Serving in the capacity of president, Duch is responsible for the team’s fan engagement and business operations, which include ticket sales, corporate partnerships, marketing, content, communications, community relations, and the game-day experience.
“It is very exciting that we finally told everybody our team name,” she said. “I am honored to be the president of this team. It has been a good week.”
She added that the logo of the New York Guardians represents “everyday heroes for us.” “New York is full of great acts of humanity that we see every day,” she said. “This city and this region are always on duty. Somebody is always watching out and it illustrates such values as grit and resilience and we want this team to reflect those values on and off the field.”
On her future plans with the XFL, she said, “The XFL will be about football and fun. We want to invite our fans and our players to help write our story. We want to collaborate with them to create traditions in the stadium, and engagement with the community.”
Regarding her daily motivations, she said, “I am thrilled that we get to introduce this team and our soon-to-be players to our fans. That’s the most exciting part of our connection. Sports fans are certainly passionate about their teams and we want to build that relationship with the fans and see them at MetLife Stadium this winter. The season will be 10 weeks for us.”
Kevin Gilbride is a former NFL head coach with nearly 40 years of football coaching experience. He was named the head coach and General Manager of the XFL team, New York Guardians. “Kevin is a dream. He has the name recognition in the area, and it is great that he is now the Head Coach of the New York Guardians,” she said.
On the impact of technology on the marketing of sports, she said, “It makes that relationship stronger. Fans get that information at their fingertips whether they are consuming it on social media, on our website or through our email channels. They are getting everything in real time. We are overwhelmed with the positive sentiments that we are getting from fans in the area.”
“The football side has been doing a lot of testing on variables and technology and it will be interesting to see what they decide will be an enhancement to our game and the fan experience,” she added.
On the title of the current chapter of her life, she responded, “Loving Startup Life.”
Regarding the best advice she was ever given, she said, “Be passionate about what you do, when that passion dims, it is time to move on.”
Throughout her career, Duch served as Senior Vice President of Marketing and Communications for “On Location Experiences,” a leading premium hospitality business. Before that, she spent 18 years with Madison Square Garden as Senior Vice President of both the New York Rangers and New York Knicks.
Duch was recognized by Sports Business Journal as one of its “Forty Under 40” in 2015, the same year she was recognized by Leaders in Sports as one of its “Forty Under 40” for Marketing and Communications. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism and Mass Communication from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
She defined the word success as “having a passionate fan-base to build our relationship with.”
Duch concluded about the New York Guardians, “It will be about football and fun. It is going to be affordable and we invite the fans to come and meet us, and help us shape what this brand is about and what it stands for.”
To learn more about the New York Guardians, check out the official XFL website.
