After serving as the vice president/general manager for Saint Louis FC of the USL Championship league since March 2014, Jeremy Alumbaugh is set to become the new general manager of the Chattanooga Football Club.
With over 20 years of coaching and management experience in the club, collegiate and professional ranks, the 46-year-old Alumbaugh takes over for CFC co-founder Sheldon Grizzle, who released the reins at the end of the 2019 season.
"It's very rare in sports where you get an opportunity to come in and be a part of something that is in a really good spot," said Alumbaugh, who will be introduced at Finley Stadium this morning at 11. "A lot of times as a coach or leader you come in when things aren't going well. The team has been losing or the team is not doing well at the gate. Chattanooga FC is obviously the opposite. They have done amazing things here, and this is an opportunity I could not pass up."
CFC has an all-time record of 115-41-35 and a home attendance of more than 400,000 for soccer matches in Finley since 2009. This February the club will make the leap to the professional tier-3 division of US Soccer as they join the National Independent Soccer Association.
With the club's stated mission to use soccer as a tool to build community in Chattanooga, and to strengthen relationships among all people, Alumbaugh believes he has found a perfect fit.
"As a club it's important how you treat people, how you act in the community, what you bring to the community and what you stand for," Alumbaugh said. "CFC constantly looks to give back to its community, and the more I dug into the club's core values, they really linked up with mine. That's not always easy to find. This is a great opportunity to become a part of a club that agrees with what I believe in. Soccer and community really matter here."
While in St. Louis, Alumbaugh was also the director of coaching for the St. Louis Scott Gallagher club that includes more than 60 teams. He has nine years of experience as an assistant coach at Southwest Missouri State University and Southern Illinois University.
"Jeremy's qualifications were far and away a dream fit for us," CFC chairman Tim Kelly said. "This is really the last piece of the puzzle. We can take a deep breath and say we have what we need to succeed as a professional club. He has the depth of management experience that there is no question he can help take the club to the next level."
With Saint Louis FC, Alumbaugh oversaw player personnel, roster assessment, scouting and youth initiatives for the club that will join Major League Soccer in 2022. The club made a deep run to the U.S. Open Cup quarterfinals this year, winning four games before losing to Atlanta United FC, 2-0.
Alumbaugh is ready to put the hard press on as CFC's GM as he looks to focus on revenue generation, ticket sales and sponsorship as his main duties.
"Putting in the work every day is very, very important," Alumbaugh said. "Sports is an urgent world. There is always the next game, next practice, next season-ticket holder or a company to partner with. There really is a sense of urgency, and I am ready to work every day to fulfill CFC's plan and do what we say we are going to do as we step into this next chapter."
Alumbaugh will move to the Scenic City with his wife, Tammy, and their daughter, Sidney.
"I grew up in Hinckley, Illinois, in a farming town that didn't have high school football," he said. "Soccer was our homecoming, and my dad was a high school coach. Soccer has brought so many amazing opportunities, and our family is thrilled to be coming to Chattanooga."
Contact Patrick MacCoon at pmaccoon@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @PMacCoon.