On Tuesday, the Indoor Football League (IFL) announced that the newest team joining the league based in Columbus, OH will be called the “Columbus Wild Dogs”.
During an event at the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium, the IFL’s newest franchise unveiled their team name, logo, colors and uniform designs.
The Wild Dogs name comes from one of the zoo’s exhibits, The Wilds, which is home many African Painted Dogs (another name for the species). With less than 6,000 wild dogs left in their native regions of Africa, wild dogs are one of the world’s most endangered mammals.
“As an organization, we are happy that we will be able to shed light on this extremely endangered species and advocate for their continued existence,” said Jessica Germain. “We were drawn to characteristics of the species, which also fits with the makeup of our team – wild dogs are known for their teamwork, their aggressive nature, their tremendous endurance, their ferocious ability to attack, and their extreme success when they embark on their prey. What more could you want out of your football team?”
Columbus’ new logos were designed by local artist Sam Fout and The Remedy, a national brand strategy agency based in Frisco, TX.
A prominent focus of the new uniforms is the distinct mottled coat pattern seen on the side of the home pants and entirely covering the away pants. The home black jersey features an oversized secondary logo on each shoulder. The away white jersey is slightly tamer with the coat pattern on “Saharan Taupe” (gold) yoke on the shoulders.
The helmet, similar to UConn’s in 2013-14, features the red eyes of the Wild Dogs’ logo on the front of the matte black helmet.
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In addition to the logos and uniforms, the team revealed the team’s color scheme: Pitch Black (primary color), Saharan Taupe, Grassland Gold, Safari White and Ruthless Red.
The new team comes as the Columbus Destroyers (second iteration) were forced to crease all team operations after only one season when the Arena Football League (AFL) filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy.
The Wild Dogs will play in Nationwide Arena starting in March 2022.