In this 30 for 30 excerpt, look back as Vince McMahon announces his smashmouth football league in 2000. (1:34)

Is it time for the return of the XFL?

WWE founder and chairman Vince McMahon is set to announce that he will make another attempt at starting a professional football league, sources told ESPN.

Alpha Entertainment, a company that McMahon formed, issued a media advisory Thursday saying that McMahon would have a "major sports announcement" on Thursday afternoon.

Last month WWE filed paperwork with the Securities and Exchange Commission stating that McMahon would sell about $100 million in stock to fund Alpha Entertainment, a company founded to make investments "including professional football."

It is not clear whether McMahon will use the name XFL, the ill-fated football league he co-owned with NBC that lasted only one season in 2001, but Alpha has filed trademarks for that name.