San Diego football team re-emerges with groundbreaking hire as president

The San Diego Strike Force indoor football team is making a comeback under a new president, Vivian Lin, whose ascent into the job represents a groundbreaking move in the 15-team Indoor Football League.

“We are proud to have her lead the Strike Force organization, with the distinction of being the first female team president in the IFL,” said team owner Roy Choi. “Vivian’s winning attitude, passion for football and love for the San Diego community will set up the Strike Force for success on the field and eventually a championship.”

Choi promoted Lin from a business-development post into the presidency, which had been vacant a year-plus.
She joined the team in December 2019, one year after its launch.

“I’m really excited and appreciative with this amazing opportunity with the Strike Force,” said Lin. “My job is to enable our athletic and business teams to work together cohesively, set them for success and serve our community as a unified team.”

Lin said the Strike Force, whose past two seasons were canceled by the pandemic other than one game, plans to resume play in March 2022.

Choi and Lin recently promoted Geno Gerbo into the GM role, which typically entails constructing the player roster.

Lin said none of the team’s coaches from last year — headed by former 1989 San Diego Chargers top draftee Burt Grossman — is currently under contract.

Lin grew up in Silicon Valley and attended Cal. She was an associate news producer with television stations in San Francisco and Honolulu before starting her own media production company. She has worked with athletes and executives from the NFL, MLB, NBA and WNBA.

She moved to San Diego in 1998 after a job with the U.S. Surfing Federation took her to local beaches. “It’s just dynamic here,” said Lin, a surfer. “How do you not fall in love with San Diego?”

An endurance-sports athlete, Lin pedaled from Half Moon Bay near San Francisco to San Diego — some 500 miles — with 16 other cyclists. She has completed “sprint triathlons” that entail a 750-meter swim, a 20-kilometer bike ride and a 5-kilometer run.

Leading the Strike Force could pose Lin another demanding endurance test, given the team’s sparse attendance and 1-13 record in its first season followed by two years in which it played one game.

“I’m all in,” she said. “It’s a worthwhile endeavor. San Diego needs someone who’s totally committed to the sport of football. Between Roy and myself, we want to do this.”