Summary
The Chicago Eagles were a professional indoor football team and a member of Champions Indoor Football (CIF) that played during the 2016 season. Based in Chicago, Illinois, the Eagles played their home games at the UIC Pavilion.[1] The team was considered on hiatus for the 2017 season, but did not return.
 | |
| Founded | 2014 |
|---|---|
| Folded | 2016 |
| League | CIF (2016) |
| Division | Northern (2016) |
| Team history | Gary Dawgs (2014–2015) Illiana Eagles (2015) Chicago Eagles (2015–2016) |
| Based in | Chicago, Illinois |
| Arena | UIC Pavilion |
| Colors | Red, Blue, White |
| Owner | Brian Brundage |
| Head coach | Mel Hay |
| General manager | Alex Hafer |
| Championships | 0 |
| Division titles | 0 |
| Playoff berths | 0 |
| Website | chicagoeagles |
History edit
The team was founded in 2014 as the Gary Dawgs, an expansion franchise of the CIF for the 2015 season planned for Gary, Indiana.[2] On October 14, 2014, the team announced that it would delay its launch until the 2016 CIF season after co-owner Mike Dortch left the ownership group to pursue other opportunities.[3][4] Rebranded the Illiana Eagles ("Illiana", a portmanteau of Illinois and Indiana, is the geographical region around the eastern edge of Illinois and the western edge of Indiana) in November 2014, the franchise was accepted into the CIF on February 19, 2015.[5] On August 19, 2015, the Bloomington Edge from Bloomington, Illinois joined the CIF and are expected to form a strong inter-state rivalry with the Eagles.
On December 16, the Eagles quietly changed their name to the Chicago Eagles.
After only one season, the team suspended operations for the 2017 season with hopes to return for the 2018 season,[6] but were never mentioned by the league afterward.
Season-by-season results edit
| League Champions | Conference Champions | Division Champions | Wild Card Berth | League Leader |
| Season | Team | League | Conference | Division | Regular season | Postseason results | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Finish | Wins | Losses | Ties | ||||||||
| 2016 | 2016 | CIF | Northern | 5th | 3 | 9 | 0 | ||||
| Totals | 3 | 9 | 0 | All-time regular season record (2016) | |||||||
| 0 | 0 | — | All-time postseason record (2016) | ||||||||
| 3 | 9 | 0 | All-time regular season and postseason record (2016) | ||||||||
References edit
- ^ "UIC Pavilion". Illiana Eagles. Archived from the original on May 25, 2015. Retrieved May 25, 2015.
- ^ Hamnik, Al (October 2, 2014). "Dawgs hoping to take a bite out of local sports revenue". The Times of Northwest Indiana. Munster, IN: Lee Enterprises. Retrieved October 8, 2014.
- ^ Burbridge, John (January 23, 2015). "Illiana Eagles set indoor football flight plan for the CIF 2016 season". The Times of Northwest Indiana. Munster, IN: Lee Enterprises. Retrieved February 26, 2015.
- ^ Hamnik, Al (October 14, 2014). "Northwest Indiana's CIFL Dawgs to sit out the 2015 season". The Times of Northwest Indiana. Munster, IN: Lee Enterprises. Retrieved November 26, 2014.
- ^ "Franchise officially accepted". Illiana Eagles. February 19, 2015. Retrieved February 26, 2015 – via Twitter.
- ^ "Chicago Eagles suspend operations for the 2017 Season". Chicago Eagles. November 18, 2016. Archived from the original on November 19, 2016.
External links edit
- Chicago Eagles official website