Jeremy Sampson has been a fixture of the Lansing sports scene for a long time.
He arrived in the Lansing area from his native Vermontville in the early 1990s to study journalism at Michigan State University. While at MSU, Sampson's connection to the Lansing sports scene grew. A college internship lead to a part time job, which, after graduating, eventually turned into a full time gig as a sports reporter for WLNS, the local CBS affiliate. After six years reporting on sports around the state of Michigan, the associate MSU athletic director Mark Hollis offered Sampson a job producing and hosting the MSU coaches shows. He jumped at the opportunity.
“That was like hitting the lottery,” says Sampson. “I’m doing what I love to do, and I get to do it at my alma mater. For me, that was big time.”
Sampson had been working at MSU for two years when his wife Gena received a job offer in Columbus, Ohio. But the Lansing sports scene came calling again a few months later when Sampson was offered a position as interim sports director at WLNS. Sampson jumped at the opportunity and commuted between Columbus and Lansing for four months before the station decided to “go in a different direction” with the sports director position.
The Sampsons stayed in Columbus for just 22 months before Gena was offered a new job back in Lansing. It wasn’t long after their return that Sampson says he got a call from the sports director at WILX, the local NBC affiliate.
“Tim Staudt called me and says ‘Hey, I’ve got a guy who might be leaving. It’s part time, but would you be interested?’” remembers Sampson. “I wanted to get back into it so badly, so I said yeah.”
He spent eight years behind the desk at WILX before the odd hours began to wear on him.
“I was working 2 p.m. to midnight with Wednesdays and Thursday off, and working on the weekends. My kids were getting older and more involved in activities. I was missing a lot of their after-school stuff," says Sampson.
With that, Sampson decided it was time for a job with regular hours that would afford him more time for other pursuits. He took a job with a credit union and began spending his evenings and weekends founding Lansing United, a National Premier Soccer League (NPSL) team that will begin playing this summer.
Sampson began looking around at various soccer leagues to determine if a franchise would be viable in Lansing. He stumbled across the NPSL and immediately began a conversation with the league’s commissioner, put together a business plan and applied for membership in the Great Lakes Conference of the NPSL’s Midwest Region.
“Within a week, we were accepted,” says Sampson.
When asked if he had to sell Lansing as a realistic market in a conference that includes much larger cities, such as Detroit and Cincinnati, Sampson explains that size didn’t enter the conversation.
“Lansing is a viable option for something like this. There’s no doubt. People here in Lansing love their sports. I’ve seen it first hand,” says Sampson. “I’ve never looked at it as the big [varsity] versus the JV, if you will. I know that this community loves soccer. I know that this community is going to support this team.”
So why did Sampson decide to start a soccer franchise?
Sampson says that while he didn’t play soccer growing up in rural Michigan and plays recreationally as an adult, he has a passion for the sport and he sees that passion growing in the community, especially among young players. He points to the fact that more than 25 Mid-Michigan communities offer youth soccer programs as evidence of the sports rapid growth in popularity locally.
“The number of people in the area that play … the number of youth that play. The growth over the last five years has been incredible,” explains Sampson. “That’s what made me realize Lansing is ready to support its own team.”
Lansing United’s adopted mantra is Coniunctis Viribus, a Latin phrase meaning “with connected strength.” Sampson says he hopes a deep connection builds between the fans and the team.
“I want this franchise to be something the [Capital region] is proud of. I want it to be something that can bring us all together as a community for a few hours on a Friday night or a Saturday night to cheer for something that we can call our own,” says Sampson. “To the people that have supported us [already], I just want to say thank you.”
Lansing United opens its season May 16 under the lights at Archer Stadium, the main field at the East Lansing Soccer Complex. Visit
www.lanunited.com for more information.
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Kevin Duffy is a freelance writer for Capital Gains.
Photos ©
Dave Trumpie
Dave Trumpie is the managing photographer for Capital Gains. He is a freelance photographer and owner of
Trumpie Photography.
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