USA Ultimate Tabs Kevin Erlenbach as Chief Executive Officer

USA Ultimate has announced the hiring of Kevin Erlenbach as its next chief executive officer after spending the past 18 years at USA Hockey, where he most recently served as the assistant executive director of membership.

Erlenbach succeeds Tom Crawford, who is retiring after 15 years in the position. As part of USA Hockey’s senior leadership team, Erlenbach led the organization through a period of significant growth, highlighted by record levels of participation that has culminated with 1.2 million current members.

“The opportunity to join this amazing community is the thrill of a lifetime,” said Erlenbach. “Ultimate’s core values, spirit of the game and culture of providing a sporting community that makes sure there is space for every person, was something that matched my personal ethos.”

With an emphasis on growing female participation in hockey, Erlenbach also developed various programs that have led to a 95 percent increase in girls’ entry-level participation over the last decade and more than 100,000 female players, coaches and officials. Erlenbach was the leader of USA Hockey’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion efforts.

Some of the grassroots programs Erlenbach led in support of USA Hockey’s national growth initiatives include Try Hockey For Free Days — which provided more than 230,000 children with their first hockey experience — Welcome Back Week, a national member retention program, Girls’ Hockey Weekend, Learn to Play and the Hat Trick Challenge.

The appointment of Erlenbach was unanimously approved by the USA Ultimate board of directors, which included members DeAnna Ball, Dave Klink, Benecia Newhouse and Crawford.

“I am excited to have Kevin on board for this new chapter of USA Ultimate,” said Ball. “Kevin’s experience will allow him to come in and immediately support our strategic plan with an emphasis on growing our youth, local and grassroots communities. He is eager to learn more about our members and stakeholders and begin engaging with the staff on the hard work they take on every day, all while keeping DEI at the forefront of everything we do.

“Our task force collaborated extensively over the course of the last seven months to review, evaluate and interview candidates from a pool of more than 170 applicants,” said Klink. “We’re thrilled with the board’s unanimous approval of Kevin’s appointment and excited to welcome him to our team.”