TheTopeka Tropics were a professionalindoor football based inTopeka, Kansas, and played their home games at theStormont Vail Events Center. The team originally folded after its inaugural 2022 season, but was renewed under new ownership before the 2023 season. The Tropics awere the third indoor football team to be based in Topeka following theTopeka Knights/Kings (1999–2000) and theKansas Koyotes (2003–2014).
On August 9, 2021,Champions Indoor Football (CIF) announced an expansion team to be based in Topeka for the 2022 season withSioux City Bandits' owner J. R. Bond serving as the team's owner and Brett Kell as the Assistant General Manager of Game Day Operations.[1] After a name-the-team contest was held, the Tropics name, logo, and color scheme were unveiled on September 8. Although Topeka does not have a tropical climate and is roughly 790 miles from the closest sea (the Gulf of Mexico), Bond chose the unusual name to symbolize how unconventional the Tropics organization would be both on and off the field.[2] On October 5, the Tropics announced formerArena Football League playerTyus Jackson as its inaugural head coach.[3] The team did not win a regular season game, posting a record of 0–10 in their first season. On August 25, 2022, the Tropics announced that they would cease operations and not return for a second season;[4] however, this decision was reversed later that same year after new local ownership was found.[5][6]
In July 2023, the Tropics announced they were leaving the CIF for a new league along with theOmaha Beef andSioux City Bandits.[7] They joined theNational Arena League (NAL) for the 2024 season on September 14.[8] They also announcedKerry Locklin as their new head coach.[9] By February 2024, the NAL revoked the Tropics' franchise for failure to pay league dues and the team's prospective owner for the 2024 season backed out of an agreement to buy the team, prompting management to release an open letter begging the Topeka business community to buy the team.[10] This was ultimately unsuccessful, and on February 28, 2024, the league terminated the Tropics membership.[11] Co-owner Trevor Burdett and coach Tyus Jackson joined theIowa Rampage of theArena Football League, a league that absorbed the remnants of CIF.[12]
