Frank Dale Finds Going Tough as MISL Commissioner

Frank Dale admits he’s hit a few snags since he replaced Earl Foreman as commissioner of the Major Indoor Soccer League last June, most of them within the league itself.

Club owners stripped away much of Dale’s power during a league meeting last month and delegated more responsibility to themselves.

“They virtually impeached him,” said Scott Wolstein, vice president of the Cleveland Force.

The meeting, he said, ended with a “much stronger executive committee and a much weaker league executive.”

However, Bill Kentling, director and general manager of the Wichita Wings, said the changes weren’t that dramatic.

New league committees were formed for marketing and public relations, expansion, international affairs and collegiate involvement--areas owners felt they knew little about, he said.

Kentling was elected chairman of the executive committee, a new job created to help the commissioner and clubs communicate.

Also, he said, club executives are taking a more active role in league affairs, relieving Dale of some duties.

“I’ve never seen such enthusiasm on the part of all of the owners,” Kentling said.

The biggest problem apparently was communication.

After leaving his job as publisher of the Los Angeles Herald Examiner, Dale took over the 8-year-old MISL intent on promoting it nationally, lifting it out of isolated pockets of popularity.

One of the first things he did was strike a deal with ESPN that put MISL games on cable television Sunday afternoons. But some club managers were upset he didn’t discuss it with them first, especially since the MISL received no broadcast revenues from ESPN.

“I was the most vehemently against the ESPN deal,” Kentling said. “I also thought it was ridiculous to go against the NFL without having any time to set up sponsorship.”

Dale disagreed, saying: “If I held out waiting for money for the rights for something that has traditionally not done well in the ratings, we’d still be off the air.”

As it is, MISL games are watched by only 1 million or so people each week.

What apparently bothered the clubs more was that the commissioner wasn’t checking with them before making big decisions.