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Professional indoor football is coming to Bryan-College Station.
The Texas Hurricanes will play their final three regular season games in the inaugural season of the Southern Indoor Football League at the Arctic Wolf Ice Center.
The Hurricanes will play the Acadiana Mudbugs on Sunday then take on the Austin Turfcats on Tuesday and July 11. All games will start at 7 p.m.
The other teams in the league are the Louisiana Swashbucklers and the Houma Conquerors.
The Hurricanes were formerly the Texas Pirates. They were bought by Houston businessman Terry Williams on June 17, who changed their name and worked to move the team to the B-CS area.
"I've been to a couple of SIFL games and I'm hooked," Williams said in a SIFL release. "This sport has so much potential. I'm excited to give my client base another outlet for family entertainment and I'm excited about the opportunity to own and operate a first-class football operation. We're going to have some fun and learn as much as we can the next few weeks. And then, get ready for 2010. It will be amazing."
The Hurricanes will play next year's six home games at Texas A&M's McFerrin Multi-Purpose Facility.
The Hurricanes (1-6) are in last place but just a game back of fourth-place Houma. The top four teams make the SIFL playoffs. The Swashbucklers (9-1), Turfcats (7-2) and Mudbugs (5-4) have secured playoff spots.
The Hurricanes opened the season with a 46-27 victory over the Houma Conquerors before 250 fans, but have been outscored 279-126 in the next six games. The only other home game was a 50-14 loss to the Swashbucklers before 250 fans. The Pirates played their home games at Kicks Indoor Sports Complex in Houston.
Head coach Leon Thomasson was fired after a 1-2 start and replaced by Troy Espirit. Last week, the Hurricanes signed quarterback Michael Bishop, who played at Blinn and Kansas State.
Williams is working to add Aggies to next season's roster, said Swashbuckler director of marketing David Evans, who is helping the Hurricanes relocate to B-CS.
"Mr. Williams thinks moving to A&M is great," Evans said. "He thinks this will be a great customer base."
Evans said expansion is likely for next year for the geographically based league that will keep teams within driving distance to control ticket costs. There are approximately 25-28 players per team and each player is paid the same.
"They play for the love of the game," said Evans, who added that most teams try to get as many players with local connections as possible.
Brazos Valley Bombers co-owner Uri Geva unsuccessfully tried to bring an Intense Football League franchise to B-CS for the 2005 season.
Geva, who is president of the Texas Collegiate Baseball League, couldn't secure a lease with Reed Arena, which was the only viable facility available at that time to serve as a host.
A&M has since built the McFerrin Multi-Purpose Facility.
