Tuesday night was a night of celebration for the Chattanooga Football Club. After announcing Jeremy Alumbaugh as managing director earlier in the morning, Alumbaugh and various team executives, fans, and players mingled at Chattanooga Brewing company. The setting was much more relaxed (and warmer) than the icy confines of Finley Stadium from the morning press conference.
Alumbaugh brings years of experience as the vice president of Saint Louis FC, and he believes his knowledge of being in charge of a professional team will help him in the Scenic City.
“I think the experience there is just knowing what it takes on a daily basis to know how a club operates professionally,” said Alumbaugh, “When people come to a game, they need to know what to expect in terms of the game presentation and the product of the field. And it’s a daily task.”
“It’s a long season, and it takes its toll on everybody—fans, supporters, players, staff—it takes a lot to support a soccer club,” said the new managing director, before giving credit to the staff already in place, “But we have people here who can do it for eight and hopefully 10 months. Helping people navigate that process is something I can bring to the table.”
Even though CFC is officially making the leap to the professional ranks in 2020, Alumbaugh noted how the club has already been run like a pro team for years.
“This club has operated as a professional club, so now it’s just about having small pieces to change or small things to bring in,” said Alumbaugh, “But we’re not going to overhaul anything here. We just have to tighten up a few things and we’ll be good to go.”
Despite the team having more money to work with during the 2020 campaign, CFC will hardly have a Real Madrid-esque payroll. Alumbaugh is aware of that, and he believes the club has the infrastructure and coaching to overcome the spending limitations.
“We’re going to have to punch above our weight a little bit,” said the managing director, “We’re probably not going to be top of the league in spending, and that’s OK. This club has found ways to be competitive and win before, and those two guys will find a way to do that again.”
Any new player who joins the club will be held to a high standard, said the new managing director. While the team may be professional, the players will still be expected to be active in the Chattanooga community.
“If a player comes here and plays for Peter and Bill, they’ll know what the expectations are in terms of being involved in the community, and doing things the right way on and off the field,” said Alumbaugh, “Those are some things that a club should stand for.”
Also in attendance was famed fan Galen, who can often be seen leading cheers and songs in front of the “Chattahooligan” supporter section. On the new hire, he said “We’re always excited for the future. As fans, we are committed to making his tenure a success.”
Jim Hicks, UT-Chattanooga’s assistant vice chancellor and one-half of the duo behind the 423 podcast, has already done some advance scouting of some of the teams Alumbaugh’s new CFC squad will play next season.
“I’ve watched a lot of the west coast teams who are going to be in NISA, and there are some really exciting and fun clubs,” said Hicks, “Oakland is going to be great and the LA Force are going to be solid. So I’m really excited to see these clubs come in.”
CFC director of merchandise David “Smo” Smotherman was another team mainstay at the party. Like many, he expressed support for the new front office staff and excitement over the team turning professional.
“I’m really excited about the chance to go pro for a full season. As someone who has made this my full-time job, it’s much better to have an opportunity to work a full season, as opposed to just a short summer season,” said Smotherman, “I’ve gotten to meet Jeremy a couple of times, and I really like his enthusiasm.”
Newly-hired chief marketing officer and Smotherman’s fellow MocsVision alum Owen Seaton delved into the business side of Alumbaugh’s job by saying “We have some revenue benchmarks we have to meet for the club to be its best. So Jeremy and I have been tasked with maxing out revenue as best we can in order to give (technical director) Bill Elliott and (head coach) Peter Fuller the budget we need to get the players we need in order to compete.”
Speaking of coach Fuller, the new coach spoke about balancing the dual nature of CFC. While the team is strictly professional, coach Fuller emphasized the need for the team to retain their community-based identity, while also winning games.
“This club was built on family in an amateur setting,” said coach Fuller, “We’re now taking it to a professional setting, but how do we marry the two? There’s a clear business side when you decide you want to be a professional club, and a clear bottom line financially and a bottom line in terms of results. This is a results business, and how do we marry the two mindsets.”
Chairman Tim Kelly saw Alumbaugh as the right man to oversee the transition from semi-pro to professional, saying “We talked about it being an evolution, and that’s one of the reasons Jeremy was such a good fit. He gets, as well as anyone I’ve spoken to, the community and family aspect of soccer, and he came from that in a professional setting. So he’s seen it done correctly, and he’ll be invaluable to get us to the next level.”
“This club has values. This club has a vision. There are really good people involved in it, and you don’t always get that in sports,” said Alumbaugh, “I’m coming from a place that has great people and a great mission statement and great core values, and it’s the same thing here.”