Today NISA put out a press release announcing the rebirth of Stumptown Athletic, now Stumptown AC. The league highlighted new leadership, coaching, and a rebrand. The new executive staff includes “American soccer veteran Fred Matthes president and Carrie Taylor, recently tapped to lead the launch of a new women’s professional league, head of operations.”

The executive team wasted no time in announcing a veteran coach to lead the club, former two-time Portland Timbers assistant coach, Rod Underwood . Underwood is a highly decorated and recognized name in the sport and should put his stamp on the club from the start. “Our first order of business was ensuring we hire the best head coach we can – and we did in Rod. We have an embarrassment of riches in terms of talent that can compete from the start and good will across the community. Carrie, Rod and I very much look forward to leveraging both as we grow in the coming weeks” stated Matthes in the press release.

The new logo is similar to the old one, but is clearly changed to be more “stumplike.”

What was not stated outright in the press release is the fact that this iteration of Stumptown is owned and operated by NISA. In a short exchange with the league, it was described as “NISA is the owner (for now)…but Charlotte is a critical market and we had the opportunity to invest in it.” We’re in talks with multiple connected parties to try and find out more information about this setup and how it will operate moving forward. As we gather more information, we’ll pass it along.

Big questions remaining: What does this mean for the roster-building? How does this reflect on the league’s principles? What happened to previous ownership? Was this an amicable split? So many more questions…

- Dan Vaughn