Indoor football league founder has lofty plans

Victoria Sun

Monday, July 9, 2001 | 9:49 a.m.

A brief look at the United States Inside Football League (USIFL):

FOUNDED: 2000

TEAMS: Northwest Fire, Green Valley Dragons, North Las Vegas Express, Las Vegas Sidewinders, Las Vegas Twisters, Utah Lionzz

NEXT GAMES: July 15

TICKETS: $10 and $5 end zone tickets can be purchased at the Santa Fe arena box office or by logging onto tickets.com.

The birth of the United States Inside Football League was an accident, but founder and president Chris Boudreaux is very satisfied with his labor of love.

Now in its second season, the six-team USIFL features five Las Vegas teams based at the Santa Fe Station ice arena and one in Utah. It plans to add teams in Los Angeles, Phoenix and Tucson, Ariz., next year.

"What this is going to be is a West Coast bus league," Boudreaux said. "The excitement is there for the fan. A big talent base is definitely here.

"It's extreme football, it really is extreme football."

When Boudreaux held an open combine last year, he intended to form one Las Vegas team to join an already established league.

But after more than 100 hundred players showed up, Boudreaux decided to make use of all the talent and form the USIFL.

The season started June 24 and ends Aug. 12. Each team has a 25-player roster. The game is eight-man football with three men in motion.

"We have a lot of guys playing in the league that have played in the NFL, Canadian League and the World League," Boudreaux said.

Former UNLV players Mark Hays and Steve Pak, former Minnesota Viking Lester Johnson and former Washington State standout Jason Clayton are among the prominent players in the USIFL.

The players do not receive a salary. They are compensated based on the number of $10 tickets they sell.

Hays, who was a corner back/strong safety for the Rebels in 1997 and 1998, played in an arena football league last season in Albany, N.Y., before returning to Las Vegas to play the final four games of the regular season in the USIFL.

"This league for me, it's an opportunity to get seen," Hays said. "I'm trying to move onto another level.

"If a tape gets in the right hands, I can get an opportunity to play at the next level.

Boudreaux, a real estate agent, has invested his own time and money in the league because he thinks there is a market for football in Las Vegas.

"It's most definitely not profitable, but the fan base is great," Boudreaux said. "We draw two to three thousand fans per weekend for tripleheaders.

"It's a fun experience for our fans. Fans (sit) directly behind their favorite teams. We wanted it this way so the crowd is behind the team it's rooting for instead of mixed throughout the arena so you get a lot of yelling back and forth."