The Sioux Falls Storm joined the IFL after winning all of the UIF championships. The greatest franchise in indoor football was headed in the same direction in 2009 until it was discovered that team ownership had not signed on to a league-mandated worker's compensation plan. The team was still paying worker's comp, but not through the league. The league office handed down an unprecedented and highly controversial ruling: the Storm would forfeit their first five wins of the year. The team's roster was reduced by one player and the first home playoff chance for the team would instead be played on the road. The team was still alive to make the playoffs, but actually lost three games, all to Chris Dixon and the Billings Outlaws, including a 70-35 home loss, which ended a winning streak that stood for several years. Despite rumors of the team not staying current on state taxes and other financial woes, Terrance Bryant threw 51 touchdowns to just 12 picks and James Terry and Tayon McGee topped the receiving statistics combining for 27 scores. Sean Treasure ran for 25 scores and 812 yards. The losses to Billings would ultimately cost the team a playoff berth and the 11-3 (6-8) Storm would stay home in the postseason. The team's 2010 season was a return to glory, with an 11-3 regular season record. The usual stars returned, with Terrance Bryant throwing for 41 touchdowns and five interceptions. As usual, James Terry and Dusty Hovorka were the favorite receivers, combining for 29 scores. Sean Treasure scored 13 times on the ground. The defense amassed 20 interceptions and forced six fumbles, holding teams to 37 points per game. The regular season featured only the second overtime game in IFL history, with a 57-56 victory over Omaha at home. The Storm were the second seed in the United Conference and hosted Omaha in the first round. The Beef were dispatched 42-23 after the Storm led 7-6 at halftime. Sioux Falls then met the upset minded Chicago Slaughter, defeating them 47-33. The United Conference title game came against Wichita and Sioux Falls again rumbled to a 52-34 victory, setting up an incredible United Bowl matchup. The game everyone wanted was Sioux Falls and Billings, and they got it. Billings hosted at their SportsPlex Arena, which became their primary home after the destruction of MetraPark. The game was back and forth throughout, with the Outlaws coming out ahead, 43-34. Behind Chris Dixon, James Jones, James Terry, and other returning starters, the Storm began the 2011 season with work to finish from the previous year. Chris Dixon passed for 2,856 yards, 74 touchdowns, and just ten interceptions in the team's 13-1 regular season. The seasn opener at Kent was a 101-75 Storm victory, which would be the first of ten games in which Sioux Falls scored 70 points or more. In just nine of their 17 games, the Storm defense gave up 30 points or more. James Terry was Dixon's favorite target, catching 74 balls for 864 yards and 22 scores. Dixon also led the team's rush attack, scoring 21 times, adding to James Jones' 20 touchdowns. Parker Douglass converted on 134 of 140 extra point tries in the regular season. The Storm's lone loss came on an Omaha kickoff return for touchdown as time expired at the Slaughterhouse. The two teams would meet two weeks later in the playoffs in Sioux Falls, this time with the Storm winning 52-39. The Storm then defeated Green Bay 52-12. Through the playoffs, the Storm allowed just 23 second half points. This included a second half shutout of Tri-Cities in a 37-10 United Bowl victory. The Storm returned with the usual suspects in 2012. Repeat league MVP Chris Dixon threw for 3,321 yards, 67 touchdowns and seven picks during the regular season. Dixon also rushed for 711 yards and 30 scores. Carl Sims led all receivers with 1,108 yards and 20 scores, while Clinton Solomon brought in 27 touchdowns. Stewart Franks led the defense with six picks. In the postseason, Dixon added 17 passing touchdowns to just one pick, rushing for three scores. The team was challenged twice during the regular season: once in a 52-45 come from behind victory at Allen and in a 73-72 overtime victory at Tri-Cities. The Tri-Cities game lives in infamy, as Sioux Falls was penalized 30 times for 170 yards. Tri-Cities kicker Michael Taylor missed six extra points. The Storm were unbeaten in the regular season and faced Lehigh Valley in the first round of the playoffs, the two franchises first meeting. Sioux Falls dismantled the Steelhawks, who took the place of the Omaha Beef after a self-imposed postseason ban. Sioux Falls would then host Green Bay in an anticipated rematch with the Blizzard. The Storm rolled over the Blizzard, 61-42 to advance to another United Bowl. For the second straight year, they would host Tri-Cities. The Fever took an early 20-10 lead, but the Storm would outscore Tri-Cities 37-12 in the second half to run away with a 59-32 victory for Chris Doxn's fifth title. Chris Dixon got his chance to move up to the AFL for the 2013 season, Terrance Bryant was again at the helm of the historic franchise. He threw for 1,503 yards, 21 scores and ten interceptions. Newcomers Dwight Dasher and Martevious Young also took their turn at quarterback, combining for 735 yards, 11 scores and seven picks. Mike Tatum and James Terry were again the leading receivers. Terry caught 66 passes for 688 yards and seven scores, while Tatum added 674 yards and 12 scores on 64 catches. Blake Wilson caught seven touchdowns on just 18 balls. Rachman Crable and Jeremiah Price combined for 16.5 sacks on the regular season. The Storm went 10-4 in the 2013 campaign, losing four road games. Most notably was a 52-18 drubbing by the Cedar Rapids Titans. In games decided by nine points or less, the Storm went 3-3, including a 1-1 record against the Nebraska Danger. The Storm locked up a top playoff seed in the final week of the season with a road win at Texas, 52-38. The Titans would return to town, this time being defeated by a solid 44-20 count. Sioux Falls would advance to the United Bowl for the seventh time and face Nebraska. The Danger kept things close, as the Storm turned the ball over three times. At halftime, the Storm led 24-23. Late in the game, with the Danger leading 40-36, the Storm appeared to fumble away a kickoff return, but officials ruled there was simultaneous possession, giving the Storm the ball back. One play later, Clinton Solomon caught a 39 yard touchdown pass from Bryant. The Danger opted for a 45 yard field goal with twenty-five seconds left in regulation, rather than trying to convert a 4th & 5 play. The kick went wide right, and the Storm won their seventh title in nine years, 43-40. Chris Dixon and the usual suspects returned for 2014. This time, Dixon threw for 2,237 yards, 50 touchdowns and just six interceptions. James Terry and Judd Harold both brought in 14 scores. Dixon was sacked just ten times on the season. A pick six by Tlyer Knight with seven seconds left kept Sioux Falls in the win column against Tri-Cities. The Storm did lose the final game of the season to Cedar Rapids, but rested many players. In the first round of the playoffs, the Storm quickly avenged the loss with a 73-36 drubbing of the Titans. Sioux Falls advanced to a rematch of the last United Bowl with Nebraska and easily handled the Danger 63-46 for a fourth consecutive title. 2015 marked the first year without Chris Dixon at the helm in many years. Dixon moved on to coach the Billings Wolves. The on-field leadership was left to other longtime veterans like James Terry. Quarterbacking the team were Lorenzo Brown and Martevion Young. They combined to pass for over 2,100 yards, 50 scores, and just nine picks. Judd Harold led all receivers with 22 touchdowns and 818 yards. Terry and Mike Tatum were top options, bringing in nine and ten touchdowns respectively. The Storm defense picked 23 passes. In another undefeated season, Sioux Falls converted all but two fourth downs and held opponents to just 34 points per game. The Storm routed most opponents and cruised into the playoffs as the top seed. In the United Bowl, the Storm found themselves trailing 17-14 and only leading 24-17 at halftime against the Nebraska Danger. However, a 38-10 second half provided a fifth consecutive title victory for the Storm. Prior to the offseason, the league announced roster rule changes designed to limit the number of indoor football veterans that could be on a roster. The new limit was seven, designed to hamper the dominant franchise who had 14 veterans play in 2015. The revamped Storm were just as successfull in 2017, however, finally were unseated as the kings of indoor football. Lorenzo Brown quarterbacked the team for the entire campaign, passing for 1,820 yards, 34 touchdowns and eight interceptions. He ran for 700 yards and 24 touchdowns, as well. Mike Tatum and Korey Williams led all wide receivers with nine scores a piece. Defensively, the Storm picked 27 balls, with Rashard Smith grabbing seven and Elijah Fields and Matt Hermanson getting five each. Brown was sacked just twelve times all season. On the scoreboard, margins of victory were much more modest in 2017 and a home win streak dating back to 2010 was finally snapped when the Wichita Falls Nighthawks came to town and beat Sioux Falls 36-21. Wichita Falls also beat Sioux Falls in Texas, 44-36. Wichita Falls, however, did not make the playoffs in a tiebreaker with Iowa, due to a late season loss. Sioux Falls romped Iowa 66-32 and would again host the United Bowl, this time against former AFL standouts in the Arizona Rattlers. Arizona took the Storm to task early, building a 34-7 halftime lead, leaving the arena hushed. The Storm came back, cutting the lead to 34-28, but would ultimately fall 50-41, missing on their first onside kick of the season late and failing on a two point conversion that they ultimately got three tries at due to penalties. Sioux Falls had defeated Arizona in week one of the regular season, but Arizona caught fire late after starting 4-4, winning ten in a row and their first IFL title. Lorenzo Brown quarterbacked the team into 2018, passing for 2,203 yards, 38 touchdowns and ten picks. Mike Tatum and Harold Judd led all receivers, combining for 1,235 yards and 25 scores. Brown led all rushers with 24 scores and 607 yards. The Storm were, as always, a contender. However, they fell at home to both Arizona and Iowa. In the game against the Rattlers, Sioux Falls trailed 41-17 late in the third quarter before putting on an impressive comeback attempt, scoring 23 of the last 30 points and falling 48-40. The Storm nearly fell to Green Bay in the home finale, finally coming out victors in a triple overtime affair, 69-61. The Storm lost out in a three-way tie and were the third seed in the postseason, first traveling to Arizona. In front of a reported crowd of 16,479, Sioux Falls squeaked out a 69-68 overtime victory. With seconds left in regulation, Arizona kicker Sawyer Petre missed a 24 yard field goal. He actually missed the first kick, but Sioux Falls had called timeout to freeze him. Arizona got the ball first in overtime and scored, but the extra point was blocked, in another kicking snafu. The Storm advanced to face Iowa in the United Bowl, falling in the final seconds on a Barnstormers rushing score, 42-38. In 2019, the Storm were led by Lorenzo Brown, who threw for over 2,000 yards and 50 touchdowns. Damian Ford and Brandon Sheperd were his top targets. The team cruised to a 12-2 regular season and both losses came to Arizona. After dispatching Tucson by three at home, the Storm won at Iowa by two and won the United Bowl in Arizona by a final of 56-53. Following the COVID-19 cancelled 2020 season, Sioux Falls experienced something in 2021 that had never happened before for the franchise: a losing season. A 6-7 regular season and first round playoff exit marked the worst season ever. Lorenzo Brown left the team following the 2021 season and joined Sioux City in the CIF. Dalton Sneed quarterbacked the Storm in 2022 and threw for 1,354 yards, 25 scores and three interceptions. Carlos Thompson led all receivers with 690 yards and fourteen touchdowns. Nate Chavious rushed for 684 yards and eighteen scores and returned two kickoffs for touchdowns. Undraez Lilly sacked opposing quarterbacks 9.5 times. The Storm went 8-8, with several close games. A 50 yard field goal at the buzzer went wide left, resulting in a one point loss against Massachusetts. Green Bay defeated Sioux Falls for the first time ever in a 42-40 decision on a field goal with three seconds left. In the final week of the season, with the playoffs on the line, Sioux Falls led at Frisco 28-7 before halftime, but would ultimately fall 35-28 and miss the playoffs for the first time since 2009. 2023 was a historic season for the Sioux Falls Storm. It marked the final year for both head coach Kurtiss Riggs and quarterback Lorenzo Brown, who returned to the team. Brown passed for 2,357 yards, 48 touchdowns and 14 picks. He led all rushers with 726 yards and 33 touchdowns. Donnie Corley led all receivers with 21 touchdowns on 855 yards and 60 catches. The defense picked off 23 passes and sacked opposing quarterbacks 16 times. Much like 2022, the team found itself in a tough spot to make the playoffs as the regular season wound down. However, this time, they got the help they needed in a Quad City loss to Tulsa and then Sioux Falls was able to defeat Massachusetts 62-59 after trailing by three scores in the fourth quarter. Sioux Falls was able to get one more home game to open the playoffs and again overcame a deficit to defeat the Pirates. They then traveled to Frisco, a team that defeated them 56-15 a few weeks prior. This time, the Storm pulled off the upset 45-44 and advanced to Vegas to play in one more Indoor Bowl for Riggs and Brown. Sioux Falls fell to the Bay Area Panthers 51-41.