The Fort Wayne Freedom played a mediocre first season in the CIFL. Four of the team's losses were by eight points or less. The team lost a tiebreaker with Muskegon for a playoff spot. The loss that probably did the team in was a 35-29 defeat at Miami Valley. Randy Hutchinson led the Freedom in 2009 to a 6-5 regular season. A game against Miami Valley was cancelled. Two of the losses came at the hands of Marion, one of which was in overtime. As the season wound down, the financial issues of the team came to the forefront. The team was unable to compete in the postseason without a cash infusion from the league. The team did not practice in the week prior to its scheduled game at Marion in the first round of the playoffs. However, Hutchinson led the team to a 25-7 third quarter lead. Marion rallied and took a three point lead with 4:25 to go in the game. A Nick Body touchdown catch with 41 seconds left would seal the upset for Fort Wayne, however, and the Freedom stunned the league with a 49-40 victory. In what was expected to be a blowout win for Chicago in the CIFL Championship game, the Freedom would again prove a challenge. Chicago led 31-28 at the half and 44-42 early in the fourth quarter, before finally pulling away for a 58-48 title victory. The team returned in 2010 as the FireHawks, finishing the regular season at 5-4 and making the four team playoffs. The Hawks threw for 18 touchdowns, while giving up 28. Kota Colors quarterbacked the team for the majority of the year, throwing for 14 scores and nine picks. Justin Wynn caught 25 passes, turning eight of them into touchdowns to lead the wide receivers. The team was shutout in Wisconsin in the second game of the year, 49-0, but shutout Chicago near the end of the year, 48-0. The team qualified for the playoffs and nearly pulled an upset of Wisconsin, losing 25-24. The team folded following the 2010 season.