James French has taken over ownership of the Columbia Bison.
When the JAL "franhcise era" begun in JAL IV there were four founding franchises: The Rapids, Cobras, underdogs and the Bison. The league was like the wild west, wide open to be claimed.
In the first five tournaments of the franchise era the Cobras and Bison quickly staked their claim, winning two and three titles apiece (Cobras: JAL IV, VI, VIII, Bison: JAL V, VII). As the two dominate franchises battled for position atop the JAL naturally a heated rivally emerged.
Unfortunately, all great things have to come to an end, and the rivalry died down with Columbia's regression. Since their last championship in JAL VII the Bison have posted a 5-5 overall record and have failed to return to the WWCD Cup, standards far below what the league had grown accustom to seeing.
Factoring into Columbia's decline was the stepping down of Kevin Johnson as owner of the team after JAL IX. For almost two months (and through JAL X) the Bison were merely owned by the league until the search for a new owner was complete.
Today the JAL is proud to announce that James French has been named the new owner of the Columbia Bison. Only time will tell if he can bring the Bison back to glory.
.png){kind=small}