By BRIAN ACKLEY

September 6, 2024

Former Wichita Wings standout Brian Cushing has been named Deputy Commissioner for Major Arena Soccer League 3 effective immediately. 

Cushing – who had a distinguished pro indoor soccer career – will serve on the leadership team following the unification of the Premier Arena Soccer League and MASL 3, with some two dozen teams expected to compete under the MASL 3 banner this coming season. 

For Cushing, his appointment marks a major return to his indoor soccer roots..

He was a defensive standout for the Wichita Wings and Wichita B52's in the PASL, MASL and NPSL. A defender, he appeared in 100 games, scoring 21 goals and adding eight assists while also recording 34 blocks. He also dressed for 11 playoff games, all for the Wings and all in the NPSL, adding two goals and one assist. He also played two years in the Eastern Indoor Soccer League for Biloxi and Lafayette.

He has been active in the sport off the field as well. In 2005, he joined Let's Play Sports, a national operator of indoor soccer facilities in Colorado, Texas, Utah, Idaho, Kansas, Oklahoma, California, Indiana, Michigan, and Ohio. Since 2013, he has been a regional manager, with responsibilities for indoor soccer facilities in three states. He and his wife Emily have two sons, Parker and Logan.

He said the recent unification of the sport – which will bring four leagues under the MASL umbrella – made sense at many levels.

“This is an exciting time as we get to integrate the PASL, with 30 years of history, with the top indoor league in the country,” he said. “We have always wanted to give the players a platform to be recognized on and this is now possible with the MASL,” Cushing said.

Chris Economides, commissioner for MASL 2 and MASL 3, said Cushing is already hard at work making sure the unification process is as seamless as possible.

“Brian is the perfect person to help lead this unification between the PASL and Major Arena Soccer League 3. He knows the sport inside and out from every perspective – player, coach, administrator. And in getting to work with him recently, his dedication to the sport and his responsiveness to growing it in a professional, well-managed way has been impressive,” Economides said.:

“Not only does the PASL bring a rich history of indoor soccer, this unification will help open doors and pave pathways to markets and players now and in the future for the MASL at all levels,” Economides added. “It builds bridges for teams, players, cities, fans and more. The opportunity to move players – and even entire franchises – up and down, as well as build affiliations at each level, is massive. We fully expect every team to become that much stronger with this unification and growth. This will also pave the way for MASL 3 teams looking to grow organizationally as the standard will be extremely high and there will be resources in place to help.”

Two teams have already announced their plans to move up in the MASL pyramid for the 2024-25 season. The Salisbury Steaks, who played in MASL 3 last year, will be moving up to MASL 2 this winter. In addition, the PASL defending champion Oklahoma City Certified Lions will join MASL 2 for 2024-25 as well. 



New teams will be announced in the coming weeks. A divisional alignment and 2024-25 schedule will be released this fall.