Past, Present, and Future

The MidStates Football League is one of the premiere adult amateur football leagues in the upper Midwest. The league is based in Chicago and currently consists of 10 teams from Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin. The league is owned by its member teams and is governed by an executive board, comprised of and elected by team representatives. Each board member is elected for a two-year term. Team representatives vote on issues and proposals that concern the league and its operation.

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The MSFL began in 1999 with five teams made up of the Chicago Mavericks, Chicago Panthers, Force of Illinois, Indianapolis Warriors, and Metro East Stallions. Three teams, past and present, have won national semi-pro football championships under the MSFL banner; the Detroit Seminoles in 2002, the Chicago Thunder in 2006 and 2008, and the Racine Raiders in 2012.

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The future of the league looks promising. Teams will come and go, but as the world of adult amateur football stabilizes after years of upshot expansions, the MidStates Football League will continue to grow and be a competitive league that will bring exciting minor league football to the region.

The MSFL was founded on the basic principles of promoting this level of football in a controlled and structured environment while still maintaining an approach by making participation as cost effective as possible, controlling travel through scheduling geographically by a team’s location, and creating a competitive balance through various levels of competition. This concept has proven to be the right one for the MSFL.

Over the past two decades, this approach has been the main reason for the league’s growth and success, along with all of the many outstanding and dedicated players, coaches, and administrators that tirelessly commit themselves every year to their organizations because of their love for the game.