Enter your search terms Submit search form   Web www.all-xfl.com Steve Ehrhart >> Personnel >> Community Steve Ehrhart Vice-President/General Manager Steve Ehrhart has been bringing great football to the city of Memphis for quite some time. In the 1980s, he introduced the city to Reggie White and the Showboats of the USFL. And for the past seven years he has been serving as Executive Director of the AXA Liberty Bowl where one of his many duties is to preside over the annual college football bowl game of the same name. Now Ehrhart takes over as the first vice president and general manager of the Memphis Maniax where he looks to continue his tradition of bringing a great football product to the proud Tennessee city. "We’re going to deliver outstanding competitive football inside the white lines and a fast-moving, quality entertainment product for the fans outside the lines," Ehrhart said. "Memphis deserves to be in a first class (football) situation and we are going try hard to make sure that happens." Fortunately for the people of Memphis, Ehrhart has the experience to follow through on his promise. As the Executive Director of the USFL, Ehrhart was one of the people most responsible for the impact the league had on the landscape of professional sports. One of Ehrhart’s most important moves was recruiting Herschel Walker. The 1982 Heisman Trophy winner’s decision to leave University of Georgia and enter the USFL was one of the most significant football decisions of the 20th century. "At that time the NFL said we were going to destroy the game by letting an underclassman come out," Ehrhart said. "But now all of the top players come early. Hershel had won the Heisman Trophy and won the National Championship. He wanted to come out and was mature enough mentally and physically to do it. I still admire Hershel as one of the most under-appreciated athletes to ever play the game and one of the great trendsetters." Although Walker went on to play for the New Jersey Generals, Ehrhart was not going to forget about Memphis. As president, general manager and part-owner of the during the 1985 season, Ehrhart delivered White, one of the greatest defensive players to ever play the game, to Memphis’ talented USFL franchise. The University of Tennessee alum dominated in his two seasons, leading the Showboats in sacks. And as most fans of the game know, Reggie never stopped wrecking havoc on the field. Over the next decade and a half, White played for three teams (Showboats, Philadelphia Eagles, Green Bay Packers) in two different leagues (USFL, NFL), where he worked to revolutionize the way men played on the defensive line. Despite the fact that he will turn 39 during this, his comeback season with the Carolina Panthers, Ehrhart is confident that White’s natural talents will allow him to provide moments of greatness for his new team. Moving from the past to the future, Ehrhart is quick not to drop names as powerful as Walker or White when discussing players who may one day be wearing an Memphis Maniax uniform. He is, however, excited by the thought that he and Steve Ortmayer, the Director of Player Personnel for the Maniax, will have the ability to choose from one of this country’s hotbeds when scouting for players. "We’ve got loads of great talent down here in the schools – University of Tennessee, University of Memphis, Arkansas, Ole Miss, just to name a few," Ehrhart said. "I’ve always believed there was more than enough talent – both players and coaches – out there who just need a chance. It’s going to be difficult to compete with the other seven teams, but one of the eight has to have the hot hand. We’re going to try and make sure it’s Memphis." Aside from having one of the more enviable locations as far as talent pool is concerned, Ehrhart believes his existing relationship with the AXA Liberty Bowl will provide a strong advantage. Pointing to models such as YankeesNets, Jerry Colangelo’s Phoenix conglomerate and most notably the Bulls and White Sox partnership, which Jerry Reinsdorf directs, Ehrhart believes forming cooperative relationships between sports entities is the wave of the future. "Jerry Reinsdorf always talked about creating a positive atmosphere and synergy between all of the entities and the community was so important," he said. "You never want to undercut one another. What we want to do is create that relationship between the Liberty Bowl, the community and XFL Memphis. When we do that, everyone will benefit." With a new team in the XFL and other franchises already established or planned for basketball, baseball and hockey leagues, the city of Memphis is going through a renaissance of sorts in the sports world – one that is long overdue. With an impressive number of Memphis area fans already registered through XFL.com to receive ticket information on their hometown XFL team, it appears Ehrhart’s team will find their niche within the community and form a strong relationship with its citizens in the process, creating that positive atmosphere he deems necessary. >> Personnel >> Community

Part of the Network, Dedicated To All Fans of the XFL

XFL

BOLTS

DEMONS

ENFORCERS

HITMEN

MANIAX

OUTLAWS

RAGE

XTREME