For immediate release: College Station Spirit, member of the South Division of the North American Tier-III Hockey League (NA3HL), will be rebranding as the Texas RoadRunners effective for the 2019-2020 season.
As a result of the performance of the College Station over the past few seasons, Team Owner Don Stone has identified a change in leadership and is now rebranding the franchise to better reflect the organization’s history and commitment to excellence within the North American Hockey League (NAHL) and youth hockey.
In December 2018, Don Stone hired an experienced Head Coach, Ryan Egan. Egan, most recently the head coach of the Coulee Region Chill of the NAHL, is a former assistant coach with Saint Mary’s University in Winona, MN, who also has previous coaching experience in the NA3HL. Coach Egan spent two years as the head coach of Coulee Region before the team was sold and relocated to Chippewa Fall, WI.
“The hiring of coach Egan was the first step in making College Station a desirable destination for athletes with a desire to play hockey at the NCAA level,” said owner, Don Stone. “With coach Egan’s record of advancing players to both NCAA Division 1 and Division 3 institutions, we know that the change in culture and success will be rapid.”
Don Stone has been actively involved in youth hockey for over a decade starting with tenure as owner and Team President of the Topeka RoadRunners (NAHL) from 2009-2018. Stone furthered his participation in the league by forming two Tier-III franchises in the Atlanta (formerly of Topeka) Capitals and the College Station Spirit. After selling the Topeka RoadRunners in 2018, Don Stone maintains an ownership stake in the Odessa Jackalopes (NAHL). Throughout his time in the league, Stone has prioritized the development and education of players both on and off the ice resulting in hundreds of young men advancing to a college education and beyond.
Moving forward, the re-branding of College Station Spirit to the “Texas RoadRunners” will bring the organization full circle and re-emphasize the ownership’s past, present, and future dedication to the success of the NAHL and NA3HL family. “We are very excited about seeing the iconic RoadRunner logo being worn again,” added Stone. “I brought Ryan as the new coach into the organization to show how dedicated I was to making this organization one of the most respected in the NA3HL and his players wearing the RoadRunner logo is a testament to the character he is bringing to this team.”