Minor league sports teams are popping up around the state as Fort Smith prepares for the season opener of its new collegiate summer league baseball team, the Marshals, and Hot Springs finalizes the launch of a franchise in an arena football league.
The Marshals will play in the newly formed Mid-America League and their first game is slated for May 23. Home games will be played at Crowder Field on the campus of the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith. Fort Smith will open with a three-game home stand against the Texarkana (Texas) Rhinos. The Marshals name was chosen to honor Fort Smith’s history as a base for U.S. marshals in the country’s “Wild West” era.
The league schedule is available here.
Other teams in the league include the Abilene Flying Bison, Piney Woods Timber Hogs (White Oak) and the Sherman Shadowcats based in Texas, as well as the Joplin Outlaws in Missouri. The 68-game season is set to run from May 23 – Aug. 10 with playoffs scheduled for Aug. 12.
With a roster of up to 40 players, league teams will focus on the continuing development of college players across all competition levels. The team has already shared parts of its roster with local players and others from around the country including Colorado, Pennsylvania and Texas.
While the Marshals gear up for their debut, Hot Springs has been awarded a new arena football team, which will play in Bank OZK Arena. The team will begin play in 2025 in the Arena League, which launches this summer with four teams. Hot Springs is one of two expansion teams announced for 2025.
The league is backed by former Heisman Trophy winner Tim Brown, who is the league’s chairman and commissioner. The league distinguishes itself through the use of a 50-yard field that is 85 feet wide, 15-man rosters of two-way players with six players on each side of the ball, a faster pace of play with a 20-second play clock and no huddles. In addition, there will be no field goals, PATs or kickoffs — kickoffs will be replaced with quarterback “throwoffs” and onside kicks replaced with special onside conversions. Also, plays will be called out by coaches over the public address system. Brown said in a press conference that the games will be so fast-paced it will still be hard for defenses to gain an advantage. Also, teams will operate with 15-man rosters.
The Hot Springs team is still unnamed, and the public will have a chance to give their input on the team name and colors. The other expansion team has yet to be announced, and the league appears committed to Hot Springs as Bank OZK Arena signed a three-year contract with the league.
The four teams set for the league’s first season are the Ozarks Lunkers (Springfield, Missouri), Duluth (Minnesota) Harbor Monsters, Iowa Woo (based in Waterloo) and Kansas City Goats.
Just like the Mid-America League, the league will prioritize entertainment and host special events with festivities between plays.
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