Michael L. Huyghue | |
---|---|
Born | September 21, 1961 |
Residence | Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida |
Nationality | United States |
Alma mater |
Cornell University University of Michigan |
Occupation | Chairman, Axcess Sports & Entertainment, LLC Commissioner, United Football League, LLC |
Home town | St. Thomas, Virgin Islands |
Spouse(s) | Kimberly Huyghue |
Children | 3 |
Parent(s) | Bruce and Joan Huyghue |
Website | Michael Huyghue |
Michael L. Huyghue (born September 21, 1961; pronounced "hewg") is a sports lawyer and businessman and former commissioner of the United Football League, having served in that capacity since the league's founding in 2007. He was previously a member of the legal department of the NFL Players Association before joining the NFL Management Council. Uniquely positioned from having thus worked on both sides of the player/management relationship, he called for the 2011 NFL labor standoff to be settled by keeping the lawyers for both sides out of the negotiating process.
After the formulation of the World League of American Football, the predecessor of NFL Europa, Huyghue joined the Birmingham Fire as general manager. After the league’s demise in 1992, he moved to the Detroit Lions of the National Football League as vice-president, a role he also fulfilled for the expansion Jacksonville Jaguars from 1994 until 2001. Huyghue was also previously a sports agent, managing NFL players such as Adam "Pacman" Jones.
Huyghue is originally from suburban Hartford, Connecticut, a situation that was a factor in his placing a UFL franchise, the Hartford Colonials, in the area. His family is from St. Thomas, United States Virgin Islands. Huyghue was a three-year football and baseball player while at Cornell University, and received a law degree from the University of Michigan. He lives in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida.