Greenville pro soccer team has a name and colors.

Lake Morris | The Greenville News

Greenville's newest pro sports team now has a name. Greenville Pro Soccer announced Thursday it will be known as the Greenville Triumph Soccer Club with green and navy blue its primary colors, during an announcement party at Pour Taproom.

Triumph SC vice chairman and chief brand officer Doug Erwin said the team name goes back to Greenville – and the Upstate's – textile days.

"We settled on Triumph because how it relates not just to the region, but to the spirit of the people," Erwin said. "If you look at where Greenville was in the 1950s and 60s, we were the textile capital of the world. That market had a seismic shift overseas with factories closing. We were threatened and going the way of a lot of towns in America.

"It was the spirit of the people in the region to work to overcome it, and the triumph of the people to remake the region into an international business hub with a gleaming downtown that is on multiple awards lists."

The announcement caps five months of work, Erwin said. The organization originally had 20 ideas before narrowing down the field.

"This is our first official entry into the market in a lot of people's minds, and it is good to get our name and brand out there to start to build momentum into our inaugural season," he said. "A big part of the process was getting people's feedback of what they want to see in a team name and crest.

"Down the road we might have some fun sharing the names that did not get picked."

Erwin added the organization used surveys along with formal and informal focus groups to get feedback and drive creative direction.

Greenville also unveiled its team crest, a green shield anchored with a white "T" flanked by "S" and "C" while navy blue mountains anchor the bottom. Erwin said the crest "pays homage to the Blue Ridge Mountains and the rivers that contribute to the beauty and livability of the Upstate."

Andy Mendelsohn and J.J. Puryear of Bright+Co designed the crest.

Greenville starts competition in March of 2019.

Erwin said the hope is the team will adopt the nature of its namesake.

"Win or lose, this soccer team represents and reflects our triumphs as a community and our fierce determination to keep moving forward."

More: Greenville announces new pro sports team

The Erwin Creates ownership group announced the founding of the club in back in March. It was the third member of the United Soccer League's Division III.

USL is sanctioned as a Division II professional league by U.S. Soccer, while Major League Soccer is considered Division I. These two divisions and the USL Division III are the only professional leagues recognized by U.S. Soccer and FIFA in the country.

USL D3 recently announced the addition of a club in Madison, Wisconsin and Chattanooga, Tennessee. They join Greenville, South Georgia Tormenta FC and FC Tucson (Arizona) as founding league members.

Erwin said the next step is to finish filling out the front office staff, name a head coach, find a stadium and select jerseys for the upcoming season.

"It is nice to get our first real announcement in a series of announcements coming in the fall," he said.

He said Triumph SC hopes to announce a head coach "in the next month or two," as well as a home field.

"Since we announced (our founding), even before, we looked at where we are going to play. Not just next year but where our ultimate home will be," he said. "We are evaluating a short list of sites and hopefully in the fall we will announce coaches, a stadium for 2019, a stadium for 2020, uniforms and tryout dates.

"The season will be here before we know it."