Columbus Aviators

The Columbus Aviators are an upcoming professional American football team based in Columbus, Ohio. The Aviators compete in the United 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 of Mike Repole, Dwayne Johnson, Dany Garcia, RedBird Capital Partners and Fox Corporation). The Aviators will play their home games at Historic Crew Stadium, in Columbus, Ohio.

Columbus Aviators
Current season
Columbus Aviators logo Logo
Basic info
Established	October 7, 2025; 7 days ago (2025-10-07)
Stadium	Historic Crew Stadium Columbus, Ohio
Colors	Navy, powder blue, red, white
Website	www.theufl.com/columbus
Personnel
Owner(s)	League owned
General manager	Vacant
Head coach	Vacant
Team history
Columbus Aviators (2026–present)
Home fields
Historic Crew Stadium (2026–)
League / conference affiliations
United Football League (2026–present)
Championships
League championships: 0
Conference championships: 0
Division championships: 0

History

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 the aeronautics 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]

Market overview

The Aviators are the only professional football team in Columbus, and the first outdoor team to play in the region since the short-lived Ohio Glory in the World League, which played one season in 1992. Columbus is home to two major professional sports teams in Columbus Crew and Columbus Blue Jackets in Major League Soccer and National Hockey League, respectively. Additionally, Columbus is home to two minor league teams, Columbus Crew 2 and the Columbus Clippers, in the MLS Next Pro and International League, respectively.

The market is also heavily influenced by the collegiate teams from Ohio State University, the Buckeyes. Repole expressed a desire to recruit heavily from Ohio State alumni for the team and hired XFL and Ohio State alumnus Cardale 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]