With kickoff less than four months away, the United Football League has strengthened its football and business operations staff with the hiring of Brendan Rowe, Dean Blandino, Peter Morrissey and Justin Hesterlee.  

“The addition of Brendan and Dean in football operations and Peter and Justin on the business side are further indicators of the high level of talent the UFL has attracted,” said Frank Vuono, Chief Operating Officer of the UFL.  “Each of these bright individuals has a unique skill set that collectively allows the League to excel both on the field and in the League offices.”

Brendan Rowe joins the League as Senior Director of League Operations & Football Development.  Rowe will oversee all logistical operations for the League, including training camp, team travel and game operations. He will also assist in negotiating player contracts and providing support for the strategic planning and monitoring of the salary cap.  Prior to the UFL, Rowe spent 10 years with the Cleveland Browns in various roles including director of team operations.  While with the Browns, Rowe directed day-to-day administration and coordination of football operations and logistics, including free agency, NFL Draft weekend, training camps, team travel/lodging/dining, visiting team arrival procedures at Browns Stadium, game-day operations and team catering.  

A 14-year veteran of the National Football League’s officiating department, Dean Blandino will serve as Video/Replay Consultant for the UFL.  As the director of officiating for the NFL, Blandino coordinated the NFL officiating clinics, prepared NFL Rule & Case books and manuals and was responsible for identifying all potential player discipline for the league.  Blandino managed the NFL Officiating website and was responsible for all the reference materials used by the NFL Competition Committee.  While overseeing the NFL’s instant replay program, Blandino hired, trained and supervised all NFL replay officials, video operators, communicators and technicians. He also oversaw all replay equipment needs including the NFL’s initial implementation of its instant replay system in 1999 and the system’s High Definition upgrade in 2007.

As Chief Legal Counsel for the UFL, Morrissey is charged with implementing a unique governance structure for the League that aligns incentives among owners while balancing the needs for collective action with individual team initiatives.  For the past six years, Morrissey has been serving as managing director for WR Hambrecht Ventures, the venture capital funds of WR Hambrecht + Co.  As a founding member of WR Hambrecht Ventures and Ventures II, Morrissey created the implementation strategies, authored investment summaries and developed new business models.

Justin Hesterlee joins the UFL as the League’s Director of Finance & Controller.  For the past four years, Hesterlee served as plant controller for AB InBev, Inc (previously Anheuser-Busch) in Jacksonville, Florida and Newark, N.J. A performance-driven finance professional, Hesterlee spearheaded $50M in cost-saving initiatives that strengthened the Jacksonville plant’s infrastructure, expanded its earnings and maximized its ROIs.  Hesterlee also served as a financial accountant for a $500M annual expense manufacturing facility in Jacksonville.