Joseph Alton Byrd (born November 3, 1957) is an American-British former professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

player who is the former chief executive officer of

Chattanooga FC Chattanooga Football Club is an American professional soccer team based in Chattanooga, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 2009, the team is in MLS Next Pro starting in 2024. Prior to joining MLS Next Pro, the club played in the National Indep ...

of the

MLS Next Pro MLS Next Pro (MLSNP) is a men's professional association football, soccer league in the United States and Canada that is affiliated with Major League Soccer (MLS). It launched in 2022 with 21 teams and now comprises 27 reserve sides of MLS clu ...

. He grew up in the San Francisco area, where he was a

high school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...

basketball star. He continued to be a basketball star at

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

, where he was one of the best

point guard The point guard (PG), also called the one or the point, is one of the Basketball positions, five positions in a regulation basketball game. A point guard has perhaps the most specialized role of any position and is usually the shortest player ...

s in the country in spite of his small stature. His height was usually officially listed as . He holds the school records for career assists (526) and assists in a single season (210). After receiving his bachelor's degree from Columbia College in 1979, he attended the

Boston Celtics The Boston Celtics ( ) are an American professional basketball team based in Boston. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NBA), Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), ...

rookie camp, but, suffering with a foot injury, he did not get a contract and joined

Crystal Palace Crystal Palace may refer to: Places Canada * Crystal Palace Complex (Dieppe), a former amusement park now a shopping complex in Dieppe, New Brunswick * Crystal Palace Barracks, London, Ontario * Crystal Palace (Montreal), an exhibition buildin ...

of the

British Basketball League The British Basketball League (BBL) was a men's professional basketball sports league, league in Great Britain. Since its establishment in 1987 the BBL represented the highest level of basketball competition within the United Kingdom. The orga ...

. During his rookie season, he led Palace to a 50–5 record. He later started for teams in Edinburgh, Manchester, Guildford and Kingston. In 1984 he became a British citizen and made his debut for

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. Off the court, he pursued a variety of broadcasting and business ventures, including a weekly show on

BBC Radio 5 Live BBC Radio 5 Live is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It broadcasts mainly news, sport, Talk show, discussion, interviews and phone-ins, and is on air 24 hours a day. It is the principal BBC radio station Broadca ...

dedicated to American sports. From 1997 to 1999, he was the general manager of the

London Monarchs The London Monarchs were a professional American football team in NFL Europe and its predecessor league, the World League of American Football (WLAF). The Monarchs played their final season in 1998 as the England Monarchs. In 1999, they were re ...

NFL Europe NFL Europe League (simply called NFL Europe and known in its final season as NFL Europa) was a professional American football league that functioned as the List of developmental and minor sports leagues, developmental minor league of the Nati ...

, while there he guided the team to rebrand as the ''England'' Monarchs, before ultimately transitioning the team to Berlin after a 1998 season that ended with a 3–7 record, after three straight 4–6 tallies. In 1999, he returned to the United States to be a vice president of strategic alliances for the

Sacramento Kings The Sacramento Kings are an American professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California. The Kings compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division of the Western Confere ...

. In 2002, he then founded a management consulting company, Clear Focus Consulting. In September 2013, the

Atlanta Dream The Atlanta Dream are an American professional basketball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Dream compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member of the Eastern Conference. The team was founded for the ...

hired him as the chief revenue officer. On March 24, 2016, the

Brooklyn Nets The Brooklyn Nets are an American professional basketball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Brooklyn. The Nets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NBA), ...

hired Alton Byrd as the vice president of business operations. Byrd continued with the Nets organization through July 2023 as the Senior Vice President-Growth Properties/Community Relations for BSE Global

Long Island Nets The Long Island Nets are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Uniondale, New York, and are affiliated with the Brooklyn Nets. The team plays its home games at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Nassau County ...

of the

NBA G League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is a professional basketball league in North America that serves as the Minor league#Basketball, developmental league of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The league comprises 31 teams; as of ...

and Nets Gaming of NBA 2K League. Byrd was the chief executive officer of

from July 2023 to December 2024.https://www.chattanoogafc.com/news_article/show/1279676 Chattanooga FC taps global sports executive Alton Byrd as next CEO

References

External links

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British Basketball League stats
{{DEFAULTSORT:Byrd, Alton 1958 births Living people American expatriate basketball people in the United Kingdom American expatriate sportspeople in Scotland American expatriate sportspeople in England American football executives American men's basketball players Basketball players from San Francisco Boston Celtics draft picks British men's basketball players British Basketball League players British sports broadcasters Columbia College (New York) alumni Columbia Lions men's basketball players Point guards Sacramento Kings executives Naturalised citizens of the United Kingdom Brooklyn Nets executives BBC radio presenters Archbishop Riordan High School alumni 20th-century American sportsmen