NEW YORK, NY (October 13, 200
-- The United Football League is gearing up for its August 2009 launch by expanding its executive roster with the hiring of legal expert Matthew Couloute, Jr. as Vice President of Football Administration & Legal Affairs and technology specialist Tomás Llibre as Vice President of Information Technology. A formal announcement on the overall league structure, identity of owners and location of teams is forthcoming. "One of our top priorities as we launch the UFL is to align ourselves with the best people from all disciplines and see how collectively we can create a new business model for professional football," said UFL Commissioner Michael Huyghue. "With the vast knowledge and experience Matthew Couloute and Tomás Llibre bring to the UFL, we have been able to hit the ground running in our legal and technology operations which will ultimately make us stronger for our August debut."
Couloute comes to the UFL after many years working for both the NFL and NFL Players Association. While serving as legal counsel for the NFL, Couloute designed and ran a proactive educational program for players and coaches on legal policies and off-field issues. He presented league policies and educational information at both the NFL Rookie Symposium and National Football League Mother's Association. Couloute then moved to the other side of the gridiron where he handled player/agent and player/team grievances for the NFL Players Association. He counseled college athletes regarding amateurism and turning into professionals, assisted the NCAA with investigating agent misconduct and handled NFL player fine appeals. Couloute also revamped the NFLPA Agent Admission Policy, creating background checks and requirements and assisted in the development of a more difficult agent exam.
Couloute was hired as the youngest and first minority Assistant State Attorney in Norwalk, Conn. He was promoted to Bridgeport, Conn.'s High Court as the State's Attorney where he prosecuted major felony offenses including murders, sexual assaults, armed robberies and drug offenses.
"Having worked both on the player and league side, I bring a unique skill set to the UFL that will help us carve our niche in the professional football landscape," said Couloute. "I have the advantage of being able to see what has worked well and what can be improved upon. I plan to draw from these experiences to aid in the creation of a successful league and bring professional football to those markets that are currently underserved."
Llibre also comes to the UFL from the NFL having spent almost ten years implementing solutions for the Football Operations, Officiating, Security and Management Council departments. In addition, he created technological solutions for an officiating website, college medical records, substance abuse program, Pro Bowl balloting, security case management and tracking of players' fines. Llibre also implemented the NFL IT project governance methodology to streamline in-house application development and infrastructure projects. One of the highlights of Llibre's NFL career was the design and implementation of the hardware architecture and enterprise search strategy behind the first Enterprise Portal rollout at the league office using Microsoft technologies. Prior to joining the NFL, Llibre worked at the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) where he quickly advanced from a Programmer Analyst to a Senior Network Administrator. He helped the Institute create solutions to track the development process of industry standards by international committees, implemented a tool to synchronize the Microsoft Exchange global address list with an enterprise CRM system and automated the rollout of Windows NT workstation to 150 users.
"Sports have come so far technologically speaking; but there is so much more we can do to advance the football experience for both passionate and casual fans," added Llibre. "Employing the skills acquired at the NFL, I plan to transform UFL IT into an Information Technology Utility by assessing where we are in the new digital world and streamlining our operations in direct support of the UFL strategic initiatives."
About The UFL
The UFL was developed to fulfill the unmet needs of football fans in major markets currently underserved by professional football by providing a high quality traditional football league comprised of world class professional football players. The UFL will serve the communities with pride, dedication and passion, and uphold a leadership role in the development of football worldwide. The UFL will provide every fan with an affordable, accessible, exciting and entertaining game experience. Featuring quality, outdoor professional football played in the fall, the UFL will include six to eight teams comprised of world-class football players. Scheduled to debut in August 2009, the UFL has offices in New York, NY; Jacksonville, Fla. and Rutherford, N.J. and is led by Commissioner Michael Huyghue.
