ODESSA, Texas — The West Texas Desert Hawks are closing down, the franchise's owner Zack Bugg announced on Friday.
After sources reported earlier this week that the team was ceasing operations, Bugg confirmed that the Desert Hawks and indoor arena football in West Texas are no more.
Bugg blamed "dishonesty" and "false promises" from the people running the Arena Football League for leading to the shutdown of the Desert Hawks. Bugg's team joined the AFL for the 2024 season, the franchise's fifth different league in their five seasons of existence. He also blamed the City of Odessa and financial situations related to concessions at the Ector County Coliseum for a lack of enough backing and support.
"The arena football world is just too hostile and crazy for me," Bugg said when asked if the team could move to a different league. He alluded to the amount money needed to keep a team afloat in the world of spring arena football. Bugg refused to answer if he would sue the AFL.
"I will not be an owner in arena or indoor football any more," Bugg said, confirming that West Texas will no longer have an arena or indoor football team. He also stated that he has not heard from anyone in the area who would step in and take over the team to keep it alive.
The franchise's history dates back to 2019, when the West Texas Warbirds became an expansion team in Champions Indoor Football (CIF). Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the team's initial season was cancelled. This led to the franchise never playing in the league.
Instead, the Warbirds would play in the Lone Star Series (LSS) for the 2021 season, before changing leagues again in November of 2021. They would compete in the Arena Football Association (AFA) in 2022.
During a Warbirds home game on July 16, 2022, a brawl broke out during the contest that included players, coaches and fans. This ended the night's game and led to a police investigation. The Warbirds organization released a statement denying that they were in any way part of the investigation.
The Warbirds changed leagues again in 2023, playing in the National Arena League (NAL). The team went 2-11 under new leadership, as Bugg became the franchise's owner, after previously serving as the team's general manager from July 2022 to February 2023. Bugg had stepped away from his role as GM in February, citing differences with the previous ownership.
Tate Smith, the only head coach in team history, was let go prior to the 2024 season. On July 18, 2023, the franchise announced they were joining the Arena Football League (AFL) as part of the league's relaunch. On August 22, 2023, the team changed their name to the West Texas Desert Hawks. They were officially announced as the second team to join the AFL on August 31.
Chris Siegfried was hired as the head coach of the Desert Hawks, as the team headed into a league that supposedly had a television partnership with NFL Network and nationwide stability with 16 teams. The NFL Network agreement never actually materialized and the league is down to just eight teams, as of Friday.
Two weeks into the 2024 season, the NAL filed for an injunction to prevent the Desert Hawks from playing, accusing the team of breach of contract for its departure from the NAL and its joining of the AFL. The Desert Hawks argued that it was not the same legal entity as the Warbirds because they had changed their team name and thus could not be covered under any contract to the former team. After the NAL was granted a preliminary injunction on May 6, Bugg issued a statement indicating he would defy the injunction and continue playing the AFL schedule. On May 10, the Desert Hawks reached a settlement with the NAL to drop the injunction and allow the team to resume play in the AFL.
Siegfried was dismissed as the head coach of the team on June 9, announcing the move on his personal social media. The franchise made no mention of the coaching change. Bugg briefly addressed Siegfried's departure on Friday, saying the pair are on good terms, but his dismissal was based on "wins and losses".
On June 18, it was reported that the Desert Hawks had ceased operations, though the franchise said nothing of the reports. On June 20, the league confirmed that the Desert Hawks had ended their season early "for reasons that we will not disclose" but that it had not yet folded. Friday's words from Bugg were the first time the team had addressed closing up shop.
This closes the book on the nearly five-year history of the Warbirds/Desert Hawks in West Texas.