Premier Hockey Federation Commissioner Ty Tumminia is stepping down after the end of this season and after overseeing a major overhaul of the US-based women’s hockey league.
League spokesman Paul Krotz told The Associated Press on Saturday that Tumminia cited personal reasons when telling the board of governors in January that she was stepping down after two seasons. Krotz said she will remain in her current position until the end of the playoffs next month and potentially until April.
Canada’s Sportsnet broke the news for the first time earlier today.
Krotz said Tumminia has no intention of continuing to be involved with the league after his resignation.
Tumminia is a former baseball executive and scout and part owner of several minor league teams. She added hockey to her resume as president of the PHF-expansion Toronto Six, which was established in April 2020.
She was named interim commissioner in October 2020, before taking on the role permanently in August, during which the only women’s hockey league in North America to pay salaries to its players underwent a significant transformation.
During this period, the PHF has reorganized its structure to include private ownership, will have increased its salary cap per team from $150,000 to $750,000 starting next year, expanded into Canada with more ‘teams coming next season and rebranded itself last summer.
The former National Women’s Hockey League was created in 2015 by founder and former commissioner Dani Rylan Kearney.
The PHF moved from each league-owned team to private ownership and the addition of a board of directors. The league grew from four teams to six, with franchises now based in Boston; Toronto, Newark, New Jersey, Danbury, Connecticut, Buffalo, New York and Saint Paul, Minnesota.
The PHF has already announced the addition of expansion teams in Montreal and an unannounced US location next season.
Last month, the league announced it would raise each team’s cap to $750,000 as part of a board of governors’ commitment to invest more than $25 million over the next three years. The influx of money would also be used to provide player healthcare and improve facilities.
The league’s regular season ends March 20, and the PHF will hold its Isobel Cup playoffs the following week in Florida.
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