The Columbus Aviators are a professional American football team based in Columbus, Ohio. The Aviators compete in the United Football League (UFL). The team began play on March 29, 2026 and, like all of the UFL's teams, are owned by the UFL (a consortium of Mike Repole, Dwayne Johnson, Dany Garcia, RedBird Capital Partners and Fox Corporation). The Aviators play their home games at Historic Crew Stadium, in Columbus, Ohio.
The team was announced in July 2025, following the UFL's intended relocation of multiple teams. On October 7, 2025, it was announced that the team would be called the Columbus Aviators, due to the region's tie with the aeronautics industry and the state of Ohio's slogan as the "birthplace of aviation." The Aviators brand was the last holdover trademark the UFL had from one of its corporate predecessors, The Spring League; the Web site UFL News Hub had accurately predicted the establishment of a Columbus Aviators team as early as April. On December 17, 2025, the Aviators named former Ohio State Buckeye and NFL Wide Receiver Ted Ginn Jr. as the team's head coach.
The Aviators are the only professional football team in Columbus, and the first professional outdoor team to play in the region since the short-lived Ohio Glory in the World League, which played one season in 1992. Columbus is home to three major professional sports teams: Columbus Crew in Major League Soccer, Columbus Blue Jackets in National Hockey League, and Columbus Fury in Major League Volleyball. Additionally, Columbus is home to two minor league teams, Columbus Crew 2 (soccer) and the Columbus Clippers (AAA baseball), in the MLS Next Pro and International League, respectively.
The market is also heavily influenced by the collegiate teams from Ohio State University, the Buckeyes. Repole expressed a desire to recruit heavily from Ohio State alumni for the team and hired XFL and Ohio State alumnus Cardale Jones as a community ambassador, a role Jones stated that he "had no clue what that means" but hoped would involve a say in the team's "back-end decision-making."