Douglas George Logan y Gonzales de Mendoza (born 1943) is an American sports executive.
He was the inaugural commissioner of
Major League Soccer, and later served as the CEO of USA Track & Field.
Early life
Logan was born in New Jersey to an American father and Cuban mother.
He was studying civil engineering at Manhattan College when he was drafted into the military in 1964. He served with the
101st Airborne Division in
Vietnam
Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...
and was decorated with two Bronze Stars. He later studied at the University of Baltimore Law School, graduating in 1972.
Career
Early career
From 1986 to 1993, Logan was a senior vice president of Ogden Entertainment Services. He later became president and chief executive officer of Mexican entertainment company
OCESA. Under his management, the
Mexico Aztecas of the
Continental Basketball Association became the first American professional sports franchise based in Mexico.
MLS Commissioner
In 1995, Logan was named the first commissioner of
Major League Soccer, serving in that capacity through 1999.
Sports Business Daily
American City Business Journals, Inc. (ACBJ) is an American newspaper publisher based in Charlotte, North Carolina. ACBJ publishes The Business Journals, which contains local business news for 44 markets in the United States, Hemmings Motor News ...
named Logan and the MLS staff Sports Industrialists of the Year for 1996. During Logan's last year at MLS, the league lost $34 million. MLS was reported to have lost $250 million in its first five years under Logan.
Later career
In 1999, Logan formed the sports consulting firm Empresario. In 2001, he was hired as a consultant in the creation of a professional
National Rugby League
The National Rugby League (NRL) is an Australasian rugby league club competition which contains clubs from New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, the Australian Capital Territory and New Zealand. The NRL formed in 1998 as a joint partnership ...
, structuring the new league as a "single entity" system.
In 2008, Logan was appointed the CEO of
USA Track & Field
USA Track & Field (USATF) is the United States national governing body for the sports of track and field, cross country running, road running and racewalking (known as the sport of athletics outside the US). The USATF was known between 1979 and ...
. In September 2010, the USATF Board announced it had fired Logan. Logan later filed a lawsuit for wrongful termination which was ultimately settled.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Logan, Doug
Living people
Manhattan College alumni
American chief executives of professional sports organizations
Major League Soccer executives
1943 births