Columbus Lions

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The Lions were founded in 2006. They began play in the short-lived World Indoor Football League (WIFL) in 2007. The Lions' inaugural game on February 26, 2007, was marred by tragedy when opposing defensive back Javon Camon of the Daytona Beach Thunder was killed after a hard but clean hit by Lions fullback Cedric Ware during the fourth quarter.{{cite web |url=https://www.espn.com/sports/news/story?id=2781193 |title=Indoor football player dies after head-to-head hit |date=February 27, 2007 |publisher=ESPN Internet Ventures |work=ESPN |access-date=February 27, 2007}}{{cite web |url=http://www.ledger-enquirer.com/mld/ledgerenquirer/sports/16791166.htm |title=Daytona player dies |publisher=Ledger-Enquirer |work=www.ledger-enquirer.com |access-date=February 27, 2007 }}{{dead link|date=September 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} The Lions finished with the best regular season record, but lost the championship to the Augusta Colts. For the Lions' inaugural season, head coach Jason Gibson won the league's Coach of the Year Award.

The WIFL collapsed after the season and the Lions moved to the American Indoor Football Association (AIFA) where they played two seasons in 2008 and 2009, winning their division in 2009. They would then join the Southern Indoor Football League (SIFL) and play from 2010 to 2011. They won the SIFL championship in 2010 defeating the Louisiana Swashbucklers in President's Cup II,.{{cite web |url=http://www.ledger-enquirer.com/2010/07/19/1198860/sifl-championship-lions-68-swashbucklers.html |title=SIFL CHAMPIONSHIP: Fans soak up Lions' big win |author=Chris White |date=July 19, 2010 |publisher=Ledger-Enquirer |work=www.ledger-enquirer.com |access-date=July 8, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714124703/http://www.ledger-enquirer.com/2010/07/19/1198860/sifl-championship-lions-68-swashbucklers.html |archive-date=July 14, 2014 |url-status=dead }} The SIFL split into two separate leagues before the 2012 season, with the Lions going to the Professional Indoor Football League (PIFL). In 2015, they defeated the Richmond Raiders in PIFL Cup IV.

Following the Lions' 2015 championship, the Lions moved back to American Indoor Football (AIF), formerly the AIFA, for the 2016 season.{{cite web |url=http://www.mcall.com/sports/mc-steelhawks-moving-to-a-new-indoor-league-for-2016-20150914-story.html |title=Steelhawks moving to a new indoor football league for 2016 |author=Keith Groller |date=September 14, 2015 |publisher=The Morning Call |work=www.mcall.com |access-date=September 14, 2015}} The Lions completed the regular season 8–0 and won the 2016 AIF Championship over the West Michigan Ironmen.{{cite web |url=http://www.ledger-enquirer.com/sports/article84686262.html |title=Lions capture AIF title in bizarre, blowout fashion|date=June 19, 2016 |author=Dana Barker |publisher=Ledger-Enquirer |work=www.ledger-enquirer.com |access-date=June 20, 2016}} One week after winning the championship, the Lions announced they were leaving the AIF for the 2017 season.{{cite web |url=http://www.wltz.com/story/32317077/columbus-lions-leaving-aif-following-2016-season |title=Columbus Lions leaving AIF following 2016 season |date=June 27, 2016 |publisher=Frankly and WLTZ |work=www.wltz.com |access-date=June 28, 2016}}

Image:Columbus Lions 4-14-2012.jpg on April 14, 2012. Note the pink numbers in support of cancer awareness.{{cite web |url=http://www.proifl.com/news/131-kicker-trey-crum-returns-to-lions.html |title=Kicker Trey Crum Returns to Lions |author=Matthew Hester |date=April 10, 2012 |publisher=Professional Indoor Football League |work=www.proifl.com |access-date=July 8, 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714134355/http://www.proifl.com/news/131-kicker-trey-crum-returns-to-lions.html |archive-date=July 14, 2014 }}]]

In July 2016, Lions' owners Skip Seda and his father, Keke Seda, announced the formation of a new league called the Arena Developmental League to begin play in spring 2017.{{cite web |url=http://www.ledger-enquirer.com/sports/nfl/article88355022.html |title=Lions owner Seda establishes new Arena Developmental League |work=Ledger-Enquirer |date=July 7, 2016}} They named former Canadian Football League, Arena Football League, and AF2 coach John Gregory as the league's commissioner. In November 2016, the Jacksonville Sharks joined and the Sedas yielded control over the new league for it to become the National Arena League.

The Lions appeared in the NAL playoffs in every season they participated. They, and the NAL, would not play in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. They made three appearances in the NAL Championship Game, losing to the Jacksonville Sharks 27–21 in 2017, the Carolina Cobras 66–8 in 2018, and the Albany Empire 79–62 in 2021.

On August 30, 2022, the Lions announced new ownership led by Jeff Levack, who also has ownership stake in the Orlando Predators and Albany Empire. He was a part of two staffs that helped the Empire win three championships in four years.{{cite web |url=https://www.columbuslions.net/news/lions-purchased-by-veteran-arena-football-ownershi |title=LIONS PURCHASED BY VETERAN ARENA FOOTBALL OWNERSHIP GROUP |date=August 30, 2022 |publisher=Lee Snow |work=www.columbuslions.net |access-date=September 15, 2022}} On September 13, 2022, they introduced new branding for the team designed by former player and designer, Mike Jones. They also announced arena football veteran player and coach Chris McKinney as the second head coach in team history after Gibson had left and became head coach of the Jacksonville Sharks.{{cite web |url=https://www.wtvm.com/2022/09/14/lions-introduce-new-head-coach-new-team-logos/ |title=Lions introduce new head coach, new team logos |date=September 13, 2022 |publisher=Jonathon Hoppe and Tony Reese, WTVM |work=www.wtvm.com |access-date=September 15, 2022}} On December 22, the National Arena League had announced that the membership of the Lions had been discontinued.{{cite web |date=July 14, 2022 |title=NAL DISCONTINUES MEMBERSHIP OF THE COLUMBUS LIONS |url=https://www.nationalarenaleague.com/news/nal-discontinues-membership-of-the-columbus-lions |website=National Arena League}} One day later, the Lions announced they had joined the regional American Indoor Football Alliance.{{cite web |url=https://www.columbuslions.net/news/lions-join-regional-arena-league |title=LIONS JOIN REGIONAL ARENA LEAGUE |date=December 23, 2022 |website=National Arena League}} They played only home games, going 6–0,{{Cite web |url=https://www.facebook.com/Lionsfootball/posts/pfbid02jjxQ2JJbSrv3CoxZZ43yr2SxeA5iVHR7RBcKiWeMVCrPWZR1LvXkCNP5sXDgU4aWl |title=And the regular season comes to a close at 6-0! |website=Facebook |date=June 23, 2023}} and defeated the Mississippi Raiders 55–10 in the league championship.{{Cite web |url=https://www.columbuslions.net/news/lions-win-it-all |title=LIONS WIN IT ALL! |website=Columbus Lions |date=July 21, 2023}}

On August 4, 2023, the Lions announced their return to relaunched American Indoor Football for the 2024 season.{{cite web |date=August 4, 2023 |title=COLUMBUS LIONS JOIN AMERICAN INDOOR FOOTBALL (AIF) FOR THE 2024 INDOOR SEASON |url=https://aif-proindoorfootball.com/news-h/1183-columbus-lions-join-american-indoor-football-aif-for-the-2024-indoor-season.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230804183035/https://aif-proindoorfootball.com/news-h/1183-columbus-lions-join-american-indoor-football-aif-for-the-2024-indoor-season.html |url-status=usurped |archive-date=August 4, 2023 |access-date=August 4, 2023 |work=aif-proindoorfootball.com |publisher=American Indoor Football}}

In 2024, the Lions announced they were returning home to the league they helped start, the National Arena League.

The following is a list of all Lions players who have won league awards:

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{{NFL final staff

|Year=

|TeamName=Columbus Lions

|Front Office=

• Owner – Richard Maslia
• Owner – Kacee Smith
• Owner – John Hargrove
• Owner – Jay Patel
• Owner – Eugenio Castro
• Owner – Bush Sporting Enterprises LLC
• General manager – Lee Snow
• Director of football operations – Robert Cross
• Director of sales and marketing – Matthew Kelley
• Director of fan experience – Megan Hudson
• Director of partnerships – Nicole Mesis
• Director of game day operations – Matthew Jones

|Head Coaches=

• Head coach – Damian Daniels
• Assistant head coach – Bruce Figgins

|Offensive Coaches=

• TBD

|Defensive Coaches=

• TBD

}}

Note: Statistics are correct through the 2024 American Indoor Football season.

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{{portal|sports|Georgia (U.S. state)}}

• [http://www.columbuslions.net/splash/ Official site]
• [http://www.thestatguys.com/AIFA/2008/COL.HTM Lions' 2008 stats]{{dead link|date=August 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}
• [http://www.thestatguys.com/AIFA/2009/COL.HTM Lions' 2009 stats]{{dead link|date=August 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}
• [http://www.thestatguys.com/SIFL/2011/COL.HTM Lions' 2011 stats]{{dead link|date=August 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}

{{Columbus Lions seasons}}

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{{Georgia Sports}}

{{PIFL}}

{{SIFL}}

{{AIF}}

Category:2006 establishments in Georgia (U.S. state)

Category:National Arena League teams