Sioux Falls Storm

The Sioux Falls Storm are a dormant professional indoor football team based in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. The Storm joined the original Indoor Football League as an expansion team in 1999 as the Sioux Falls Cobras, and first took the field for the 2000 season. They currently participate in another iteration of the Indoor Football League; prior to that, the Storm were in United Indoor Football, where they won all four of the league's championship games. In the newer IFL, the Storm have won seven of the eleven championships in the league as of 2019.
They recently played their home games at Denny Sanford Premier Center up until 2024 due to a leasing dispute between the team and the arena. The lease was not renewed, and the Storm entered dormancy for the 2025 season. In mid-April 2014, the team announced that the 2014 season would be its last at the aging Sioux Falls Arena, originally constructed in 1961. In 2015, the Storm followed the Sioux Falls Stampede of the United States Hockey League to the newly constructed Denny Sanford Premier Center.

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History

1999–2000: Founding

1999: Original IFL expansion

The team was founded in 1999 as an expansion team in the original Indoor Football League as the Sioux Falls Cobras.

2000: First season

The Cobras would win their first game when they defeated the Sioux City Attack, 44–30. In their inaugural season, the Cobras finished with an 8–6 record and fourth in the Southern Division.

2001–2002: Aldrich era

2001: Name change and first playoff appearance

After one season in the IFL, they became members of the National Indoor Football League and changed their name to the Sioux Falls Storm.

2003–2023: Riggs era

2003–04: Final NIFL seasons

The Storm hosted the 2004 NIFL championship game against the Lexington Horsemen in the Storm Shelter in front of a sellout crowd. The Horsemen won the championship game, but the Storm defeated the Horsemen a year later in the second round of the 2005 UIF playoffs in Lexington.

2005–08: UIF United Bowl winning streak

The Sioux Falls Storm were charter members of United Indoor Football in 2005 and were the first UIF champions with a win over the Sioux City Bandits, 40–38 at Sioux City. Sioux Falls won its second consecutive UIF championship in 2006 at their home ground, the Arena, defeating the Lexington Horseman 72–64 on July 29, 2006. Quarterback Terrance Bryant was named United Bowl II MVP after throwing eight touchdowns in the match. Defensive end Nate Fluit recorded 16.5 sacks in 2005 and 15.5 in 2006.
Sioux Falls became one of the few teams in indoor football history to post a shutout, beating the Peoria Rough Riders 71–0 on June 3, 2006.
On Saturday, August 4, 2007, the Storm defeated the Lexington Horsemen for the second United Bowl in a row, 62 to 59. With 19 seconds left to go in the game Storm quarterback Terrance Bryant threw up a prayer, and though protested by the small crowd of Horsemen fans, it was ruled a touchdown pass. With three seconds left in the game, and with the help of a frantic fan going for the game ball, the Horsemen gained 15 yards for a chance to kick a field goal and tie the game, but the kick was missed by Horsemen kicker Collin Barber.
On March 29, 2008, the Storm lost to the Omaha Beef 34–18, ending their historic 40-game winning streak and giving them their first loss since July 15, 2005. They went on to win their fourth United Bowl later that season against the Bloomington Extreme.

2009–10: Early IFL success and insurance violation

On April 25, 2009, after switching to the Indoor Football League, the Storm were found in violation of the IFL's rule of not complying with regulations related to workers compensation coverage. As punishment, the team's first five wins of the 2009 season were forfeited; this resulted in a 6–8 season, the first losing season in team history. The other three losses all came to the Billings Outlaws. In 2010, the Storm rebounded to reach the United Bowl before losing 43–34 to the Outlaws season|Outlaws].

2011–16: IFL United Bowl winning streak

After a tornado dubbed the Father's Day Tornado hit Billings' Rimrock Auto Arena on June 20, 2010, causing major damage, the Outlaws franchise folded, and their star quarterback Chris Dixon signed with the Storm. Led by Dixon, Sioux Falls scored an astounding 1022 points on the 2011 regular season, with 70 or more points in 10 games and opening with a 105–71 win over the Kent Predators in Kent, Washington. Only twice did the Storm fall short of 50 points and both were against the Omaha Beef, who handed them a 41–37 loss in the regular season finale after Sioux Falls had started 13–0. The two teams met in the next game, which was the playoff opener. The Storm won it, 52–39, then beat Green Bay 52–12 to return to the United Bowl. Although they tied their lowest scoring game of the season, Sioux Falls rolled over the Tri-Cities Fever 37–10 to earn the league championship after a two-year hiatus and also win its first IFL title. Dixon and the Storm dominated again in 2012, this time with a perfect 14–0 record and 941 points in the regular season. On April 14, the Storm beat the Allen Wranglers, then featuring former NFL standout receiver Terrell Owens, 52–45 on the road in Allen, Texas. Dixon threw his 500th career touchdown pass, when he hit James Terry with a 42-yard pass during a May 19 game against the Blizzard. Sioux Falls defeated the Lehigh Valley Steelhawks 79–21 in the playoff opener, then again beat Green Bay in the semifinal and Tri-Cities in the United Bowl.
Dixon then left, attempting to make it with the Orlando Predators of the Arena Football League. Sioux Falls did not suffer greatly in 2013 as Storm legend Terrance Bryant returned to play quarterback. Following a 10–4 season, the Storm again prevailed in the playoffs and defeated the Nebraska Danger by a close 43–40 score for the title. Bryant then retired again, as on January 6, 2014, it was announced that Dixon would be returning to the Storm, citing his desire to graduate from Augustana College and be close to his family. Dixon did not disappoint, leading the Storm to their eighth title in 2014. The Storm again defeated Nebraska in the United Bowl by a 63–46 score. The Sioux Falls Storm completed its era at the Sioux Falls Arena with a 112–14 home record including 82-3 from 2006 to 2014.
In 2015, the Storm's first season at the Denny Sanford Premier Center was very successful, completing another undefeated season at 16-0 overall, and was capped off with winning their ninth league championship by a score of 62–27 over the Danger.
In 2016, the Storm continued their dominance. But lost their first game since the 2014 season as they lost at the Cedar Rapids Titans, 60–57. But despite that setback, they capped off another successful season with a win over the newly minted Spokane Empire, 55–34, to capture their tenth championship overall and their sixth IFL Championship and sixth in a row.

2017–19: Continued IFL United Bowl appearance streak

They returned to the championship game in 2017, but lost for the first time since the 2010 season to the Arizona Rattlers.
Prior to the 2018 season, the Storm announced they would join Champions Indoor Football on August 30, 2017, in order to have smaller travel budget and reignite rivalries with the nearby Sioux City Bandits and Omaha Beef. However, after the IFL's offseason meetings, the Storm re-joined the IFL on October 4.

2024–2025: Fields era

2025: Dormancy

On October 30, 2024, the Storm announced that they had been evicted from Denny Sanford Premier Center after its owners had refused to offer a lease renewal. In a statement to KELO-TV, a representative for the Center noted that the arena would have to increase the team's rent to cover its own expenses and that, because the team's attendance had been on a downward trend, it would not have been fiscally feasible for either party to continue. The Storm stated they had explored other arena options but chose to suspend operations for 2025 with the hope that it would afford the team more time to negotiate an arena deal for the team's planned return in 2026.

Head coaches

* Records do not reflect the five forfeits due to insurance violations in 2009.
Also see: List of National Football League head coaches with 200 wins

Records vs. opponent

* win forfeited to a loss for insurance violation

Opponent	Overall	Home	Away	Playoff
Allen Wranglers
Arizona Rattlers
Bay Area Panthers
Bemidji Axemen
Billings Outlaws
Billings Wolves
Bismarck Bucks
Bismarck Roughriders
Black Hills/Rapid City Red Dogs
Bloomington Extreme	*		*
Bricktown Brawlers
Cedar Rapids River Kings
Cedar Rapids Titans
Chicago Slaughter
Colorado Ice/Crush
Evansville BlueCats
Fairbanks Grizzlies
Fort Wayne Freedom
Frisco Fighters
Green Bay Blizzard
Iowa Barnstormers
Jacksonville Sharks
Kent Predators
La Crosse Spartans
Lehigh Valley Steelhawks
Lexington Horsemen
Lincoln Capitols
Louisiana Swashbucklers
Louisiana Bayou Beast
Louisville Xtreme
Massachusetts Pirates
Mississippi Fire Dogs
Muskegon Thunder
Nebraska Danger
Ohio Valley Greyhounds
Omaha Beef	*	*
Peoria Rough Riders
Quad City Steamwheelers
Reading Express
RiverCity Rage
Rochester Raiders	*		*
Rock River/Tenn. Valley Raptors
San Diego Strike Force
Sioux City Bandits	*		*
Spokane Empire
Spokane Shock
Texas Revolution
Tri-Cities Fever
Tri-City Diesel
Tucson Sugar Skulls
Tulsa Oilers
Utah Rattlers
Utah Warriors
Vegas Knight Hawks
Wenatchee Valley Venom
Wichita Falls Nighthawks
Wichita Wild	*		*
Wyoming Cavalry

Season schedules (2001–2018)

2001

2001 National Indoor Football League Season Summary

Date	Opponent	Result
April 7	@ Tri City Diesel	Won 42–41
April 14	Billings Outlaws	Won 52–26
April 21	@ Wyoming Cavalry	Won 45–34
April 28	@ Utah Rattlers	Won 78–75
May 5	@ Mississippi Firedogs	Lost 44–33
May 12	Sioux City Bandits	Lost 31–28
May 19	Rapid City Red Dogs	Lost 25–21
May 25	@ Billings Outlaws	Lost 44–39
June 2	@ Rapid City Red Dogs	Lost 44–42
June 9	Sioux City Bandits	Lost 27–24
June 16	Louisiana Bayou Beast	Won 58–21
June 23	@ Sioux City Bandits	Won 23–19
July 7	Wyoming Cavalry	Lost 48–47
July 14	Tri City Diesel	Won 32–30
July 20	@ Rapid City Red Dogs	Won 40–25
July 26	@ Wyoming Cavalry	Lost 37–31

2002

2002 National Indoor Football League Season Summary

Date	Opponent	Result
March 9	@ Bismarck Roughriders	Won 48–20
March 24	Billings Outlaws	Won 51–31
March 30	@ Rapid City Red Dogs	Won 52–40
April 7	Wyoming Cavalry	Won 46–3
April 14	@ Sioux City Bandits	Lost 40–21
April 20	Tri City Diesel	Win 48–34
April 27	@ Omaha Beef	Lost 43–33
May 11	Lincoln Capitols	Win 41–33
May 18	Bismarck Roughriders	Lost 65–58
May 24	@ Tri City Diesel	Lost 51–44
June 1	@ Billings Outlaws	Lost 59–30
June 15	Sioux City Bandits	Won 35–22
June 21	@ Wyoming Cavalry	Lost 53–46
June 29	Rapid City Red Dogs	Won 45–17

2003

2003 National Indoor Football League Season Summary

Date	Opponent	Result
March 23	@ Rapid City Red Dogs	Lost 30–26
March 27	@ Lincoln Capitols	Won 31–21
April 5	Wyoming Cavalry	Won 36–18
April 12	@ Billings Outlaws	Won 47–44
April 19	@ Bismarck Roughriders	Lost 55–48
April 26	@ Utah Warriors	Lost 59–35
May 3	@ Fort Wayne Freedom	Lost 55–19
May 10	Sioux City Bandits	Won 43–25
May 17	@ Wyoming Cavalry	Won 58–27
May 24	Billings Outlaws	Won 36–32
June 7	Utah Warriors	Won 47–34
June 14	Fort Wayne Freedom	Won 52–49
June 28	Rapid City Red Dogs	Won 31–23
July 5	Bismarck Roughriders	Won 44–27
July 12	@ Utah Warriors	Lost 68–55

2004

2004 National Indoor Football League Season Summary

Date	Opponent	Result
March 13	@ Omaha Beef	Lost 41–14
March 22	@ Utah Warriors	Lost 51–49
March 26	@ Sioux City Bandits	Won 66–43
April 3	Wyoming Cavalry	Won 47–13
April 16	@ Lincoln Capitols	Won 34–28
May 1	Black Hills Red Dogs	Won 47–28
May 8	@ Wyoming Cavalry	Won 57–54
May 15	Lincoln Capitols	Won 68–9
May 22	Billings Outlaws	Won 30–21
May 29	Utah Warriors	Won 62–37
June 5	@ Black Hills Red Dogs	Won 62–40
June 12	Billings Outlaws	Lost 44–34
June 19	Omaha Beef	Won 79–26
June 26	Sioux City Bandits	Won 36–32
July 17	Utah Warriors	Won 65–41
July 25	Billings Outlaws	Won 44–13
August 7	Lexington Horsemen	Lost 59–38

2005

2005 United Indoor Football Season Summary

Date	Opponent	Result
March 19	@ Omaha Beef	Lost 55–31
March 26	@ Black Hills Red Dogs	Won 60–31
April 9	Lexington Horsemen	Won 52–24
April 16	Sioux City Bandits	Lost 50–43
April 23	@ Omaha Beef	Won 47–30
April 30	Fort Wayne Freedom	Lost 34–31
May 7	Peoria Rough Riders	Won 56–21
May 15	@ Black Hills Red Dogs	Won 58–30
May 21	Evansville Bluecats	Won 49–42
May 28	Black Hills Red Dogs	Won 55–15
June 11	@ Lexington Horsemen	Lost 61–43
June 18	@ Tennessee Valley Raptors	Lost 49–39
June 25	Sioux City Bandits	Lost 38–34
July 2	Omaha Beef	Lost 49–44
July 9	Black Hills Red Dogs	Won 65–14
July 15	@ Sioux City Bandits	Lost 54–48
July 30	@ Omaha Beef	Won 51–41
August 6	@ Lexington Horsemen	Won 62–58
August 14	@ Sioux City Bandits	Won 40–38

2006

2006 United Indoor Football Season Summary

Date	Opponent	Result
March 24	@ Omaha Beef	Won 51–29
April 1	@ Rock River Raptors	Won 46–20
April 8	Sioux City Bandits	Won 28–6
April 15	Rock River Raptors	Won 48–34
April 22	@ Fort Wayne Freedom	Won 47–44
April 29	@ Ohio Valley Greyhounds	Won 51–24
May 6	Fort Wayne Freedom	Won 44–25
May 13	Omaha Beef	Won 34–24
May 20	@ Sioux City Bandits	Won 51–34
June 2	@ Omaha Beef	Won 40–38
June 10	Peoria Rough Riders	Won 71–0
June 17	Sioux City Bandits	Won 25–17
June 24	@ Sioux City Bandits	Won 49–28
July 1	Bloomington Extreme	Won 66–35
July 8	Evansville Bluecats	Won 33–26
July 23	Evansville Bluecats	Won 32–26
July 29	Lexington Horsemen	Won 72–64

2007

2007 United Indoor Football Season Summary

Date	Opponent	Result
March 24	@ Rock River Raptors	Won 44–34
March 31	@ Billings Outlaws	Won 52–49 OT
April 6	@ Sioux City Bandits	Won 44–29
April 14	@ Omaha Beef	Won 61–17
April 21	Billings Outlaws	Won 51–18
May 5	@ Colorado Ice	Won 49–20
May 12	Sioux City Bandits	Won 56–31
May 19	Omaha Beef	Won 33–19
Jun 2	@ Colorado Ice	Won 51–17
June 9	Sioux City Bandits	Won 50–25
June 16	Ohio Valley Greyhounds	Won 56–20
June 23	@ Lexington Horsemen	Won 76–45
June 30	Colorado Ice	Won 48–3
July 7	Rock River Raptors	Won 34–30
July 14	Billings Outlaws	Won 34–9
July 21	Colorado Ice	Won 44–16
July 29	Billings Outlaws	Won 45–23
August 4	Lexington Horsemen	Won 62–59

2008

2008 United Indoor Football Season Summary

Date	Opponent	Result
March 8	@ Bloomington Extreme	Won 50–37
March 17	Colorado Ice	Won 48–24
March 29	@ Omaha Beef	Lost 34–18
April 5	@ Billings Outlaws	Lost 38–31
April 12	Sioux City Bandits	Won 45–34
April 19	Billings Outlaws	Won 54–43
April 26	@ RiverCity Rage	Won 41–32
May 3	Sioux City Bandits	Won 51–46
May 10	RiverCity Rage	Won 60–13
May 17	Wichita Wild	Won 57–14
May 24	@ Billings Outlaws	Won 62–52
May 31	@ Sioux City Bandits	Won 41–34
June 6	@ Colorado Ice	Lost 29–24
June 14	Bloomington Extreme	Won 49–41
June 28	Billings Outlaws	Won 46–44
July 12	Bloomington Extreme	Won 40–35
August 2	Louisiana Swashbucklers	Won 54–42

2009

2009 Indoor Football League Season Summary

Date	Opponent	Result
March 8	@ Bloomington Extreme	Won 50–47 *
March 19	@ Rochester Raiders	Won 31–18 *
March 29	Omaha Beef	Won 67–49 *
April 4	@ Wichita Wild	Won 45–41 *
April 11	@ Sioux City Bandits	Won 46–13 *
April 18	Sioux City Bandits	Won 53–32
April 25	@ Billings Outlaws	Lost 42–41
May 9	Muskegon Thunder	Won 74–13
May 16	Wichita Wild	Won 49–21
May 23	@ Muskegon Thunder	Won 87–26
June 6	@ Billings Outlaws	Lost 70–35
June 13	Billings Outlaws	Lost 34–22
June 20	Fairbanks Grizzlies	Won 58–18
July 11	Sioux City Bandits	Won 54–31

Forfeited due to insurance violation

2010–2018

Team player records

Single season

As of the end of the 2022 season

Pass Attempts: Ryan Aulenbacher, 401
Completions: Chris Dixon, 268
Passing Yards: Chris Dixon, 3,321
Passing Touchdowns: Chris Dixon, 74
Carries: Sean Treasure, 201
Rushing Yards: Sean Treasure, 812
Rushing Touchdowns: Marques Smith, 32
Receptions: James Terry, 94
Receiving Yards: Carl Sims, 1,108
Receiving Touchdowns: Clinton Solomon, 27
Kick Return Yards: James Jones, 1,350
Kick Return Touchdowns: Korey Williams, 5
Missed Field Goal Return Yards: Shannon Poppinga, 237
Missed Field Goal Return Touchdowns: Shannon Poppinga, 2
Field Goal Percentage : Miles Bergner, 64.7%
PAT Percentage : Parker Douglass, 95.7%
Total Yards: James Jones, 2,198
Total Touchdowns: Korey Williams, 34
Field Goals: Parker Douglass, 27
PATs: Parker Douglass, 134
Total Points: Korey Williams, 204
Tackles: Tyler Knight, 140.5
Tackles for Loss: Brandon Peguese, 25.5
Sacks: Nate Fluit, 18.0
Interceptions: Shannon Poppinga, 10
Pass Breakups: Bobby Perkins, 20
Blocked Kicks: Nate Fluit, 10

Career records

As of the end of the 2024 season and does not include the postseason

Pass Attempts: Terrance Bryant, 2,268
Completions: Terrance Bryant, 1,491
Passing Yards: Terrance Bryant, 15,011
Passing Touchdowns: Lorenzo Brown, 284
Carries: Lorenzo Brown, 1,090
Rushing Yards: Lorenzo Brown, 4,288
Rushing Touchdowns: Lorenzo Brown, 163
Receptions: James Terry, 607
Reception Yards: James Terry, 6,601
Reception Touchdowns: James Terry, 145
Total Yards: James Terry, 8,417
Field Goals: Adam Hicks, 131
FG % : Miles Bergner, 66.0%
PATs: Parker Douglass, 584
PAT % : Sawyer Petre, 90.1%
Kick Return Yards: James Jones, 2,469
Kick Return Touchdowns: Korey Williams, 9
Missed Field Goal Return Yards: Shannon Poppinga, 416
Missed Field Goal Return Touchdowns: Shannon Poppinga, 3
Total Touchdowns: Lorenzo Brown, 182
Total Points: Lorenzo Brown, 1,096
Tackles: Mark Blackburn, 715.5
Tackles for Loss: Rachman Crable, 73.0
Sacks: Cory Johnsen, 64.5
Interceptions: Shannon Poppinga, 46
Interception Touchdowns: Shannon Poppinga, 6
Pass Breakups: Shannon Poppinga, 109
Forced Fumbles: Rachman Crable/Cory Johnsen/Tyler Knight, 10
Blocked Kicks: Tyler Knight, 24