Austin Welcoming Back the Aztex in USL’s Premier Development League

The official announcement goes out tomorrow, but Austin’s supporters group – Eberly’s Army – met today to discuss the details with the team’s primary investor, David Markley. The news comes more than a year after Austin lost the club when it left to USL Pro and the city of Orlando.

Markley, a business executive with a local technology company who has a master’s degree in mechanical engineering, was an investor and operator of the previous Austin Aztex club.  He served on the  PDL Executive Committee and was recognized as the PDL Executive of the Year for his efforts in 2009.  He brings with him a wealth of knowledge, and passion, for the sport.

The Aztex will begin by competing in the PDL in 2012, with hopes to build a foundation for a future professional club in Austin. The club will announce its first head coach and its home stadium at a later date.

“I look forward to sitting among Austin’s  fans again and cheering for our team.  Several members of Austin’s soccer supporter groups have been instrumental in reorganizing the team and developing our new logo, which was designed by Ty Hudgins and Phil Davis,” said Markley.  The new logo features the lone star which is representative of the state’s capital, and emphasizes the letters ATX, a commonly used acronym for the city. (Notice the soccerATX in my site. Guess I wasn’t very original, as Markley’s holding group is known as ATX Soccer LLC. No affiliation.)

The premier U23 men’s league in North America, the PDL featured 64 teams within four conferences across the United States and Canada in 2011.  The Aztex PDL team will likely compete in the Mid-South Division, which includes league powers such as the 2011 PDL runner-up Laredo Heat.

As I mentioned in a previous post, Austin is one of the largest metropolitan areas in the country and one of only two of the top seven markets without professional soccer. While PDL is not a professional league, it has paved the way for teams to move forward into one of the professional divisions that lie below Major League Soccer.

Markley stated during the Sunday meeting that the coach of the club would bring a wealth of professional experience, and would focus on developing young players to move on to the professional ranks. He also stated that the club would look to tap the resources of Austin’s amateur leagues, and the leagues of central Texas, for young talent especially among the Hispanic population.

The new club has kept the Austin Aztex branding, and has added a sharp new logo. The club’s web site has been launched and can be found at www.austinaztex.com.

This is great news for Austin-area soccer fans. More news to come soon, with interviews from the leaders of the organization.