The morning Open Forum was interesting in that there is a lot of interest in the likely acquisition of Umbro by Nike. Umbro is the majority owner of the United Soccer Leagues and there is a lot of concern about what this would mean for the USL. Francisco Marcos and Tim Holt both relayed that Umbro is still committed to make major investment in the USL over the next few years, and they see no reason for Nike's possible acquisition to change that, but both had to admit that at the moment, they have no idea what Nike's plans are. But with Nike wanting to improve their brand, with the US National Teams being their biggest part of the US market at the moment, and rival Adidas a major player in Major League Soccer, it only appears a natural fit that the USL's move towards a more international product fits right in with Nike's plans, but how Nike would affect the future of the USL, at the moment, even Tim Holt and Francisco Marcos had to admit, it's anybody's guess.

Catching a few minutes of the MLS Cup between meetings From the USL First Division Scheduling, Tim Holt talks with representatives from Seattle and Miami Vancouver and Charleston looking for an open slot for a match Montreal and Portland representatives It's not all serious, you know! This is more typical USL scheduling, chaos with a chuckle The 10+ Year Club Inductions A quick peek in on the W-League scheduling Hall of Fame Inductee Mark Steffens Hall of Fame Inductee Giovanni Savarese Hall of Fame Inductee Rob Ukrop Tim Holt announces the 2006 Regular Season Champions, a year late The 2007 Hall of Fame Awards Dinner The Super Y-League "First Eleven" are announced Steven Thompson receives the USL Employee of the Year Award Master of Ceremonies Dean Linke concludes the evening's festivities

I next attended a meeting for the US Soccer Foundation, which I have to admit I knew nothing about. The US Soccer Foundation is the major charitable arm of US soccer, and serve as a major conduit between private and public philanthropic organizations and helping to grow youth soccer though development of facilities and clubs, donations of equipment, development of facilities and programs as an alternative after-school program in urban areas, and raising the profile of soccer at all levels in the US. Brooklyn Knights chairman Chuck Jacob explained how the US Soccer Foundation had helped save the Metropolitan Oval, as well as the Knights franchise back in the 1990's. I was completely unaware of the US Soccer Foundation, but I think it's a good opportunity for fan sites such as USLFans.com to find a way to benefit a worthy charity such as this, so keep an eye on this site for a possible follow-up on this topic.

At this point the MLS Cup was going on, and the AGM attendees were going in and out of the lounge area between meetings to catch a few minutes of the match, and we could all hear the cheers when the goals were scored from the next room, which is where I was for the next few meetings.

Those meetings were back-to-back sessions addressing USLLive.com and Fox Soccer Channel, who carry all of the USL First Division broadcasts between them. Tim Holt stated that he believes the USLLive.com package, first offered in 2007, was one of the most significant improvements ever in the coverage of the USL, and subscriber numbers were shown to have promising growth through the season, and there is great optimism for 2008. Both USLLive.com and Fox Soccer Channel realized the importance of providing highlights to the fans and local media, and several initiatives were discussed to make those more readily available in the future.

Next up was what is always the most interesting part of the AGM, putting together the schedule. Once again I was able to attend the First Division scheduling session, with Tim Holt and Steven Thompson taking turns at the helm, and very little has changed here from previous years, the TV schedule was set first, and after the league sets each team's opponents for the season, it's up to the individual teams to figure out the rest. As in past years, it seems easy for each team to schedule the first few, then a struggle to get the rest to fit. Of course the Saturday game problem is always an issue, as most teams love home games on Saturdays, but it makes difficult for road teams to match up a Saturday game with a second game on a road trip, as they have to either go for a back-to-back game (which nobody likes), or schedule a Thursday or Monday game to pair with it if you want to give the players a days rest. As in the past, it started out with organized pairings of teams around the tables, and quickly moved to organized chaos, but for an observer like me, it's an awful lot of fun to watch. Like last year, I only attended the first 45 minutes of the scheduling session (which will continue Monday morning), and the few games that I did overhear could likely have been changed five minutes after I left, so I probably have no more insight on what the 2008 schedule will be than most fans do, but the process of grinding out the schedule is still the most interesting part of the AGM schedule.

Sunday evening featured the Hall of Fame Awards Dinner, with three people being inducted, along with six teams joining the 10+ club. Awards were also presented for individual and team achievements in all leagues, as well as the Super Y-League “First Eleven”. Master of Ceremonies for the evening was Dean Linke, the voice of the Carolina RailHawks.

Each of the 2007 Hall of Fame inductees were allowed to choose someone to introduce them this year, and first up was Charlotte Eagles General Manager Tom Engstrom who introduced Eagles coach Mark Steffens as the night’s first inductee.

Steffens was very emotional at times, stating how humbled he was to be receiving the award, and insisted that the award was something that he could not accept alone, but only as a member of the organization that he has been a member of for eleven years.

Brooklyn Knights founder Chuck Jacobs introduced the next inductee: Long Island Rough Riders legend Giovanni Savarese, who spoke about how the USL coming to Long Island in the mid-90’s allowed him to stay in the US and after a successful career in MLS had had him back in Long Island in 2004 before his retirement. Savarese closed by stating “It’s great to be a part of something you have a passion for.”

Richmond Kickers assistant coach Jesse Myers introduced the final inductee of the evening, player Rob Ukrop. The 1995 PDL Most Valuable player played 11 years in Richmond for the Kickers before retiring in 2004, and his advice to all players as they ended their playing careers was to “Go out into the world, and contribute to the game you love.”

USL Executive Vice President and COO Tim Holt then had to get a burden off his chest as he admitted that he had failed to recognize the 2006 Regular Season Champions in each league at the previous year’s meetings, so the Montreal Impact, Rickmond Kickers, Carolina Dynamo, and New Jersey Wildcats each received a belated recognition for their 2006 season accomplishments.

The individual league accomplishments were then presented before the final awards of the evening, the USL Progress Award, and then the USL Employee of the Year. Director of Professional League Operations Steven Thompson received this year’s award, and found himself speechless at the podium before finally talking about how he had been in college with Tim Holt, and how he appreciated the opportunity he had to follow in his footsteps.

Here are the award winners from the 2007 United Soccer Leagues Hall of Fame Awards Dinner:

10+ Clubs
Bradenton Academics
Indiana Invaders
Kansas City Brass
Northern Virginia Royals
Vermont Voltage
Western Mass Pioneers

USL First Division
Regular Season Champions: Seattle Sounders
Fair Play: Vancouver Whitecaps & Puerto Rico Islanders
Marketing: Carolina RailHawks
Communications: Portland Timbers
Key Grip: Brad Nicholson, Portland Timbers
Executive of the Year: Bart Wiley, Seattle Sounders
Rookie Franchise of the Year: Carolina RailHawks
Organization of the Year: Charleston Battery

USL Second Division
Regular Season Champions: Richmond Kickers
Fair Play: Charlotte Eagles
Marketing: Cleveland City Stars
Communications: Charlotte Eagles
Key Grip: Melissa Bryant, Crystal Palace Baltimore
Executive of the Year: Mark Geissbauer, Cleveland City Stars
Rookie Franchise of the Year: Cleveland City Stars
Organization of the Year: Richmond Kickers

Premier Development League
Regular Season Champions: Hampton Roads Piranhas
Fair Play: Cleveland Internationals
Marketing: Bakersfield Brigade
Communications: Ocean City Barons
Key Grip: Mike McAvoy, Central Florida Kraze
Executive of the Year: Neil Holloway, Ocean City Barons
Rookie Franchise of the Year: Mississippi Brilla
Organization of the Year: Fresno Fuego

W-League
Regular Season Champions: Ottawa Fury
Fair Play: West Michigan Firewomen
Marketing: Fort Collins Force
Communications: Richmond Kickers Destiny
Key Grip: Rob Irwin, Toronto Lynx
Executive of the Year: Marcie Laumann, Hampton Roads Piranhas
Rookie Franchise of the Year: Jersey Sky Blue
Organization of the Year: Atlanta Silverbacks

Additional Awards
USL Progress Award: Central Florida Kraze
USL Employee of the Year: Steven Thompson

Super Y-League “First Eleven”
1. Washington Crossfire
2. Seacoast United
3. Mountain WFC
4. Ottawa Fury
5. MPS Boston
6. Kalamzoo Kingdom
7. Schulz Academy
8. Cleveland Internationals
9. Toronto Lynx Juniors
10. Coastal WFC
11. Northern Virginia Royals/Majestics

Tomorrow Scheduling continues behind closed doors, I move my attention to the Y-League matches before flying back tomorrow evening.