The 14-year-old United Systems of Independent Soccer Leagues, which brought professional soccer and high level amateur soccer to small and medium sized markets and serves as a major support system for Major League Soccer, has a new name: United Soccer Leagues. Commissioner Francisco Marcos, who founded the organization in 1986 as a modest five-team indoor league in Texas and Oklahoma and has watched it grow to 135 teams in 41 states, cited the need for clear communications to the public and potential sponsors as the primary reason for the name change. “We have gone through a kind of metamorphosis in our 14 years, and our names have reflected this,” said Marcos, whose organization is headquartered in Tampa, Fla. “Our phenomenal growth the last five years has been fueled by steady interest from individuals and groups who want smaller market, community-based professional and amateur soccer teams that compete for national championships. We have a wonderful story to tell, and our new name, United Soccer Leagues, will help us tell that story to the public and corporate America with more clarity.” United Soccer Leagues includes the following national leagues: * A-League (Division II professional) 28 teams * D3 Pro League (Division III professional) 28 teams * Premier Development League (national amateur) 39 teams * W-League (national women’s open) 36 teams * Y-League (national elite youth) new in 1999 In conjunction with the name change, the league will introduce a new graphics system that incorporate the league’s “sizzling ball” mark, which, dating back to its original “sizzling” (SISL) name, has come to represent the organization. The graphics system will also include new, updated marks for each of the leagues within United Soccer Leagues. Through a working agreement with Major League Soccer, United Soccer Leagues has become the pathway for young players who want to continue playing soccer after high school or college, with the hope of playing for a team in Major League Soccer or for a professional team abroad. A large number of “graduates” of the United Soccer Leagues system have moved up to the rosters of professional clubs in Major League Soccer, the nation’s Division I professional league. The 1998 scoring champion for Major League Soccer, Stern John of the Columbus Crew, was a former player with New Orleans of the A-League. “The large number of players coming out of America’s scholastic system have produced so many young players, that virtually any community in the USA could start a team and become competitive in a hurry,” said Marcos. “The USL provides the opportunity for the players to take their careers to a higher level. And it gives sports fans in smaller markets the chance to adopt a team of their own and watch it compete for national honors. “While the number of soccer fans who like to watch professional and high level amateur games has not saturated mainstream America, we do find that there is virtually nowhere in America that hasn’t been touched by our sport,” Marcos said. With its new name and identity, Marcos said the league has the perfect opportunity to work in the trenches to clear its first big hurdle – trying to get some regional and national sponsor partners onboard. It is not an easy task. “Soccer is still a new sport in the USA in relative terms,” Marcos said. “National sponsors are more than willing to put great resources into sporting events with television contracts, around which they build sponsorship packages. But with television not a given with soccer, we have to be especially creative in our approach to marketing.” The Rochester Raging Rhinos, champions of the A-League in 1998, have become one of the most talked-about professional sports franchises in the country and the shining success of the A-League. Playing in the same park as a triple-A baseball team, the Rhinos have captured the hearts of the people of Rochester by utilizing sound sports marketing principles, and dove-tailing staff responsibilities with a Rochester hockey franchise that is owned by one of the Rhinos’ owners. The Rhinos led the league in attendance with an average of 11,500 per game in 1998. As a result, the team is a prime candidate for Major League Soccer expansion in the future. The A-League, a Division II level professional league, has become well-known for producing teams that, in domestic cup play, have been extremely competitive against their Division I big brothers, Major League Soccer. Marcos cites the story of the San Francisco Bay Seals, a Division III professional team in 1997 that marched through the U.S. Open Cup, dismantling three Major League Soccer teams. The Seals, now members of the A-League, made it to the Open Cup semifinals before falling to the MLS champion D.C. United. Major League Soccer continues to work closely with United Soccer Leagues to maintain a strong relationship with USL teams, who develop players, team administrators, team staff and referees who eventually move on to new opportunities. “Our organization is geared toward creating opportunities for the betterment of the game in the United States,” said Marcos. “United Soccer Leagues is for the United States. USL is for players, referees, administrators, coaches, volunteers or fans — anyone who wants to be involved with our great game.”