Case Study
League Development
Newly formed sports league needed a passionate leader to define and execute marketing, sales, logistics, and operations strategies to grow the sport and create revenue. Struggled with awareness and interest in the sport of Ultimate with untested commercial viability.
In 2011, the American Ultimate Disc League launched as a startup professional sports league, and I served as VP of Operations and Marketing for one of the founding franchises (Bluegrass Revolution, later Cincinnati Revolution). The challenge was real — how do you sell tickets to a sport most people have never heard of?
We leaned into grassroots, community-focused marketing that gave us direct access to engaged audiences. We used social media and a custom website for ticket sales, recorded and even streamed games to showcase the sport's visual appeal, and built partnership programs with transportation companies, restaurants, and media outlets to keep operations efficient.
Our games averaged 150 attendees, generating enough revenue to break even in the first two years — establishing proof of concept for the business model. The league still operates today with over 20 franchises across the United States at theaudl.com.
