USA Ultimate Names New CEO -- A Close Reading of the Announcement
Kevin Erlenbach joins us from USA Hockey
Announcements:
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USAU Hires Kevin Erlenbach From USA Hockey as CEO
I will admit to forgetting about Tom Crawford’s retirement announcement back in May. It’s been a busy year! However, the big news is finally here.
Yesterday, USA Ultimate announced its hiring of Kevin Erlenbach as its new CEO. Erlenbach joins USAU after extensive experience in USA Hockey. Most recently, he served as Assistant Executive Director of Membership, a job he’d held since 2017, although he joined USA Hockey as an organization back in 2006.
Crawford has held the CEO role at USAU since 2009. In his time at the helm of the sport in the U.S., he accomplished a lot. He oversaw the transition from UPA to USAU, established the Division III competition in college (yay!), helped ultimate get recognized officially by the United States Olympic Committee (USOC), was at the helm through the COVID-19 pandemic, and oversaw the now-infamous (and possibly defunct?) ESPN deal.
However, in the past five years or so, frustration had been mounting with Crawford’s leadership. This Reddit post summarizes many of the complaints I’ve seen voiced online and discussed in person with folks. Many were frustrated with the overt Olympic focus coupled with the lack of progress being made on that front, as well as long-standing complaints about the website’s functionality,
Incidentally, over a decade ago, just after ultimate’s recognition by the USOC, Charlie Eisenhood questioned in an Ultiworld article if that would be the high water mark for Tom Crawford at USAU, having completed the number one task they brought him on to do. While it has taken USAU ten years after that article to hire a new CEO, in hindsight, that was quite the prescient take.
In Erlenbach, USAU has clearly moved in a different direction than it did when hiring Crawford 15 years ago. Crawford’s resume highlight was his time as Director of Coaching for the USOC, while Erlenbach’s years at USA Hockey point to an emphasis on growth at the grassroots level rather than the Olympic level.
What USA Ultimate chose to highlight about Erlenbach in their announcement of his hiring also points to this. USAU highlights the growth in player base Erlenbach achieved during his time at USA Hockey, explicitly citing the youth and girls growth numbers achieved. They also specifically cite his efforts to create grassroots hockey events to drive growth and his role as a leader in USA Hockey’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion efforts.
USAU used TeamWork Consulting to conduct a “nationwide search " to hire Erlenbach, and the board unanimously approved the decision.
It’s an exciting time. There is so much to love about this sport and where it can go, but so much to do to get it there. I certainly have felt a level of stagnation from USAU in the years following the USOC recognition, and regardless of how much of that was perception and how much was reality, it is undeniably exciting to have a fresh start with new leadership. Especially someone with a resume like Erlenbach’s.
What would you do first as CEO of USAU? Nationals prep is well underway, hoping to get three divisional previews out all next week for you. Let me know if there’s anything you liked/disliked about regionals coverage that you want for nationals too!
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This newsletter aims to tackle the gap in present coverage of ultimate as a sport. Commentary, analysis, and community are some of the guiding ideals behind the Breakside.
About the Author
My name is Noam Gumerman (he/him). I am from Chapel Hill, NC, and studied Journalism and American Studies at Brandeis University. I am a journalist by trade and have been playing ultimate for over half my life. I love nothing more than combining those two interests. Contact me for discussions, feedback, story suggestions, and more on Twitter (@noamgum/@breaksideulti now too!) or email (noamgumerman@gmail.com).
Bill Theisen, a professor and Ultimate coach at Ohio Northern University, envisioned and created DIII Nationals. Tom Crawford just made it a sanctioned USAU event. Not very much effort required, and certainly not credit.