The Columbus Wardogs were an arena football team in af2 that played their home games in the Columbus Civic Center in Columbus, Georgia, from 2001 through 2004. The franchise was relocated as the Mississippi Headhunters for the 2006 season, but did not play any games. History In 1998, Columbus Civic Center general manager Tony Ford contacted the Arena Football League about expanding into Columbus but was informed that the market was too small. In 2000, the Arena Football League launched its developmental league known as af2 which featured franchises in smaller cities. On May 3, 2000, af2 commissioner Mary Ellen Garling toured the Columbus Civic Center and announced she hoped the league could expand into Columbus for the 2001 season. In October, an ownership group, which included Primerica executive Ed Randle as majority owner and Mike Sammond, a former Columbus sportscaster with WRBL TV who helped launch the league's Birmingham Steeldogs a year earlier, were approved and granted an af2 expansion franchise for the city. The Columbus Civic Center hosted a press conference on October 30, 2000, to formally announce the new franchise. The following month, Nashville Kats assistant coach Joe Campbell was introduced as the team's first head coach. The Wardogs' name and logo were unveiled in November. The team's name was in recognition of the nearby major college football schools of Auburn University (War Eagle battle cry) and the University of Georgia (Bulldogs), while also honoring the nearby army post of Fort Benning, a main training ground for military war dogs. Before the season, the team hired longtime Auburn football announcer Jim Fyffe as the team's radio play-by-play announcer. The team also introduced Scout, a German Shepherd mix rescued from the Muscogee County Humane Society, as the team's official mascot. 2001 season The Wardogs played their first game on April 7, 2001, losing at home 43–20 to the Baton Rouge Blaze. After losing their first seven games, head coach Joe Campbell was fired and replaced by an assistant coach to finish out the season. Campbell's Wardogs were outscored 404–193 in his brief tenure, including a 94–44 loss to Charleston during the second week of the season. The Wardogs finished their inaugural season winless with an 0–16 record. Following the season, Iowa Barnstormers offensive coordinator Pete Constanza was hired as the Wardogs' new head coach. 2002 season Before the season, local business executive Tripp Amos, grandson of Bill Amos,