The Charlottesville Scholars will relocate to San Antonio, Texas, effective July 1 and will begin play as the San Antonio Scholars in Season 6 of the DFL, team owner Tony Bellanova said in a public statement. The move marks a significant change for one of the league’s founding franchises. In his statement, Bellanova described the decision as the hardest he has made as owner and said the team’s future in a larger market drove the relocation. Bellanova said the franchise had outgrown Charlottesville as the DFL expands from its origins as a Virginia-based league into a broader national competition. He cited market size, sponsorship opportunities and revenue as the main reasons for the move, saying Charlottesville could no longer provide what the team would need to remain competitive over the long term. “What started as a small Virginia-based league is now becoming a national competition,” Bellanova said in the release. He said he believed keeping the club in Charlottesville would lead it to “slowly fall behind larger markets,” while moving to San Antonio would give the franchise resources to compete for championships in the future. The owner sought to separate the decision from criticism of the city or its fan base. In the statement, he said “Charlottesville did not fail us” and credited local supporters with making the Scholars one of the DFL’s founding success stories. He thanked fans for buying tickets, wearing team colors and backing the franchise from its earliest days. The Scholars were presented by Bellanova as proof that professional football could succeed in Charlottesville despite skepticism at launch. His statement said the city’s support helped establish the team’s early history and contributed to the growth of the league itself. Even so, Bellanova said he chose what he called “the future of the franchise.” He said the move was not motivated by greed, but by responsibility to players, coaches, staff and supporters who, in his words, deserve a team capable of competing at the highest level. The relocation is likely to disappoint many local fans, a point Bellanova acknowledged directly. He said some supporters may never forgive the decision, but maintained that larger-market economics left him with little practical alternative if the team was to keep pace as the DFL grows. Bellanova also said he is not leaving Charlottesville personally. According to the statement, his home and businesses will remain in the area and his commitment to the community will continue after the team’s departure. He described Charlottesville as the birthplace of the Scholars and said the city’s role in building the franchise and the DFL would remain part of the team’s history. No additional details were provided in the release about stadium arrangements, scheduling changes, staffing impacts, or whether any front-office or football operations jobs will remain in Virginia after the move. The statement also did not address whether fans in Charlottesville will receive any transition plans, farewell events or changes related to existing ticket commitments. Within the DFL’s structure, the move shifts a club that began in one of the league’s original Virginia markets into Texas ahead of Season 6. Because the league is a persistent professional football competition that has been expanding beyond its initial footprint, the announcement may be seen as one of the clearest signs yet of that national transition. For Charlottesville, the move ends the city’s run as home to one of the DFL’s original teams. For San Antonio, it brings an established franchise into a larger market that Bellanova said offers stronger commercial support and a better chance for sustained on-field competitiveness. For now, the clearest public account of the decision comes from Bellanova’s own statement: a relocation he said was painful, but necessary, as the Scholars prepare to enter Season 6 under a new city name.