Former MMA fighter becomes new CSAC executive officer
Good news for the world of Mixed Martial Arts as one of their own gets to be the head of the California State Athletic Commission.
The California State Athletic Commission, which regulates amateur and professional boxing, amateur and professional kickboxing and professional MMA throughout the State by licensing all participants and supervising their events, announced Tuesday it had appointed Andy Foster as their new executive officer.
Andy Foster (L) already has some great connections in the sport of MMA.
Foster will oversee the daily aspects of combat sports in the state beginning November 7, 2012 with his first commission meeting coming the next day.
Foster, a former professional MMA fighter had a more than respectable record of 9-2 as a pro and 7-0 as an amateur. Only two of his 18 fights went the distance. If he didn’t get you to submit with an armbar, he’d get you with a rear naked choke. Fosters last fight was on April 14, 2007. In that last bout Foster got knocked out by Amar Suloev.
Foster previously worked as executive director of the Georgia Athletic and Entertainment Commission as the state’s chief regulator of boxing, mixed martial arts, kickboxing, wrestling and ticket brokers. He now has more than 17 years of experience, having been involved in MMA since 1995 and boxing since 1999. He’s spent the past 4 1/2 years regulating those sports.
To say his workload will be increasing is an understatement. In October, the state of Georgia hosted a total of six shows, five MMA and one boxing. The month before they had only two. The state of California has a minimum of six-eight shows each and every weekend.
Foster replaces George Dodd, who resigned from the executive officer pack in mid-july amid fallout over plummeting revenues and a budget crunch.
In a letter to the CSAC, Dodd said: “I feel that it’s time to move on to new opportunities and challenges that are not available to me here.”
They say the resignation of George Dodd was inevitable. You either make money or get out of the hot seat.
In early July, the former Executive Director was censured for failing to sound off on a budget issue that left the commission nearly $35,000 in the negative following the 2011-2012 fiscal year. This is according to the Los Angeles Times. It was also stated that the commission was on a direct path for closure if a restructuring was not underway soon.
According to the California commission announcement, during Foster’s tenure in the state of Georgia, the Georgia commission revenue increased approximately 70 percent and the number of regulated shows grew 40 percent. Kathi Burns had been in place as the interim executive officer since Dodd’s departure.
