One (at Pirates) 39–38 Won EC Championship (at Fighters) 48–41 Lost IFL National Championship (at Wranglers) 45–47 | |
| Iowa Barnstormers | 9–7 | Lost Round One (at Fighters) 14–53 | |
| 2023 | Sioux Falls Storm | 9–6 | Won Round One (Pirates) 42–39 Won WC Championship (at Fighters) 45–44 Lost IFL National Championship (vs. Panthers) 41–51 |
| Massachusetts Pirates | 9–6 | Lost Round One (at Storm) 39–42 | |
| Quad City Steamwheelers | 9–6 | Lost Round One (Fighters) 29–57 | |
| 2024 | Frisco Fighters | 13–3 | Lost Round One (Pirates) 50–53 |
| Massachusetts Pirates | 8–8 | Won Round One (at Fighters) 53–50 Won WC Championship (at Blizzard) 51–28 Lost IFL National Championship (vs. Rattlers) 16–53 | |
| Quad City Steamwheelers | 8–8 | Lost Round One (at Blizzard) 23–34 | |
| 2025 | Green Bay Blizzard | 10–6 | Won Round One (Oilers) 58–26 Won WC Championship (at Steamwheelers) 71–64 Lost IFL National Championship (vs. Knight Hawks) 61–64 |
| Tulsa Oilers | 10–6 | Lost Round One (at Blizzard) 26–58 | |
| Jacksonville Sharks | 10–6 | Lost Round One (at Steamwheelers) 41–57 | |
Season results
| Denotes team that won the IFL National Championship | |
| Denotes team that won the EC Championship, but lost the IFL National Championship | |
| Denotes team that qualified for the IFL Playoffs |
| Season | Team (record) | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th | 7th | 8th | ||||||||
| 2022: The Eastern Conference was formed with seven inaugural members: the Bismarck Bucks, Frisco Fighters, Green Bay Blizzard, Iowa Barnstormers, Massachusetts Pirates, Quad City Steamwheelers, and Sioux Falls Storm. | |||||||||||||||
| 2022 | Frisco (14–2) | Massachusetts (11–5) | Quad City (9–7) | Iowa (9–7) | Sioux Falls (8–8) | Green Bay (7–10) | Bismarck (3–13) | N/a | |||||||
| 2023: An expansion team, the Tulsa Oilers, joined the Eastern Conference while the Bucks suspended operations.[5][6] | |||||||||||||||
| 2023 | Frisco (13–2) | Sioux Falls (9–6) | Massachusetts (9–6) | Quad City (9–6) | Green Bay (7–8) | Iowa (3–12) | Tulsa (2–13) | N/a | |||||||
| 2024: The Jacksonville Sharks joined the conference.[7] | |||||||||||||||
| 2024 | Green Bay (13–3) | Frisco (13–3) | Massachusetts (8–8) | Quad City (8–8) | Tulsa (6–10) | Jacksonville (5–11) | Iowa (5–11) | Sioux Falls (3–13) | |||||||
| 2025: The Fishers Freight expansion team joined the conference.[8] The Fighters and Storm went dormant.[9][10] | |||||||||||||||
| 2025 | Quad City (11–5) | Green Bay (10–6) | Tulsa (10–6) | Jacksonville (10–6) | Massachusetts (7–9) | Fishers (7–9) | Iowa (1–15) | N/a | |||||||
| 2026: The Pirates relocated to Orlando and became the Orlando Pirates.[11] | |||||||||||||||
References
- ^ Michael, Ryan (July 29, 2022). "Steamwheelers take down Fighters to advance to IFL National Championship". Quad City Steamwheelers. Retrieved November 29, 2025.
- ^ "Storm Advance to IFL Championship Game With 45-44 Win Over Frisco". Sioux Falls Storm. July 30, 2023. Retrieved November 29, 2025.
- ^ "Blizzard fall to Pirates in conference title game". WLUK-TV. August 2, 2024. Retrieved November 29, 2025.
- ^ "Blizzard defeat Steamwheelers 71-64 to punch ticket to IFL Championship". WLUK-TV. August 10, 2025. Retrieved November 29, 2025.
- ^ Sinclair, Savannah (September 10, 2022). "Tulsa Oilers reveal indoor football team name". KTUL. Retrieved November 29, 2025.
- ^ Timmerman, Lee (October 7, 2022). "Bismarck Bucks will not play in 2023". KFYR-TV. Retrieved November 29, 2025.
- ^ Freeman, Clayton (August 22, 2023). "The Jacksonville Sharks are changing football leagues. Here's what you need to know". The Florida Times-Union. Retrieved November 29, 2025.
- ^ Gruenling, Jessica (April 4, 2025). "Fishers Freight playing their inaugural season, first home game on Friday". WRTV. Retrieved November 29, 2025.
- ^ Yanes, Zachary (October 16, 2024). "Frisco Fighters announces it will not participate in 2025 Indoor Football League season". WFAA. Retrieved November 29, 2025.
- ^ Zimmer, Matt (October 30, 2024). "Sioux Falls Storm to 'enter dormancy' for 2025". Sioux Falls Live. Retrieved November 29, 2025.
- ^ Walker, Alex (November 17, 2025). "Orlando Pirates to bring indoor football back to Central Florida". WFTV. Retrieved November 29, 2025.