NCFL
Current season, competition or edition: 1994 NCFL season | |
| Formerly | North American Football Conference (1920) |
|---|---|
| Sport | Central Football |
| Founded | September 17, 1920 Canton, Ohio, U.S. |
| Inaugural season | 1920 |
| Commissioner | Alexander Sims |
| No. of teams | 42 |
| Country | United States |
| Headquarters | 345 Park Avenue New York, NY 10154 U.S. |
| Most recent champion(s) | New York Dragons (9 titles. 5th Orange Cup) |
| Most titles | Green Bay Packers (13 titles) |
The National Central Football League (NCFL) is a professional Central Football league that consists of 42 teams, divided equally between the North American Football Association (NAFA) and the National Football Association (NFA), and the International Football Association (IFA). The NCFL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and the highest professional level of Central football in the world.
Each NCFL season begins with a three-week preseason in August, followed by the 19-week regular season]] which runs from early September to early January, with each team playing 18 games and having one bye week. Following the conclusion of the regular season, four teams from each conference (three division winners and one wild card team) advance to the playoffs, a single-elimination tournament that culminates in the Orange Cup, which is contested in February and is played between the two best Association teams.
History
Teams
The NCFL consists of 36 clubs divided into three conferences of 12 teams each. Each association is divided into three divisions of four clubs each. During the regular season, each team is allowed a maximum of 60 players on its roster; only 53 of these may be active (eligible to play) on game days.
Every NCFL team is based in the contiguous United States. Although pre-season games have been played abroad, mostly in the Central American Federation, Yucatan, and the Dominican Republic.
The 36 teams are organized into nine geographic divisions of four teams each. These divisions are further organized into three associations, the North American Football Association and the National Football Association. The three-conference structure has its origins in a time when major American professional football was organized into three independent leagues, the National Central Football League and its younger rival, the National Football League, with the International Football League appearing in 1974. The NCFL and the NFL merged in 1970, adopting the older league's name and reorganizing slightly to ensure the same number of teams in both conferences. The same would occur between the NCFL and the IFL in 1974.
Key:
- *
- Club has relocated at some point in its existence
- †
- Club was a founding member of the NCFL
| Conference | Division |
Club | City | Stadium |
Capacity | First season |
Head coach |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| North American Football Association (NAFA) | NAFA North | Boston Meerkats | Boston | Eastern Health Stadium | 74,312 | 1923 (NCFL) | Samuel Reynolds III |
| New York Dragons† | New York City | Downtown Municipal Stadium | 56,427 | 1920 (NCFL) | Daniel Bryant | ||
| Philadelphia Hammers*† | Philadelphia | Industrial Workhorse Stadium | 67,537 | 1920 (NCFL) | Christopher Fisher Jr. | ||
| Toronto Lakers† | Toronto | Ontario Energy Stadium | 71,093 | 1920 (NCFL) | Ethan Mitchell | ||
| NAFA Central | Cincinnati Bears | Cincinnati | New Red Stadium | 67,342 | 1960 (National Football League) 1970 (NCFL) |
Caleb Parker Sr. | |
| Detroit Tigers | Detroit | Grand Auto Field | 80,124 | 1947 (NCFL) | Noah Turner | ||
| Indianapolis Phantoms | Indianapolis | Francis Oil Field | 55,624 | 1968 (NCFL) | Liam Morgan | ||
| Pittsburgh Falcons | Pittsburgh | New Steel Stadium | 73,939 | 1932 (National Football Association) 1970 (NCFL) |
Mason Simmons | ||
| NAFA South | Houston Spiders* | Houston | NCE Stadium | 67,526 | 1960 (National Football League) 1970 (NCFL) |
Tyler Peterson | |
| Mexico City Aztecs | Mexico City | Aztec Stadium | 88,000 | 1957 (NCFL) | Christopher Williams | ||
| New Orleans Knights | New Orleans | Gulf Field | 69,317 | 1957 (NCFL) | Michael Johnson | ||
| Texas Horses | Dallas | Rodeo Dome | 77,000 | 1947 (NCFL) | Nicholas Evans Sr. | ||
| National Football Association (NFA) | NFA North | Atlanta Red Pandas* | Atlanta | Bank of Atlanta Stadium | 68,000 | 1961 (National Football League) 1970 (NCFL) |
Steven Lopez |
| Baltimore Ramming Goats | Baltimore | Royal Bahamas Cruise Stadium | 81,315 | 1960 (National Football Association) 1970 (NCFL) |
Matthew Jenkins | ||
| New York Eagles | New York City | Better Bank of America Stadium | 88,401 | 1961 (National Football League) 1970 (NCFL) |
Benjamin Davis | ||
| Quebec Lumières* | Montreal | Olympic Stadium | 77,525 | 1960 (National Football League) 1970 (NCFL) |
Anthony Duclair | ||
| NFA Central | Chicago Giants | Chicago | Bank of Illinois Field | 78,136 | 1928 (NCFL) | Jackson Hayes | |
| Kansas City Wheat Kings | Kansas City | Spearhead Stadium | 68,000 | 1965 (National Football Association) 1970 (NCFL) |
Tony Gonzalez | ||
| St. Louis Warriors* | St. Louis | Alisa's Stadium | 65,621 | 1947 (NCFL) | Ryan Thompson | ||
| Tennessee Elephants* | Nashville | Clarity Stadium | 74,525 | 1929 (NCFL) | Nathan Carter | ||
| NFA West | Los Angeles Crimsons | Los Angeles | Marsk Field | 71,000 | 1950 (NCFL) | Jesus Orellana | |
| San Diego White Sharks | San Diego | Mulan Tech. Dome | 78,000 | 1985 (NCFL) | James Martinez | ||
| San Francisco Sharks* | San Francisco | Bay Technology Field | 79,000 | 1950 (NCFL) | Matthew Brown | ||
| Washington Wolverines | Seattle | WBN Stadium | 73,000 | 1965 (NCFL) | Daniel Smith | ||
| International Football Association (IFA) | IFA East | Carolina Jellyfishes* | Raleigh | Windblown Stadium | 64,301 | 1968 (International Football Association) 1974 (NCFL) |
Mark Vaughn |
| Florida Crocodiles | Miami | Strong Field | 69,050 | 1960 (National Football Association) 1970 (NCFL) |
Brandon Myers | ||
| Havana Sugarcanes | Havana | Sugars of Cuba Stadium | 73,166 | 1966 (International Football Association) 1974 (NCFL) |
Pedro Hernandez | ||
| Tampa Bay Octopuses | Tampa Bay | Florida Insurance Stadium | 67,636 | 1965 (NCFL) | Alexis Perez | ||
| IFA South | Arizona Armadillos | Phoenix | Shell Stadium | 70,316 | 1966 (International Football Association) 1974 (NCFL) |
Jerry Milledge | |
| Guadalajara Scorpions | Guadalajara | Petroleum of Potosi Stadium | 74,536 | 1966 (International Football Association) 1974 (NCFL) |
Mark Rowand | ||
| Mexico City Rattlesnakes | Mexico City | Pledge to Climate Stadium | 79,000 | 1967 (International Football Association) 1974 (NCFL) |
Miguel Angel Leon | ||
| Monterey Zebras | Monterey | Modelo Nacional Stadium | 67,837 | 1967 (International Football Association) 1974 (NCFL) |
Luis Diaz | ||
| IFA West | Alberta Raiders | Calgary | Super Saddle Stadium | 78,538 | 1968 (National Football league) 1970 (NCFL) |
Eric Cameron | |
| Denver Dynamo | Denver | COR Stadium | 71,903 | 1965 (National Football League) 1970 (NCFL) |
Shawn Lopez | ||
| Minnesota Valkyries | Minneapolis | Valhalla Stadium | 67,000 | 1960 (National Football League) 1970 (NCFL) |
Gregg Duncan | ||
| Utah Raptors | Salt Lake City | Airways of America Stadium | 69,000 | 1985 (NCFL) | Alejandro Pacheco |