Advisors

Van Schley, 66, the principal owner of the Rox, has been actively involved in independent professional baseball for over 26 years. His teams have won nine league championships in five separate leagues. In 1987, Schley’s Salt Lake Trappers won national attention when they shattered the existing professional baseball record by winning 29 consecutive games.

A co-founder of the Northern League and its initial player personnel director, he brokered the deal that sent the first Northern league player to a major league organization, and eventually the major leagues. That player, Kevin Millar, has since become a dangerous hitter in the major leagues and was one of the most popular players in the clubhouse while playing with the Red Sox from 2003-2005.

Over 100 of Schley’s players have signed with major league organizations. He currently works with the Chicago Cubs as coordinator of independent operations, and resides in Los Angeles with his wife, Judith, and daughter Hannah.

Miles Wolff, the Can-Am League commissioner, founded the first modern independent league when six cities in the Upper Midwest and Canada began play in the Northern League in 1993. Under his leadership the Northern League grew to 18 teams by 2002.He is currently also commissioner of the Can-Am League, a six-team independent league located in the northeast United States and Québec. Wolff served as the commissioner of the Northeast League from 2003-2004, and commissioner of the Central League from 2002-2005.

Wolff was recently selected as the 79th most important person in baseball history by John Thorn and Alan Schwarz in the eighth edition of Total Baseball: The Ultimate Baseball Encyclopedia. Total Baseball was launched in 1989 and is the most compelling and exhaustive reference series ever devoted to America’s pastime. Aside from Thorn and Schwarz, Phil Birnbaum, Bill Deane, Rob Neyer, Donald Dewey, Nicholas Acocella, and Peter Wayner all contributed to the most current edition.

He was recently selected as the one of the best owners in sports by ESPN 25, a history of the network. Written by Charles Hirshberg, the publication celebrates ESPN’s silver anniversary and includes lists of best sports quotes, trades, draft-picks, nicknames, uniforms and much more. In addition to Wolff’s #8 ranking , the Top Ten Best Owners List includes four Major League Baseball owners, three National Football League owners and two National Basketball Association owners.

Wolff entered baseball in 1971. His first job was general manager of the Atlanta Braves Double-A team in Savannah, Ga., where he was named The Sporting News Class AA Executive of the Year. Later he was general manager for teams in Anderson, S.C., and Jacksonville, Fla. He has also served as the play-by-play announcer for the Triple-A Richmond (Va.) Braves for one year.

In 1980, Wolff turned his attention to ownership. He purchased a Carolina League franchise and re-started the Durham (N.C.) Bulls. The team enjoyed tremendous local success initially. Ten years and one Hollywood film later, the Bulls became a national phenomenon.

Wolff has owned other professional baseball teams in Butte, Mont., Asheville, N.C., Utica, N.Y., and Pulaski, Va. He currently owns a team in Québec City, Québec, and Burlington, N.C. He also once owned the Raleigh (N.C) IceCaps hockey team. For 18 years he was president and publisher of Baseball America, the trade publication of professional baseball.

Wolff has written two books, Season of the Owl (1980), a novel about minor league baseball, and Lunch at the 5 & 10 (1970), an account of the 1960 Greensboro sit-ins by black students at the Woolworth’s eatery. He is also the co-editor of the Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball (1997).

Upon graduating from Johns Hopkins University with a degree in liberal arts, Wolff earned a master’s degree in southern history at the University of Virginia. He served active duty as a supply officer in the U.S. Navy from 1967-70 on the USS Charles P. Cecil (DD-835) and USS Puget Sound (AD-38).

Bradley C. Harrison is an entrepreneur and seasoned business development executive with a passion for technology, media, entertainment and lifestyle. Although his initial career was an Army Officer, Mr. Harrison has a myriad of experiences in roles related to launching new ventures.

While attending MIT, Mr. Harrison worked as a partner in a seed stage venture fund, ITU Ventures, and helped launch a joint MIT-Harvard incubator. During this experience, Mr. Harrison worked at the earliest stages with many interesting companies to include Endeca Technologies. Additionally, Mr. Harrison served for three semesters as the teaching assistant for the entrepreneurial venture course, New Enterprises, taught by Howard Anderson and Todd Dagres.

Mr. Harrison worked for AOL in Business Affairs and Development in Dulles, as well as Media Strategy in NY. During his tenure with AOL, Mr. Harrison co-authored 3 patents related to search, geo-tagging, and personalization with his boss, Edmund Fish. Following AOL, Mr. Harrison helped raise $40M in venture funding for a contextual online advertising network. Prior to launching his business career, Mr. Harrison served for five years in the United States Army, earning both Airborne and Ranger qualifications and retiring as a Captain. Mr. Harrison resides in New York City with his wife, Angie and son, Elvis.