BREAKING - IFL kicks out Louisville Xtreme

[David]

6.14.21 (updated 6.16.21)

Louisville, KY - The Louisville Xtreme are no longer apart of the Indoor Football League.

Late Monday afternoon, the IFL announced that it had terminated the membership of the Louisville Xtreme, citing failure to meet and maintain league obligations. The IFL's Board of Directors unanimously voted to terminate the Xtreme's membership effective immediately.

The Xtreme's termination comes after their June 12th home game against the Green Bay Blizzard was postponed.

"This is a regrettable situation, but as our league continues to generate positive momentum this became a necessary action," said IFL Commissioner Todd Tryon. "We have tremendous respect for Victor Cole and his partners in Louisville and the hard work they put into developing Louisville as a viable IFL franchise. However, as we position the IFL for long-term success, it is imperative that we maintain the high standards we have set as a league."

The issue in question appears to be involving a non-payment issue regarding the Xtreme's field turf. Initially reported by Inside the Arena on May 26th, a group called HMG Sports was suing the Xtreme in civil court over the value of the field. The field turf, which belonged to the Baltimore Brigade of the Arena Football League, was purchased by HMG Sports for their new Baltimore indoor franchise, the Lightning. HMG Sports eventually sold the turf to the Xtreme.

Per Inside the Arena, the Baltimore States Attorney was looking to file potential criminal charges against the Xtreme for wire fraud and theft by deception. The Xtreme reportedly owed HMG Sports over $30K at the time of the report.

The Xtreme finish the 2021 season at 0-5, ranked last in the overall IFL standings behind the Northern Arizona Wranglers (0-4).

At of the time of this report, the IFL has not opted to go the route of a travel team to fill in for the Xtreme's remaining schedule, which will result in a total of 11 cancelled games, including this weekend's road game against the Frisco Fighters. It's likely the games will be seen in the record books as a forfeit win for Louisville's opponent, but remains to be seen.

Meanwhile, the Xtreme have issued a statement regarding the IFL's decision.

In light of the recent announcement by the Indoor Football League (IFL), we would like to thank our fans, sponsors, and the community for their support during our tenure with the IFL. Although we are saddened by the IFL's decision we understand and wish the league the best. We are currently in the process of notifying all of our sponsors and season ticket holders as to next steps. We ask that everybody be patient during this time of transition. The Louisville Xtreme has no intentions of folding and we look forward to an exciting 2022 season. Please continue to follow the Louisville Xtreme at www.louxtreme.com for updates.

Founded in 2012 as the Kentucky Xtreme, Louisville joined the IFL in November 2020, one week after being ousted from their status as members of the National Arena League. The Xtreme initially joined the NAL for the 2021 season back on July 22nd, 2020, but were terminated on October 30th due to the team failing to provide a required letter of credit.

The Xtreme/Fighters game was supposed to air on Stadium as the IFL Game of the Week. With the Xtreme's termination, the game will now showcase the Massachusetts Pirates at Tucson Sugar Skulls.

- DKH

[Yeseeka]

By all accounts, this really unevens the schedule. The Xtreme and Barnstormers were supposed to play three times (I imagine due to their proximity). This leaves the Barnstormers with just 11 games total this season. Some others will only have 12.

[DiamondThief]

Jun 14, 2021 21:33:21 GMT -8 Yeseeka said:

By all accounts, this really unevens the schedule. The Xtreme and Barnstormers were supposed to play three times (I imagine due to their proximity). This leaves the Barnstormers with just 11 games total this season. Some others will only have 12.

This is a good point. As of now, the only option would be in week 11 for the Barnstormers to play Green Bay or Sioux Falls as all three have byes that week and had games remaining against Louisville on their schedules. We'll see if the IFL adds those games.

[Monika]

Jun 15, 2021 10:10:00 GMT -8 DiamondThief said:

Jun 14, 2021 21:33:21 GMT -8 Yeseeka said:

By all accounts, this really unevens the schedule. The Xtreme and Barnstormers were supposed to play three times (I imagine due to their proximity). This leaves the Barnstormers with just 11 games total this season. Some others will only have 12.

This is a good point. As of now, the only option would be in week 11 for the Barnstormers to play Green Bay or Sioux Falls as all three have byes that week and had games remaining against Louisville on their schedules. We'll see if the IFL adds those games.

What are the odds that they not only add one game, but change the rest of the schedule, or at least parts of it.

[Nevadanut]

Jun 15, 2021 16:28:55 GMT -8 Monika said:

Jun 15, 2021 10:10:00 GMT -8 DiamondThief said:

This is a good point. As of now, the only option would be in week 11 for the Barnstormers to play Green Bay or Sioux Falls as all three have byes that week and had games remaining against Louisville on their schedules. We'll see if the IFL adds those games.

What are the odds that they not only add one game, but change the rest of the schedule, or at least parts of it.

I was wondering about that as well. I think that could happen. It would be interesting to see what they do over the next couple of weeks. I definitely think they should try to schedule a Barnstormers-Storm game. Since the Blizzard are already playing two more games this season, it would make sense for two of the "14 game" schedule teams who were to face the Xtreme should play. I'm not sure if anything else could be done to make the Barnstormers play more games.

[David]

There's a very distinct possibility that the games could be seen as forfeits. Officially their number of wins/games played will be their actual opponents, but could very well count as additional wins since Louisville was unable to play the game.

[Yeseeka]

Jun 15, 2021 18:48:51 GMT -8 David said:

There's a very distinct possibility that the games could be seen as forfeits. Officially their number of wins/games played will be their actual opponents, but could very well count as additional wins since Louisville was unable to play the game.

Sounds like a bit of a nightmare for us if they do that. This whole situation is ridiculous. I'm just not very happy at all with the IFL at this point.

[David]

Jun 15, 2021 21:38:22 GMT -8 Yeseeka said:

Jun 15, 2021 18:48:51 GMT -8 David said:

There's a very distinct possibility that the games could be seen as forfeits. Officially their number of wins/games played will be their actual opponents, but could very well count as additional wins since Louisville was unable to play the game.

Sounds like a bit of a nightmare for us if they do that. This whole situation is ridiculous. I'm just not very happy at all with the IFL at this point.

They took a gamble and they lost. The Xtreme's termination from the NAL should have served as a gigantic red flag, but the IFL took the chance. 

The Xtreme have responded with a statement on their website. Long story short, they're disappointed, they'll be discussing things with season ticket holders and sponsors, and they intend to play in 2022 in some league.