The Columbus Cottonmouths, known colloquially as the "Snakes," were founded in 1996. The Snakes played at the Columbus Civic Center, commonly referred to as "The Snake Pit." On the ice, the Snakes won three league championships: the Levins Cup for the Central Hockey League championship in 1998 and the President's Cup for the SPHL title in both 2005 and 2012. The Columbus Cottonmouths Hockey operations closed doors in 2017 after 21 seasons on the ice. It was a great run in Columbus, GA for a minor league sports operation.