Amarillo Venom
 |
|
| Founded | 2003 |
|---|---|
| League |
Intense (2004) af2 (2005–2009) IFL (2010–2011) LSFL (2012–2014) CIF (2015–present) |
| Conference | South (2017–present) |
| Division | Midwest (2005–2006) Central (2007–2009) Lonestar West (2010) Lonestar (2011) Southern (2016) |
| Team history | Amarillo Dusters (2004–2009) Amarillo Venom (2010–present) |
| Based in | Amarillo, Texas |
| Arena | Amarillo Civic Center |
| Colors | Black, Red, Tan, White |
| Owner(s) | Stephanie Tucker |
| Head coach | Julian Reese |
| Championships | 3 (2004 Intense, 2012 LSFL, 2013 LSFL) |
| Division titles | 3 (2004 Intense, 2010 IFL, 2016 CIF) |
| Playoff berths | 8 |
| Dancers | Venom Vixens |
The Amarillo Venom are a professional indoor football team in the Champions Indoor Football league and plays their home games at Amarillo Civic Center. The Venom began play in 2004 as the Amarillo Dusters, a charter member of the Intense Football League, a small indoor football league based in Texas. They won the championship in their first and only season with the IFL. The following year, the Dusters became the first team to leave the Intense Football League and join the af2, where they played for four seasons until the af2's folding in 2009. At that point, the team held a fan vote as to whether to join their af2 brethren in the new Arena Football 1 (now the Arena Football League) or enjoy numerous Texas rivalries in the Indoor Football League. In 2009, it was announced that the Dusters would be moving to the Indoor Football League for the 2010 season. It was then announced that the Dusters would have to be renamed because the Arena Football League owns the rights to the Dusters name and logo. The new Amarillo Venom name and logo was later unveiled.
The team was featured on an episode of Only in America, a show that airs on the Discovery Times channel.
The Amarillo Dusters finished their only season in the Intense Football League with a 13-3 record en route to a league championship. Coach Don Carthel lead the Dusters to the cup as they defeated the Lubbock Lone Stars. The Dusters would abandon their spot in the IFL to play in the af2.
In their first year in the af2, the Amarillo Dusters reached the playoffs with an 8-8 record, which was good enough for a wildcard. The Dusters, quarterbacked by Julian Reese, came from 21 points down at the start of the 4th quarter to quiet the Cox Convention Center crowd to win Round 1 over the Oklahoma City Yard Dawgz. The Dusters fell in Round 2 to the eventual-af2 champion Memphis Xplorers.
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