| Columbus Aviators | |
|---|---|
 Current season | |
| Basic info | |
| Established | October 7, 2025; 49 days ago (2025-10-07) |
| Stadium | Historic Crew Stadium Columbus, Ohio |
| Colors | Navy, powder blue, red, white |
| Website | www |
| Personnel | |
| Owner(s) | League owned |
| General manager | Vacant |
| Head coach | Vacant |
| Team history | |
| |
| Home fields | |
| |
| League / conference affiliations | |
| United Football League (2026–present) | |
| Championships | |
| League championships: 0 | |
| Conference championships: 0 | |
| Division championships: 0 | |
TheColumbus Aviators are an upcoming professionalAmerican football team based inColumbus, Ohio. The Aviators compete in theUnited Football League (UFL). The team is scheduled to begin play in 2026 and, like all of the UFL's teams, are owned by the UFL (a consortium ofMike Repole,Dwayne Johnson,Dany Garcia,RedBird Capital Partners andFox Corporation). The Aviators will play their home games atHistoric Crew Stadium, inColumbus, Ohio.
The team was announced in July 2025, following the UFL's intended relocation of multiple teams.[1] On October 7, 2025, it was announced that the team would be called the Columbus Aviators, due to the region's tie with theaeronautics industry and the state of Ohio's slogan as the "birthplace of aviation."[2][3] The Aviators brand was the last holdover trademark the UFL had from one of its corporate predecessors,The Spring League; the Web site UFL News Hub had accurately predicted the establishment of a Columbus Aviators team as early as April.[4]
The Aviators are the only professional football team in Columbus, and the first outdoor team to play in the region since the short-livedOhio Glory in theWorld League, which played one season in 1992. Columbus is home to two major professional sports teams inColumbus Crew andColumbus Blue Jackets inMajor League Soccer andNational Hockey League, respectively. Additionally, Columbus is home to two minor league teams,Columbus Crew 2 and theColumbus Clippers, in theMLS Next Pro andInternational League, respectively.
The market is also heavily influenced by the collegiate teams fromOhio State University, theBuckeyes. Repole expressed a desire to recruit heavily from Ohio State alumni for the team and hired XFL and Ohio State alumnusCardale Jones as a community ambassador, a role Jones stated that he "ha(d) no clue what that means" but hoped would involve a say in the team's "back-end decision-making."[5]
 Sports teams based inOhio | ||
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