The Regional Football League (RFL) was an American footballminor league formed to be the self-styled "major league of spring football." Established in 1997, the league played a single season, 1999, and then ceased operations.
The RFL season was designed for spring-summer play with teams based primarily in the Southern United States. The debut season was originally slated to begin in March 1998,[4] however this was delayed by a year.[5] The league adopted rules consistent with professional football of the era, with some exceptions:[6][7]
running clock until the last two minutes of each half
ball placed at the 20-yard-line for extra point attempts
receivers only need one foot in bounds to complete a catch
The league's inaugural (and only) season was 1999, where each of its six teams was scheduled to have training camp and two preseason games in early April, followed by 12 regular season games; a postseason would follow in July. The league held its first regular season games on April 17, 1999.[8] Financial constraints forced the league to reduce player salaries at the end of April, due to low attendance at games.[9] In late May, the league announced that the regular season would be shortened by three games, with the championship game held in late June.[10] Ultimately, the league only played an eight-week regular season. Near the end of the shortened season, the league cancelled a contest between New Orleans and Ohio, and Shreveport forfeited a game, both due to financial concerns.[11] Four teams qualified for the playoffs,[12] and on June 20, 1999, the Mobile Admirals defeated the Houston Outlaws, 14–12, in the championship game, RFL Bowl I, which was played at Ladd–Peebles StadiuminMobile, Alabama.[13]
RFL rosters were limited to 37 active players and five practice squad members with salaries in the range of $30,000 to $65,000 per player and team salary caps of $1,500,000.[3] The league held a draft where each team could only draft from their respective region in hopes that fans would turn out to see players they'd followed in college. Players who had been with college football programs in the south such as Jason Martin (Louisiana Tech), Stewart Patridge (Ole Miss), Raymond Philyaw (Northeast Louisiana), Marquette Smith (Central Florida) and Sherman Williams (Alabama) were signed to southern RFL teams, while players like Ricky Powers (Michigan), Corey Croom (Ball State), and Skip Tramontana (Miami University) were assigned to the Ohio franchise based in Toledo. Patridge, playing for Mississippi, was the all-RFL quarterback,[14] while running back Williams was the league MVP with Mobile.[15] This regional approach worked at the outset of play, as evidenced fan interest in the league at the start of the season.
The first commissioner of the league was John "Gus" Bell, who was succeeded by Ron Floridia in May 1999.[2] The league did not secure a television contract, and only one game was ever televised—the May 8, 1999, New Orleans Thunder at Mobile Admirals contest on WHNO,[citation needed] a mainly-religious television station in New Orleans.
Despite some efforts made to resume play for a second season, the league folded after its shortened 1999 season. The announced beginning of the XFL for 2001 precluded any realistic chance of the league resuming operations.
The league's six charter members were announced on November 12, 1998.[16] They participated in the league's only season, which ran from April to June 1999.
In the seventh week of the regular season, a contest between New Orleans and Ohio was cancelled by the league.[19]
In the eighth and final week of the regular season, Shreveport was unable to play in their home stadium.[20] The league rescheduled their intended opponent, New Orleans, to play at Mississippi,[21] and when Shreveport did not travel to play at Ohio, they were assessed a forfeit.[11]
