Andrew Watkins named new President/General Manager of the Blitz

January 8, 2007 - arenafootball2 (af2)
Bakersfield Blitz News Release


BAKERSFIELD, CA - The Bakersfield Blitz announced that Andrew Watkins has assumed the duties of President/General Manager for the franchise.

"The addition of Andrew Watkins in a day-to-day capacity will help the Blitz franchise continue to grow and develop in all facets of operations," said Scott Garrison, V.P. of Sales and Marketing for Lightspeed Systems, and co-owner of the Blitz. "He brings tremendous sports business experience, hard work and dedication to the position and will be valuable to the team's future growth and success."

Watkins is part of the ownership group that purchased the Blitz team in November 2005. Most recently, Watkins was President of Asia Sports & Entertainment (ASE), an event management and athlete representation firm focused on opportunities in the fast-growing Asian sports and entertainment markets, particularly China, Japan, Korea, and India. Before founding ASE, Watkins spent three years with the Los Angeles Dodgers, Asian Operations department. Fluent in Japanese, he coordinated all aspects of the Dodgers' marketing efforts to the local, national and international Asian community.

Previously, Watkins served as Executive Director for the Spine in Sports Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to the prevention of spinal cord injuries in adolescent athletes and the developer of the "See What You Hit" program for high school football. Watkins began his career with the law firm of Graham & James in Los Angeles. Watkins has a J.D. from Loyola Law School in Los Angeles, California and a B.A. in Japanese Studies from Bucknell University. Watkins is a native of South Pasadena, California.

"I am extremely honored to have been appointed to this position," said Andrew Watkins. "As an organization, we will look to build on the success of last season, and the tremendous hard work of Paul Press and Jim Lambright. Personally, I am extremely enthusiastic about the future of Arena Football and look forward to making the Blitz a premier organization in sports."

In 2006, the Blitz enjoyed their most successful season ever as the team advanced to the 2nd Round of the National Conference playoffs, and won their first playoff game ever. As a team, they had the #1 ranked defense in the league, leading in total defense and pass defense, while finishing 2nd for most interceptions. Individually, DS Alex Wallace (San Jose State '04) was named the ADT Defensive Player of the Year, and OL/DL Jerry Turner (Tennessee Tech '02) was named the U.S. Army Lineman of the Year.

In 2007, the Blitz are proud to welcome back head coach Gary Compton, who was a 13-year veteran of the Arena Football League and was named the "Built Ford Tough" Man of the Year in 2001. Coach Compton will look to build on the success of 2006 and bring home the Arena Cup to Bakersfield in 2007.

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The Bakersfield Blitz play in arenafootball2 (af2), which brings Arena Football to mid-size cities around the country and operates under the same Mission Statement and Fans' Bill of Rights as the AFL. The af2 begins its 8th season in March 2007 with 30 teams and serves as a developmental league for players, coaches and officials to major professional football leagues each year. The Blitz are currently offering special pricing for season tickets purchased before February 1st that will guarantee the same prices for both the 2007 and 2008 seasons. For more information, please contact (661) 377-2548.



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