Founded in 2024, McKinney Chupacabras FC will be headed into its second season in the USL League Two - we had some questions about the fairly young team, who they are how they operate, and how they came to be named. Connor Sides, the business operations manager, was happy to take the time to catch us up and to let us know they were almost the Tarantula Hawks!

Tell us the origin story of your club - when was the club founded? By whom and what was its mission?
The club was founded in August of 2024 by Michael Hitchcock, with the launch of our Brand Voting Campaign, which consisted of over 1,000 people in the McKinney community voting for their favorite team name and logo. McKinney Chupacabras FC won with over 600 votes, so it was the clear and cut favorite! The club then had the Brand Reveal Party on October 23, 2024 revealing to the public the brand of their new local club.

The mission of the Chupacabras is to drive the growth of soccer, but more specifically grow the game in McKinney, while also growing with local businesses, companies, and of course, fans.

Tell us about your badge and colors – how does it connect to the community?
During the Brand Voting Campaign, we had 4 options for the community to vote on:

McKinney FC
Historic McKinney FC
McKinney 1848 FC
McKinney Chupacabras FC

These were the final four that came out of about 75 that friends, family, local city leadership had a chance to be vote on to find the ones that really captures what this team would be about. Some other options that were thrown out there were names such as McKinney Mammoth, McKinney Forest, McKinney Unique FC, and my personal favorite, McKinney Tarantula Hawks!

McKinney Chupacabras FC badge sort of expresses a few things about the City of McKinney. The motto for McKinney is “Unique by Nature”. With that, if you ask some residents of Downtown or East McKinney, they’ll tell you they’ve seen Chupacabras roaming the city!

What league or leagues does your club participate in and why did you choose those to join?
McKinney Chupacabras FC participates in USL-2, which is a league that we believe provides the best opportunities for us, our community and our players in both the short term, and the long term.

Many clubs choose to sell hats, scarves or replica kits - how does your club keep the lights on and cover its league costs? How can interested people support you?
The Chupacabras are a great brand that the fans love, with great logos and on-brand merchandise. From the normal custom scarves, hats, stickers, and t-shirts, all the way to Custom Puma Jerseys with Chupacabras claw marks, Oktoberfest inspired kits, and other team gear!

How did you finish last year? What are the goals for your next season?
Last year the Chupacabras finished middle of the table in the USL-2 Mid-South Division, which featured two teams who made good runs in the playoffs. The club’s goals going into year two is to continue to develop the talent in players, improve on the results from the first year, and compete for a spot in the playoffs.

How do you participate in, or give back to your community?
Chupacabras front office, players, interns, and even ownership are constantly out in the community working with local businesses or city leaders at community events, working with non-profits, participating in and hosting youth camps for kids, and just continuously staying engaged with the city of McKinney. Without the community, the club wouldn’t be as successful as it is, and as successful as it can be.

If there were one or two teams, within a 100 miles of you, to play a friendly against – who would you play and why?
Luckily, in the DFW market also includes two top tier teams that the Chupacabras have a great relationship with, being Denton Diablos and Fort Worth Vaqueros. It’s always a pleasure to work with them, on and off the field. More to come on that in 2026!

Follow the McKinney Chupacabras FC and give them a follow on Instagram HERE