The Macon Mayhem are a

Southern Professional Hockey League The Southern Professional Hockey League (SPHL) is a professional ice hockey independent minor league based in Huntersville, North Carolina, with teams located primarily in the southeastern United States as well as Illinois and Indiana in the mid ...

team based in

Macon, Georgia Macon ( ), officially Macon–Bibb County, is a consolidated city-county in the U.S. state of Georgia. Situated near the fall line of the Ocmulgee River, it is located southeast of Atlanta and lies near the geographic center of the state of Geo ...

, and play in the

Macon Coliseum The Macon Coliseum is a multi-purpose arena in Macon, Georgia, United States. It is home to the Macon Mayhem, a minor-league hockey team in the Southern Professional Hockey League. The Centerplex was home to the Macon Whoopee (ECHL), Macon Whoope ...

. The team was formerly the Augusta RiverHawks, who suspended operations for the 2013–14 season due to ice system failure at

James Brown Arena James Brown Arena (formerly known as Augusta-Richmond County Civic Center) is a multi-purpose complex located in Augusta, Georgia. It is managed by Spectra Experiences. It features an 8,000-seat arena, renamed the James Brown Arena, in honor of ...

History

The franchise originally played in

Augusta, Georgia Augusta ( ), officially Augusta–Richmond County, is a consolidated city-county on the central eastern border of the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. The city lies across the Savannah River from South Carolina at the head of its navig ...

, as the Augusta RiverHawks from 2010 to 2013. Talks of relocation started in October 2013, when the RiverHawks, the city of Augusta, and Global Spectrum failed to reach an agreement on replacing the James Brown Arena's ice system at a cost of $1.2 million; additionally, the team, city officials and arena officials could not reach a settlement regarding the eight home games lost due to the ice system's failure. Team owner Bob Kerzner had not initially considered relocating to Macon; however Macon Centreplex officials had contacted the league, showing interest in bringing a team, either by expansion or relocation, to Macon. On June 17, 2014, the Macon-Bibb Commission approved a five-year deal for the RiverHawks in the Coliseum. On June 25, the RiverHawks made their move to Macon official, unveiling their new name, colors, and logo. The team did not take to the ice until the 2015–16 SPHL season to allow the team to establish its business relations and fanbase in Central Georgia. On February 4, 2015, Kevin Kerr was hired as the director of hockey operations and head coach. In the Mayhem's second season, the team clinched the

President's Cup The Presidents Cup is a series of men's golf matches between a team representing the United States and an International Team representing the rest of the world minus Europe. Europe competes against the United States in a similar but considerably ...

, sweeping the

Peoria Rivermen Peoria Rivermen is the name of four minor league hockey clubs: *Peoria Rivermen (IHL), named as such 1984–1996, formerly the Peoria Prancers 1982–1984 *Peoria Rivermen (ECHL), 1996–2005 *Peoria Rivermen (AHL), 2005–2013 *Peoria Rivermen (SP ...

2–0 in the championship series. After the team's third season, head coach Kevin Kerr was hired by the

Greenville Swamp Rabbits The Greenville Swamp Rabbits are a professional ice hockey team located in Greenville, South Carolina. They play in the South Division of the ECHL's Eastern Conference and play their home games at the Bon Secours Wellness Arena in downtown Gre ...

of the

ECHL The ECHL (formerly the East Coast Hockey League) is a mid-level professional ice hockey league based in Shrewsbury, New Jersey, with teams scattered across the United States and Canada. It is a tier below the American Hockey League (AHL). The E ...

as head coach. The Mayhem then promoted assistant coach Leo Thomas as head coach for the 2018–19 season. Under Thomas, the Mayhem went 27–24–5 and lost in the first round of the playoffs in the 2018–19 season. After a 2–6–2 start to the 2019–20 season, the Mayhem released Thomas and assistant coach Ryan Michel took over. On January 28, 2020, team officials renewed their lease with the Macon Coliseum for another five years. However, the season was then curtailed by the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

in March 2020. After Kerr was released by Greenville, he returned as the head coach of Macon in July 2020. Team owner Bob Kerzner then sold the team to a local ownership group, Georgia Pro Sports Ventures, LLC in August 2020. Kerr coached the team through the 2020–21 season and a regular season championship with a 32–6–4 record before resigning again due to personal and family reasons. In August 2021, the Mayhem named

Tulsa Oilers The Tulsa Oilers are a professional ice hockey team based in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and play in the ECHL. The Oilers played their home games at the Tulsa Convention Center until 2008 when they moved into the new BOK Center. For many years, the Tuls ...

' assistant coach Zac Desjardins as the head coach for the 2021–22 season.

References

External links

Macon Mayhem website
{{Georgia Sports Southern Professional Hockey League teams Ice hockey teams in Georgia (U.S. state) Sports in Macon, Georgia Ice hockey clubs established in 2014 2014 establishments in Georgia (U.S. state)