Origins of the Rage

Original Logo (2001-2023)

The RiverCity Rage began play in 2001 as the St. Louis Renegades of the Indoor Professional Football League, finishing fourth in the league with a 2–11 record. After the IPFL folded, the team moved to the National Indoor Football League in 2002 and became the RiverCity Renegades.^[1] The team finished its first season in the NIFL with a 1–13 record. For 2003–2004, the team was renamed the Show-Me Believers. In the first season under the new name, the team finished with a 4–10 record that showed improvement, despite being a losing record. In 2004, the team's skill increased vastly, and completed the season with a winning record for the first time at 9–5. In 2005, the team was renamed and is currently the RiverCity Rage. The Rage won the 2005 East Atlantic Conference Division with a record of 10–4. With this record, the team was locked in a three-way tie for the best regular-season record; however, the team lost its Conference Quarter Finals game 67 to 64 to the Cincinnati Marshals.

The next season, the team finished in a four-way tie for the regular season record at 13–1, and advanced to the Atlantic Conference championship game, losing to the Fayetteville Guard.

After the 2006 season, the Rage announced they were joining United Indoor Football for 2007. The Rage continued their membership in the United Indoor Football for 2008.

In 2008, the RiverCity Rage struggled through a seven-game losing streak before winning three of their last four games to make the playoffs. They won (37–33) by a last minute touchdown in a home playoff game against the Sioux City Bandits, but lost the Conference Finals on the road to the Bloomington Extreme, 33–7.

In 2009, the Rage played in the Indoor Football League, a new league created out of the merger between the UIF and the Intense Football League. On August 15, 2009, the Rage lost the United Bowl to the Billings Outlaws by the score of 71–62.

Jeff Sprowls, who also owned the IFL team Omaha Beef, announced about a month after the Rage's loss in the IFL Championship game that the RiverCity Rage would be ceasing operations and will not play in the 2010 season, due to financial issues in Omaha.^[2] According to the Indoor Football League website the RiverCity Rage could return in 2011, if new owners are found. In the team's final season, leading the way at quarterback was former two-time ArenaBowl champion John Dutton.

Return of the Rage (2024–present)

The Rage will return to the field in 2025 under new ownership of Dominic Montero and were announced as one of the newest members of the relaunched American Indoor Football league. They initially announced that they would be playing at the Mid-America Center in Council Bluffs for 2024. However, due to careful analysis of the financial outlook of the team, the Rage announced that they will play in the AIF starting in the 2025 season at the Xtream Arena in Coralville.^[3] The Rage will be replaced at the Mid-America Center by the Iowa Rampage of the newly revived Arena Football League.