At the CFL's Board of Governors Meetings in February 1996, it was decided to end the league's four-year American experiment.
The Shreveport Pirates had already disbanded; the league folded the Memphis Mad Dogs and rejected a sale and relocation plan that would have allowed the Birmingham Barracudas to move to Shreveport and survive, forcing that team's closure as well.
Speros revived the Als' traditional colour scheme of blue, white, and red.
Unwilling to continue as the lone American team in the league, the San Antonio Texans voluntarily folded.
With the removal of the American teams, the CFL reverted to its traditional "East-West" alignment.