They are offcially no longer the New York Sentinels.

The United Football League club that relocated from New York to Hartford will be called the Hartford Colonials carrying the name of the state capital of Connecticut and reflect the region’s long and distinguished history when they kick off the second United Football League season at Rentschler Field in the fall of 2010.

The Colonials was the name chosen by sports fans in Hartford and surrounding areas through a ‘Your Town, Your Team, Your Name – You Make The Call’ promotion to name the UFL team.  The promotion ran in association with Tribune companies FOX 61 News, the Hartford Courant and CTNow.com.

“We truly did listen to the public and the fans who will to chant the Colonials name from the stands at Rentschler Field,” said United Football League Commissioner Michael Huyghue.  “Colonials was not among the four names available when we asked people to vote online, and that is why we added a fifth option to suggest an alternative and that is exactly what happened.  Colonials soon emerged as the overwhelming favorite.”

FOX 61 kicked off the naming process on February 23 when promotional spots were broadcast, inviting football fans to visit CTNow.com to vote for their preferred choice of team names from a shortlist of four options or to suggest a different team name.

Group and season tickets to Hartford Colonials games will go on sale in April and the team’s new logo and uniforms will also be unveiled in the coming months.

The Harford Colonials will be led by Head Coach and General Manager Chris Palmer, who played football at Immaculate High School in Danbury and was a quarterback at Southern Connecticut State University before a successful spell coaching at the University of New Haven from 1986-87, posting consecutive 8-2 records.  Most recently, Palmer tutored Eli Manning with the New York Giants from 2007 to 2009 and ultimately won a Super Bowl XLII ring.

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Maury Brown is the Founder and President of the Business of Sports Network, which includes The Biz of Baseball, The Biz of Football, The Biz of Basketball and The Biz of Hockey. He is available as a freelance writer. Brown's full bio is here. He looks forward to your comments via email and can be contacted through the Business of Sports Network (select his name in the dropdown provided).

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