The Fort Wayne FireHawks were a professional indoor football team based in Fort Wayne, Indiana. The team joined the Continental Indoor Football League as an expansion team during the 2010 season. The FireHawks were the fourth attempt at indoor football in Fort Wayne after the original Fort Wayne Freedom (NIFL & UIF, 2003–06), Fort Wayne Fusion (af2, 2007), and the second Fort Wayne Freedom (CIFL, 2008–09). The Owner of the FireHawks was Championship Sports Enterprises LLC. The FireHawks played their home games at the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum.
The team saw financial problems before the season had started, when Co-owner and General Manager, John Christner, was unable to stay with the team. As a result, J. Michael Loomis became the sole owner and only principal of Championship Sports Enterprises. With Christner's departure, Loomis became general manager, handling day-to-day operations of the team. Following the 2010 season, Loomis attempted to find additional investors or buyers of the team, without success. The team sat out the 2011 season. Before the 2011 season ended, Loomis sought to reorganize the CIFL, but when those negotiations broke down, Loomis decided against rejoining the CIFL. There were media reports that the FireHawks, along with several members of the CIFL, were going to form the Stadius Football Association (SFA), to be based in Indianapolis. The SFA was a concept that Loomis originated, but he got no traction with other team owners in his effort to put it together. The new league did not materialize after two teams, Marion and Cincinnati, joined the United Indoor Football League almost as quickly as the press release was floated. Thereafter, the FireHawks did not attempt to re-join the CIFL, nor did it join another league.
Franchise history
2010
During the Fort Wayne Freedom 2009 season, the owners sought legal assistance. There were few, if any, written contracts; there was no accounting; and, many of the "deals" had been made on a handshake. They retained J. Michael Loomis. They racked up a legal bill and were unable to pay it. Loomis attempted to amicably resolve the situation, but was unable to do so. He ended up seeking a judgment, and obtained one. The owners would or could not pay it. Loomis put the team in receivership and attempted to sell it, but by this time, the reputation of the team had become somewhat negative. Loomis took the team out of receivership, and contacted another creditor of the team, John Christner, who was owed a similar amount of money that he had invested at various points of the recent history of the team. Christner originally promised to run the team as Loomis addressed the legal issues, but Christner was going through a difficult divorce involving small children, and Christner was unable to devote any time to the Freedom issues as a result. Loomis then took over the entire effort, with no other backing. By November, 2009, he changed the name of the team, found new sponsors, and signed many new players. The "FireHawks" were announced as the succession team to the Freedom, and kept the team in the Continental Indoor Football League ("CIFL"). Owner J. Michael Loomis acquired the assets left from the Fort Wayne Freedom franchise as part of the judgment obtained by Championship Sports Enterprises, LLC. Loomis' named Willie Davis as head coach, primarily because of the way that the former Freedom owners had treated Davis, firing Davis as he was about to board the team bus headed for an away game. On December 9, 2009, it was confirmed that Loomis and Christner would take over the entities that used to run the Freedom. Before the season started, the team announced they had signed Katie Hnida as the team's placekicker. Hnida is best known for becoming the first woman to score a point in an NCAA football game and speaking out during the recruiting scandal at her first school, the University of Colorado.