San Gabriel Valley Highlanders won the championship, defeating the Jackson Chargers 3–2.
Jackson won the regular season title, winning all 16 games and posting a whopping +84 goal difference.
7 teams folded after the 1997 season: The Lexington Bluegrass Bandits and Tucson Amigos went on hiatus for this year.
Kalamazoo hosted the Finals and received a bye to the National Semi-Finals.
The top four teams from the Central, Great Lakes, Southeast, and Southwest divisions, however, if Kalamazoo places in the top four in the Central Division, the fifth place team will take their spot.