Jerry Kurz
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Date of birth: | June 21, 1949 |
| Place of birth: | London, England, U.K. |
| Career history | |
| As administrator: | |
Jerry B. Kurz (born June 21, 1949)[1] is one of the founding members of arena football, and part owner of Gridiron Enterprises.
Life prior to AF1
Kurz attended college and played football at the University of Oklahoma to earn his undergraduate degree. At Northern Illinois University he earned a Juris Doctor Degree. He and his wife Kathryn, both being licensed attorneys, operated their own law firm for 20 years together. Together the two have a son named Matthew Hall Kurz, who was a walk-on to the Indiana University football team from 2005-2010.
Kurz has worked with arena football for 28 years. He is the second-longest tenured employee of Arena football. Only losing out to Arena Football creator Jim Foster served longer. Under his leadership as president of AF2, the league expand in many small-to-mid-sized markets. This helped bring the Arena Football League back in 2010 after the 2009 season was canceled due to financial problems. Kurz has also worked as the league's Vice President of International Development. His main responsibility in this position was to carry out the H3 Visa Program. In this program, international players were exposed to, and played in the Arena Football League system. He oversaw international Arena Football games.[2]
Formation of AF1
The original Arena Football League folded after the 2008 postseason. Following the 2009 af2 season Kurz and several Af2 owners announced a plan for a new league forming, using a single entity model, called "Arena Football 1" or simply, "AF1". He stated that several former AFL teams and current Af2 teams were in negotiations with the new league. The league included former AFL and the [at that time] current Af2.[3]
Jerry Kurz is a member of the Arena Football Hall of Fame, and was inducted into the and the American Football Association's Hall of Fame and the Semi-Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1991.
AFL bankruptcy auction
In December 2009, the original AFL filed for chapter 7 bankruptcy. The AF1 team owners had bought all assets of the former AFL for $6.1 million, this included all logos, trophies, field turf, dasher boards, and team names.[4]
Name change from AF1 to AFL
Kurz announced at the end of 2009 that the AF1 would use the AFL name to re-brand the product. It was then discovered that the AF1 name was used as a business group to acquire all assets to once again, use the AFL name and assets legally.[5]
With lack of small market teams committing to the af2 for the 2010 season, the league ceased operations, with possibility of restarting in 2015 in China.[6] The league did not return in 2013.
Lawsuit against AFL
As of 2016, Kurz is no longer involved with the AFL and has since sued the league for "diversity breach of contract". [7] [8]
References
- ↑ birth ref at Company Director Check (UK) website
- ↑ http://cbspittsburgh.files.wordpress.com/2011/03/pghpowermediaguide2011.pdf
- ↑ http://sports.espn.go.com/extra/afl/news/story?id=4512394
- ↑ http://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/article/64355
- ↑ http://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/article/64355
- ↑ http://www.mysportsbuffet.com/?p=92
- ↑ Kurz v. Arena One Football, LLC et al, Justia Dockets and Filings, July 21, 2016
- ↑ Former commissioner Jerry Kurz files civil rights "breach of contract" lawsuit against AFL, Philadelphia Soul Nation Blogspot, July 29, 2016