Tony Zefiretto
Chief Executive Officer
Tony was a co-founder of Arena Pro Football and worked in the day to day of the leagues operations before its merger with the Can-Am IFL.
He is a former indoor league team executive and previously a consultant to several indoor football teams
Tony has operated team franchises and served as both a Coach, General Manager and Vice President in various professional sports, he has a record of turning around professional sports franchises to make them financially successful.
He was part of the management staff who founded one of the most successful franchises in the history of minor league baseball as well as on the management team who set attendance records with four professional sports franchises. Under his leadership, the staff members of five professional sports franchises surpassed sales goals in both ticket sales and marketing revenue.
He also negotiated and operated the 2002 Army/Navy Lightweight Football Game.
Jack Bowman
President
Jack also comes to the American Arena League from Arena Pro Football where he was the leagues President, He was a co-founder of Arena Pro Football and worked in the day to day of the leagues operations before its merger with the Can-Am IFL.
In 2005 he was inducted into the Minor League Football Hall of Fame and has currently over 14 years of indoor league experience as a National Director, Vice President, General Manager and Coach.
As General Manager his 2012 Cape Fear Heroes team won a national championship and in Harrisburg Pa. and Richmond Va. his staff holds the single game attendance records for indoor football with crowds of 4,300 and 4,700 fans respectfully.
Jack is the former National Director of American Indoor Football and the American Indoor Football Association and oversaw the day-to-day operations of both leagues.
In 2007 he syndicated and televised live, the AIFA National Championship and All-Star Games from Florence, South Carolina to over 40 million households. In 2010 he was instrumental in televising the AIFA Game of the Week on Fox Sports Net.
Jack Pennington
Legal Counsel
Education - Cumberland School of Law at Samford University J.D. 1991, Appalachian State University B.A. 1978
In 1991 began his practice of communications law dedicated to serving small and medium market broadcasters
He has ownership in a company which produces and distributes sporting events and documentaries along with other programming content to cable, over the top, and mobile operators in various countries around the world.
Over the past 12 years, in the sports media area, Jack has negotiated and drafted numerous contracts dealing with the distribution of athletic events for collegiate athletic conferences and individual institutions across radio, television and new media platforms.
During this time he was also a major principal in a company which owned the media rights to over 150 colleges and universities as well as professional minor leagues in the United States.
A Principal owner of Backlight TV.
Ira Kaufman
Vice President Media/ Public Relations
Ira brings extensive journalism experience to the AAL.
He is a member of the NFL Hall of Fame selection committee and during the NFL season he is an NFL analyst on Sirius XM Radio’s the Chris Mad Dog Russo Show.
He was previously an NFL writer for the Tampa Tribune and currently hosts a weekly television sports show on an CBS affiliate in Tampa Bay Florida.
In addition he is a Long-time sports writer for United Press International and an online columnist for JoeBucsFan.com (Tampa Bay Buccaneers website) and sportstalkflorida.com
Andrew Wright
Director of League Operations
Andrew has been involved in minor league sports for many years and has worked in both professional baseball and indoor football.
He has been part of the management teams at both the “A” and “AA” level in professional baseball as well as a member of the management staff who founded three professional sports franchises.
Andrew is also the former Vice President of Operations and part of the ownership group of the Augusta Colts indoor football franchise in the AIFA.
Jerry Wilson
Director of League Officials
Will be responsible for training, scheduling, evaluating and the grading of AAL league officials.
Professional Indoor Football – Worked many different professional indoor leagues as an official over the past decade including American Indoor Football, Southern Indoor Football League, X-League and Arena Football 2.
On the collegiate level Jerry currently officiates Southern Conference football games and in the past has officiated in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference.
A member of the North State Officials Association
Chip Bishop
Assistant Director of League Officials
Will be responsible for training, scheduling, evaluating and the grading of AAL league officials
Professional Indoor Football – Worked many different professional indoor league games as an official including playoff games and national championship games over the past decade.
Collegiate Football Experience- Worked in D-III football for 35 years including ODAC and USA-South. Position chief for both line judges and referees. Has worked many playoff games including the 1996 Alonzo Stagg Bowl.
A member of the Southeastern officials Association
Anthony Zefiretto Jr
Director of Logistics
Anthony has worked in operations for minor league baseball teams including affiliates of the L.A. Dodgers and Houston Astros.
He has also worked in the athletic marketing departments at the University of North Carolina Wilmington and the University of North Carolina Pembroke.
Jon Zimmer
Director of Sales
Jon has extensive sales experience on both the major and minor league levels and is former sales executive for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays of major league baseball and is a former front office member of the Tampa Bay Storm of the Arena Football League
Former sales executive for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays (MLB)
Former front office member of the Tampa Bay Storm (AFL)
Kevon Wilson
Director of Media / Video Production
Kevon is joining the AAL as the Director of Media / Video Production.
He brings over a decade of video and radio production, podcasting and marketing experience to the American Arena League.
Throughout Kevon's career he has worked with major brands and affiliates including NBC, CBS, ESPN, ESPN Radio, the Harlem Globetrotters and more.
Kevon, a lifelong arena football fan and will lead the creation and production of American Arena League video content.
Gary Balser
Director of Brand Marketing and Sponsorship
Gary has over 15 years of experience conducting contract negotiations, vendor management, developing sponsorship relationships, and organizing and planning the itinerary for events.
Throughout his career he has formulated and implemented innovative sales and marketing campaigns with a focus on the essential sales and marketing strategies that result in substantial revenue generation.
In honor of his late daughter, Gary is the founder of the President of the Britt Balser Foundation for TTP. The goal of his national charity is to raise funds to fight a fatal blood disease. His fund raising efforts have included organizing concerts with Styx, 38-Special, Asia and Alice Cooper.
Gary will focus on branding and sponsorship procurement.