It’s official.
After 12 years, hockey is coming back to Augusta with former University of Florida quarterback Tim Tebow as part owner of the unnamed team, which will be the 32nd team in the ECHL, a developmental professional ice hockey league.
“I love sports. I love being a part of sports whether that’s been from my playing days or seeing what it can do for a community, for families, for all the above, it’s something so special when you give young boys and girls role models and people they can look up to. It’s contagious and people want to be a part of it,” said Tebow Wednesday at the Bell Auditorium.
Ryan Crelin, ECHL commissioner, promises exciting, competitive play on the ice when the team debuts in the 2027-2028 hockey season. The 37-year-old league has seen more than 760 of its players as well as coaches, officials, training staff and office staff make it into the NHL and AHL.
But the team’s reach will go beyond the arena walls.
“Our biggest impact in this community will be off the ice,” he said.
Teams in the league gave back more than $4.5 million collectively last year and players donated countless volunteer hours at hospitals, schools and nonprofits to benefit the community.
The sense of community is important to Tebow who sees the team as being a rallying point for the city. He knows how college football can bring people together; he’s seen what it can do in a college town, he said
A hockey team could do the same thing for Augusta, he said.
The team doesn’t have a name yet, and Tebow encouraged people to use their creativity to come up with a name that would also capture the spirit of Augusta. Suggestions can be made at augustaprohockey.com.
Tebow is no stranger to the Augusta area. He’s spoken at several events including an FCA banquet scheduled for Wednesday evening. In 2017, as part of the Columbia Fireflies, he played against the Augusta GreenJackets. He’s also played golf in Augusta.
“I’ve seen how special this community is,” he said.
Charmain Z. Brackett, the publisher of Augusta Good News and Inspiring: Women of Augusta, has covered Augusta’s news for more than 35 years. She’s won multiple Georgia Press Association awards and received the 2018 Greater Augusta Arts Council’s media award. Reach her at charmain@augustagoodnews.com. Sign up for the newsletter here.
