Wichita Aviators
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| Wichita Aviators | |
 |
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| Founded | 2005 |
| Folded | 2007 |
| Arena | Wichita Ice Arena |
| Based in | Wichita, Kansas |
| Colors | Blue, white |
| League | American Professional Football League |
The Wichita Aviators were an indoor football team that played in the American Professional Football League (APFL). They played their home games at the Wichita Ice Arena in Wichita, Kansas.
They started play in 2005. They ended up becoming the third seed for the playoffs, beating out the Nebraska B.E.A.R.S. for the spot. They lost the semifinal to the Iowa Blackhawks [1].
They started out the 2006 season beating the Kansas Koyotes, who had been undefeated in its three previous seasons. [2] They looked like they would go unbeaten for the season but the Koyotes got revenge and beat the Aviators and they were tied for first place. The next week the Aviators lost to the Iowa Blackhawks to fall to second place with a few weeks left in the season.
The Wichita Aviators defeated the Kansas Koyotes on Saturday July 15th, 2006, by the score of 55-44. The Aviators won the series between these two teams 2-1 giving them first place in the APFL and the Koyotes second. The Aviators had earned the right to host the Championship game in Wichita on July 29th, 2006. However, the APFL discovered that the Aviators had made no effort to prepare for the Championship game, because the general manager (who also was the defensive coordinator and part owner of the team) was too busy appealing his suspension imposed by the league for a post-game altercation that occurred after the July 15th game against Kansas.
Tensions mounted when it was later announced that the APFL had decided to move the championship game to Topeka on August 5th (the Koyotes defeated the Iowa Blackhawks in the first round playoff game to earn the second berth in the championship game). [3] After the announcement, the Aviators made it clear that the championship game would be played on their home field in Wichita, or they would not play at all. [4] The APFL offered to go ahead and play the game in Wichita on July 29th, however, the Aviators still refused to play the game and even issued an official statement saying that they would not play in the Championship game. The APFL had no choice but to extend the Championship to the Koyotes, as the Aviators had officially earned a forfeit by refusing to play in the Championship game. It is the fourth straight APFL title for the Kansas Koyotes. [5]
Adding to the strangeness of the end of the 2006 season, the APFL announced that they had no intentions of leaving the Wichita area and that the Aviators would play in 2007. The APFL also said that they were going to fine the Aviators and former GM Mike McCoy for their conduct.
The final chapter for the Aviators came quietly in the fall of 2006, as former Aviators GM Mike McCoy and several other front office members left the team to found the independent Wichita Wild [6]. Although no announcement ever came, the Aviators do not appear on 2007 APFL team schedules.
