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 (UIF), 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 (also known as the Storm Shelter), 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.
History 1999–2000: Founding 1999: Original IFL expansion The team was founded in 1999 as an expansion team in the original Indoor Football League (IFL) 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 (NIFL) and changed their name to the Sioux Falls Storm.
2002: Aldrich's final season
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 (UIF) 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.
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 (this time winning 59–32) 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 (CIF) 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.
2020–23: Franchise struggles
2024–2025: Fields era 2024: Franchise's worst season
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.
Players
Retired numbers Sioux Falls Storm retired numbersN°PlayerPositionSeasonsRef. 5 Terrance Bryant QB 2005–2010, 2013 7 Casey Veenhof WR/QB 2003–2007 10 Shannon Poppinga S 2001–2009 14 Mark Blackburn LB/S 2003–2010 17 Bobby Perkins CB 2001–2004 21 Corey Walker WR 2001–2006 25 Adam Hicks K 2003–2008 46 Donnie Hilsenroth LB 2001–2003 93 Nate Fluit DE 2003–2007 21Andre FieldsDB2003-200996Cory JohnsenNT2006-2015
Awards and honors Sioux Falls Storm Awards and Honors 2002 Western division defensive mvp – Donnie Hilsenroth (LB)
2004 Pacific conference coach of the year – Kurtiss Riggs Pacific conference general manager of the year – Colin Steen South Dakota's Sportswriters Association "Top Independent Team"
2005 United bowl i mvp – Adam Hicks (K) First Team All-UIF Mark Blackburn (LB) Shannon Poppinga (S) Andre Fields (CB) James Jones (KR) Second Team All-UIF Adam Hicks (K) Radio broadcaster of the year – Rich Roste Best Game Day Presentation Best mascot – Blizzard Executive of the year – Colin Steen
2006 UIF mvp – Terrance Bryant (QB) UIF defensive player of the year – Nate Fluit (DL) UIF most improved – Marques Smith (RB) UIF coach of the year – Kurtiss Riggs United bowl ii mvp – Terrance Bryant (QB) First Team All-UIF John Semchenko (OL) Nate Fluit (DL) Mark Blackburn (LB) Second Team All-UIF Terrance Bryant (QB) Marques Smith (RB) Nate Scheuer (OL) Austin Flyger (DL) Best mascot – Blizzard Best Game Day Operation UIF executive of the year – Colin Steen UIF dance team of the year – Lightning Girls South Dakota's Sportswriters Association "Top Independent Team"
2007 United bowl iii mvp – Casey Veenhof (WR) UIF coach of the year – Kurtiss Riggs UIF Western Conference All-Star Terrance Bryant (QB) Marques Smith (RB) Leon Hall Jr. (WR) Paul Keizer (OL) Nate Fluit (DL) Leif Murphy (DL) Mark Blackburn (LB) Justin Landis (S) UIF dance team of the year – Lightning Girls UIF's Best Public Address Announcer – JJ Hinsch UIF's Volunteers of the Year – Tom and Jean Slattery
2008 United bowl iv mvp – Mark Blackburn (LB) Western Conference All-Star Sean Treasure (RB) James Terry (WR) Paul Keizer (OL) Cory Johnsen (DL) Mark Blackburn (LB) Shannon Poppinga (S) Bryan Alberty (KR)
2009 First Team All-IFL Bruce McCaleb (OL) Second Team All-IFL Sean Treasure (RB) Cory Johnsen (DL)
2010 Second Team All-IFL James Terry (WR) Zac Tubbs (OL)
2011 IFL Best Game Operations IFL mvp – Chris Dixon (QB) IFL offensive player of the year – Chris Dixon (QB) First Team All-IFL Chris Dixon (QB) James Terry (WR) Myniya Smith (OL) Charlie Sanders (C) Second Team All-IFL James Jones (RB) Tommy Chavis (DL) Second Team Ironman (Excelled on Offense and Defense) Stewart Franks (S/WR) 2011 United Bowl MVP – Brian McIntire (LB)
2012 First Team All-IFL Chris Dixon (QB) Carl Sims (WR) Myniya Smith (OL) Charlie Sanders (C) Second Team All-IFL Clinton Solomon (WR) DeJuan Fulghum (LB) IFL offensive player of the year – Chris Dixon (QB) IFL mvp – Chris Dixon (QB) 2012 United Bowl MVP – Jeremiah Price (DE)
2013 First Team All-IFL Myniya Smith (OL) Charlie Sanders (C) Rachman Crable (DL) Tyler Knight (LB) Parker Douglass (K) Second Team All-IFL Jeremiah Price (DL) Roy Polite (CB) IFL defensive player of the year – Tyler Knight (LB) 2013 United Bowl MVP – Terrance Bryant (QB) IFL's Top 10 Players of the 2013 Season #2 Tyler Knight (LB) #4 Sioux Falls Storm Offensive Line Charlie Sanders (C) Myniya Smith (OL) Gerald Davis (OL)
2014 IFL Hall of Fame Inductee Terrance Bryant (QB) (2005–10, 2013) Rich Roste (Radio Voice) (2000–present) First Team All-IFL Myniya Smith (OL) Charlie Sanders (C) Tyler Knight (LB) Tory Harrison (KR) Second Team All-IFL