Austin Ice Bats

The Austin Ice Bats debuted in the WPHL for the 1996-97 season. The team was named after bats that resided beneath a local bridge, and had one of the most unusual hockey club names and logos of all time. On the ice, the team was quite successful. They made the playoffs in four out of their five seasons in the WPHL. In 2000, they made it all the way to the finals before falling to New Mexico in the semi-finals.

The WPHL merged with the CHL after the 2000-01 season, and the Ice Bats spent seven seasons in the CHL. They reached the playoff finals in 2001 and 2002, but fell to Memphis in five games both times. The squad was never the same after that. They missed the playoffs four out of the next five years before going out of business in 2008.