In a September 2016 article in
Sports Illustrated, it was discovered that the Conquest/Firebirds almost became known as the Albany WarBirds. In 2001, 20-year-old college students Jason Klein and Casey White of branding firm
Brandiose were chosen to come up with a new catchy name for a new franchise for Albany. The name that was chosen was the "WarBirds" and logos, helmet and uniform designs were created. They filed for a trademark on August 15 and set September 12 as the day to unveil the name, logo and uniforms. Then, the
September 11th attacks occurred in
New York City,
The Pentagon and in
Shanksville, Pennsylvania. It was then determined that all parties involved agreed that the concept, which Klein described as a "weaponized airplane", would have to go. The "Empire" was the frontrunner for the new team name but they ran into a trademark issue, so they eventually settled on "Conquest". However, in 2018, the new AFL franchise became known as the
Albany Empire with no trademark issues. The team name was revived in 2023 for a
new member of the Arena Football League. ==Notable players==