Augusta team is reborn as Colts

 

Founded	2006
League	AIFA
Team History	Augusta Spartans 2006-2007 Augusta Colts 2008-
Arena	James Brown Arena
Based in	Augusta, Georgia
Team Colors	Texas orange, navy blue
President	John Sisson III
Head Coach	Bubba Diggs
Championships	1
Division Titles	0
Dancers	Augusta Colts Dance Team

  The Augusta Spartans no longer exist.

Less than two years after the Spartans resurrected indoor football in Augusta -- and nearly six years after the Stallions folded -- the area has a new team: the Augusta Colts.

The team announced at a news conference Tuesday its name has changed from the Spartans to the Colts for the 2008 season, which begins in March.

"Hereafter, we will be referring to the indoor football team in Augusta as the Augusta Colts," said new general manager John Sisson, who pledged to upgrade the team's image in the community.

The new name comes on the heels of the October move from the now-defunct World Indoor Football League to the American Indoor Football Association, the team's third league in three seasons.

"It's like being at Six Flags: seven different rides in six different years," said coach Bubba Diggs, who has been a Stallion, a Columbus Wardog, a Macon Knight, a Spartan and now a Colt -- all in the past seven years. "I'm still trying to digest it. ... They're going to have to buy me a whole new wardrobe."

In addition, Sisson announced the phasing out of local businessman Jimmy Young as the team's majority owner. Young, who purchased the team from the American Indoor Football League before its inaugural season in February 2006, will "continue to have a vested interest as a minority owner, and his interests are being negotiated," Sisson said.

The Colts are expected to name new investors later this month.

"In two years we've come a long way -- from barely starting to winning a championship. Now I think it's time to turn it over to someone else and move on," said Young, who called the move a friendly takeover. "I've done about 75 percent of what I wanted. The last step was to make it financially solvent, and that's what this move is all about."

As the Spartans, the team finished 5-9 in 2006 with the AIFL, missing the playoffs. Last season, they won the championship game of the four-team WIFL in June, 63-60, over Columbus.

Sisson said the Spartans' accomplishments will not be neglected, adding that the team will receive rings and unveil the WIFL championship banner at a ceremony before next season.

The Colts, whose colors haven't been determined, will have a new mascot and a contest to name it.

Sisson, who has worked with all the area's current minor league sports teams, including the Aiken Foxhounds, said "Colts" was chosen to reflect the area's strong ties to the horse and equine community in Aiken and Augusta.

"We're trying to have more of a regional appeal, and that includes reaching across the river," Sisson said, noting Augusta's relationship with barrel-horse racing and the Futurity.

Young wasn't so sure.

"It was not my decision (to change the name)," Young said. "They made that decision. I think 'Spartans' is a great name, and I think they should've kept it."

2008 Season Schedule

American Indoor Football Association
Eastern Conference	North Division	East Division
	Baltimore Mariners	Carolina Speed
	Canton Legends	Fayetteville Guard
	Erie RiverRats	Florence Phantoms
	Reading Express	Huntington Heroes
Western Conference	South Division	West Division
	Augusta Colts	Arizona Adrenaline
	Columbus Lions	New Mexico Wildcats
	Florida Stingrays	Utah Saints
	Mississippi Mudcats	Wyoming Cavalry