The Austin Aztex were a

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

team based in

Austin, Texas Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the county seat, seat and largest city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and Williamson County, Texas, Williamson co ...

, United States. Founded in 2011 as a member of the

Premier Development League USL League Two (USL2), formerly the Premier Development League (PDL), is a semi-professional developmental association football, soccer league sponsored by United Soccer Leagues in the United States and Canada, forming part of the United Stat ...

, the team played the 2015 season in the United Soccer League, the second tier of the United States soccer pyramid. This was the second team to carry the name Austin Aztex;

the first The First may refer to: * ''The First'' (album), the first Japanese studio album by South Korean boy group Shinee * ''The First'' (musical), a musical with a book by critic Joel Siegel * The First (TV channel), an American conservative opinion ne ...

were founded in 2008 and relocated to Orlando in 2010, with that ownership group eventually being awarded an MLS franchise of the same name in that city. The 'new' Aztex played their home games at the 6,500-seat

House Park House Park is a 6,000-6,500 seat American football stadium in Austin, Texas, owned and operated by the Austin Independent School District. Unlike many school districts in Texas, AISD uses multiple shared stadiums including House Park for use in a ...

just west of the downtown Austin core, until that stadium was severely damaged by the 2015 Memorial Day floods; for the remainder of that season, they played at Kelly Reeves Athletic Complex. On October 2, 2015, the Aztex announced that, due to the fact that neither House Park nor Kelly Reeves met league stadium standards, and to difficulty in procuring a stadium that meets those standards, the team would be on hiatus during the 2016 USL season. The Aztex planned to resume competition in 2018 after the stadium issue was resolved but in the event, did not return to the USL. USL Championship soccer returned to Austin with the newly formed Austin Bold FC beginning play in 2019 at their own stadium at the Circuit of the Americas. A Major League Soccer franchise was awarded to

Precourt Sports Ventures Jay Anthony Precourt Jr. (born 1969–70) is an American investor and sports team owner. He is the CEO of Two Oak Ventures (formerly Precourt Sports Ventures), a group that owns Major League Soccer club Austin FC and formerly owned the Columbus ...

, former owners of Columbus Crew SC, to begin play in 2021 as Austin FC.

History

Rebirth of the Aztex

The latest incarnation of the Austin Aztex was founded by David Markley, who was a minority owner of the original Aztex. The previous team's majority owners moved the organization to

Orlando, Florida Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County, Florida, Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Greater Orlando, Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, acco ...

at the end of the 2010 season and renamed the team

Orlando City SC Orlando City SC is an American professional soccer club in Orlando, Florida, that competes as a member of the Eastern Conference in Major League Soccer (MLS). Orlando City SC began play in 2015 as the 21st franchise in MLS, succeeding the USL ...

. In September 2011, Markley announced plans to create a new Austin Aztex team which would compete in the

beginning in the 2012 season. The new Aztex played their first game on May 5, 2012 at Woodforest Bank Stadium, home of the

Texas Dutch Lions Miami Dutch Lions FC is an American professional soccer club based in the Miami metropolitan area. The Lions competes in National Premier Soccer League, as a member of the Sunshine Conference. The club was founded in Conroe, Texas in 2011, before ...

, and defeated the hosts 4–0. The first Aztex goal was scored by midfielder

Tony Rocha Antonio "Tony" Rocha (born 21 August 1993) is a professional footballer who currently plays for Orange County SC in the USL Championship. Born in the United States, he represents the Belize national football team. Career College Rocha played ...

on a free kick in the 6th minute of play. The Aztex's first home game was played on May 19, 2012 against the

El Paso Patriots El Paso Patriots was an American soccer team based in El Paso, Texas, United States. Founded in 1989, the team played in the Premier Development League (PDL), the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, in the Mid South Division of the Southe ...

before a crowd of 2,507. The Aztex rose to the occasion with a 6–1 win, with Kris Tyrpak providing three of the Aztex's six goals. First Austin Aztex home game

The reborn Aztex finished their first season with 9 wins, 5 losses, and 2 draws. They won their first playoff game against the

Ocala Stampede Ocala Stampede was an American soccer club based in Ocala, Florida that played in the Premier Development League, the fourth division of the American soccer pyramid. History Ocala Stampede was granted a franchise in the PDL on December 28, 2011, ...

but fell to

Orlando City U-23 Orlando City U-23 was an American soccer team based in Lake Mary, Florida, United States. Founded in 1998, the team played in the Premier Development League (PDL), the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, in the Southeast Division of the S ...

's in the Southern Conference final. In preparation for the move to

USL Pro The USL Championship (USLC) is a professional men's soccer league in the United States that began its inaugural season in 2011. The USL is sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation (U.S. Soccer) as a Division II league since 2017, ...

, the Aztex introduced a new logo and affiliated with the Columbus Crew SC, an

MLS Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Cana ...

club which had also recently undergone a logo change.

Colors and badge

The Aztex kits were dark blue with gold numbers and gold trim. Their alternate kits were white with gold trim and numbering. Kits were provided by

Admiral Sportswear Admiral is one of the oldest English sportswear brands, with a manufacturing emphasis on clothing for association football. Founded in 1914 in Leicester, Admiral was originally an undergarment brand but switched to the manufacture of apparel for ...

. Emergo Group, an international regulatory consulting firm headquartered in Austin, served as the team's jersey sponsor from 2012 through 2014. The Aztex badge was blue and gold with a Texas lone star, a

soccer ball A football (also known as football ball, soccer ball, or association football ball specifically in the United Kingdom) is the ball used in the sport of association football. The name of the ball varies according to whether the sport is called ...

, and the word "AzTeX" with an enlarged A, T, and X. "

ATX ATX (Advanced Technology eXtended) is a motherboard and power supply configuration specification developed by Intel in 1995 to improve on previous de facto standards like the AT (form factor), AT design. It was the first major change in comput ...

" is shorthand for Austin, Texas.

Year-by-year

Honors

USL PDL USL League Two (USL2), formerly the Premier Development League (PDL), is a semi-professional developmental soccer league sponsored by United Soccer Leagues in the United States and Canada, forming part of the United States soccer league sys ...

* USL PDL Champions:

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment ...

* Southern Conference Champions:

* Mid-South Division Champions:

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

Head coaches

Paul Dalglish Paul Kenneth Dalglish (born 18 February 1977) is a Scottish former professional footballer. Playing career Dalglish, son of former Scotland international Kenny Dalglish, was born in Glasgow though spent his childhood in the city where his fa ...

(2012–2014) * Manuel Buentello (2014) *

(2014–2015)

References

External links

Austin Aztex
Official Website
Eberly's Army
nbsp;– the

supporters group A supporters' group or supporters' club is an independent fan club or campaign group in sport, mostly association football. Supporters' groups in continental Europe are generally known as ultras, which derives from the Latin word ultrā, mea ...

for Austin Aztex. {{Texas sports USL League Two teams Association football clubs established in 2011 2011 establishments in Texas Former USL Championship teams Association football clubs disestablished in 2017 Sports in Austin, Texas Soccer clubs in Texas