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September 22, 2025
GREEN BAY – When Kathy Treankler and her husband, Larry, assumed ownership of Green Bay’s Indoor Football League (IFL) team – the Blizzard – in 2013, the couple said it was a whole new ballgame for them.
Treankler said they weren’t exactly sitting idly before taking on the challenge, as she owned Trinks, Inc. – a De Pere engineering firm known for custom hydraulic presses – and Larry was chief executive officer for The Village Companies – a collection of companies including Bay Tek Entertainment, MCL Industries, MCL Fabrication, Skee-Ball® and Maverick Hunting.
Still, she said they were drawn to help the Green Bay team, which, at the time, was a struggling franchise of the Arena Football League.
Treankler said they were able to maintain their prior business commitments, while Larry focused on the football side of the team (the players and coaches) and she assumed responsibility for everything else: marketing, vendor relationships and operations – including restoring the team’s brand and reinvigorating its fan base.
Those efforts, she said, have paid off, having been recently named the IFL’s Executive of the Year – her second time receiving the honor among the team’s four seasons in the IFL.
Per greenbayblizzard.com, the award recognizes an executive who exemplifies leadership, from team management and sales to driving the sport’s overall growth.
It’s an award selected by her peers, which Treankler said makes it all the more meaningful.
“I’m very humbled by it because I had gotten it once before and didn’t expect to receive it again,” Treankler said. “We are ingrained in our community and invested in our brand, and how we build that brand is what our league respects.
Though the games are obviously centered around football, Treankler said her efforts hardly end there.
“A lot of teams look at it as just football,” she said, “but we look at it as building the business through theme nights, vendor relations, sponsor involvement and community involvement.”
First quarter: Rebuilding
When she and Larry assumed ownership of the Blizzard, Treankler said they inherited unpaid bills and shaky finances.
One of her first orders of business, she said, was restoring credibility by implementing sound business practices and rebuilding trust with vendors, fans and sponsors.
“You can tell someone you’re different, but until you prove it, nothing is different,” she said. “We came in with a reputation for relationships, and little by little, that changed how people viewed [the Blizzard].”
Treankler said one key hire was Ryan Hopson, director of sales, who shared her relationship-driven approach.
“One of the best things we did was hire Ryan, because he’s a relationship-seller,” she said. “He formed relationships with vendors and showed what sponsorships could do for them, versus what it could do for the Blizzard.”
That’s when Treankler said things began to click, as the two focused on enhancing the fan experience, creating theme nights and adding details, such as custom game balls.
“We probably work further ahead than any other team in our league,” she said.
However, Treankler said the extra planning makes for the ultimate payoff: more families filling the stands and an atmosphere of fun that extends beyond football.
Second quarter: The team
Philanthropy has become central to the Blizzard’s brand, Treankler said, as 10% of the team’s proceeds are donated to local causes – an approach, she said, that she and Larry take with all their businesses.
To date, Treankler said the Blizzard has donated more than $2 million to a variety of nonprofits and causes, from diabetes, cancer and the military.
“It’s a vehicle for us to give back,” she said.
Treankler said the Blizzard also invests in player and staff development, committing to helping players grow and possibly make the leap to the NFL.
“We’re a developmental league, and we are trying to get our players across the street to [the Green Bay Packers],” she said. “The reality of that is very slim, but we have had some of our players participate in tryouts or practice with the players. We’re always trying to develop them.”
The Blizzard’s coach, Treankler said, works for the team year-round, and the team welcomes four to five additional coaches and anywhere from 25-30 players (depending on injuries) during the season.
She also said she, Hopson and two other full-time team members invest significantly in developing the interns they employ.
Treankler said interns – who are typically pursuing degrees in marketing, sports management and business – do everything from writing copy for the website and social media to helping make gamedays happen.
“We can’t do gameday without the people who keep us afloat in our office and the 15 extra people who come for game day,” Treankler said.
Treankler said some interns have gone on to work for the Milwaukee Brewers, Milwaukee Bucks or other national sports leagues.
She said her team “pours” opportunities and knowledge into the interns, recognizing they are the future of the sports management industry.
“Our legacy is what they do, and if they are successful, we are successful,” she said.
Two of the team’s four full-time employees are former interns, Treankler said, while others joined through personal connections – all of whom were chosen for their ability to carry the Blizzard’s values forward.
“We can be owners, and active owners at that, but if we don’t have the right people in place to do the day-to-day [work], [the operation] won’t function,” she said. “You have to have a great deal of trust that [they] are living the values. We trust the people who work for us [to] tell the right story: The Blizzard is meant to develop the community through good, wholesome fun.”
Third quarter: Living the values
Treankler said she and Larry lead by example, both believing wholeheartedly in discipline – which she describes as a means to freedom.
“If you have discipline, you’re able to do things others can’t, because they don’t have the structure,” she said.
That perspective, Treankler said, shaped her response to the 2025 IFL National Championship – a game the Blizzard lost by just two inches on the final play.
“That doesn’t define us,” she said. “What would the win have gotten us that we don’t already have? A trophy. It didn’t give us more fans or a windfall. Other than our players getting the accolades they deserve, we don’t sit here and dwell on it. I’m not going to let two inches define our team.”
Treankler said she and Larry also embody “servant leadership” throughout all their businesses.
At this year’s IFL championship game, she said they personally installed the end zone – an act that surprised members of the opposing team.
“We’re not afraid to work – we’ve done it all our lives, and we have a different type of drive than many people do as entrepreneurs,” she said. “I didn’t really understand it until our youngest two children – who are now going into the medical field as a doctor and studying for a Ph.D. – one of them said to me, ‘Mom, we have a drive that’s different from other people.’”
Fourth quarter: Persistence and progress
Early on, when she assumed responsibility for the Blizzard’s operations and, by extension, its success, as a woman, Treankler said she often faced assumptions.
“People would ask Larry if he was the owner, and I’d say, ‘Oh, buddy, he’s the owner’s husband,’” she laughed.
When she first began with the Blizzard, Treankler said she intended to start slowly – but that didn’t last long.
“I don’t know how to go slow,” she said.
Furthermore, Treankler said her persistence led to a role on an IFL executive committee that helps to set the tone and course of the league.
“I’d rather have a voice on the committee than not, and if we are going to steer this league in a good direction, we need to have representation,” she said.
That was years ago, Treankler said, and she remains on that committee and contributes to the conversations today.
Her willingness to voice her input, she said, has ultimately helped the Blizzard gain traction.
“I am not afraid to say something and will speak up if I think something is going in the wrong direction,” she said.
Treankler also said she is heartened to have seen more women assuming CEO roles over the past 10 years, both in and out of sports.
“[Indoor football] is better with women involved,” she said. “We think differently, and I think it has helped our league in opening up a different perspective.”
Treankler said she recognized early that women – especially moms – drive ticket purchases, leading the Blizzard to market beyond men and hardcore football fans.
Theme nights, partnerships with schools and youth performances at halftime, she said, now help introduce more first-time attendees to the sport.
“What was one free ticket becomes eight more when families come along,” she said. “It’s why we emphasize the event experience for the whole family.”
Treankler said theme nights are also welcoming for various children’s groups and teams.
One of the team’s popular theme nights, she said, is Dash for Cash: Teachers Edition, which welcomes pajama-clad teachers to compete to pick $6,000 worth of single dollar bills strewn across the field.
“It’s one of the most entertaining things we do,” she said.
Seeing guests at the game is the ultimate satisfaction for Treankler, who said her passion comes from guests at the games.
A huge Disney fan, she said she has as much fun witnessing children screaming their lungs out at a Blizzard game as she does seeing children’s first exposure to Mickey Mouse or Cinderella’s Castle at Disney World.
“I always tell the kids around me, ‘If you have a voice when we’re done, you did it wrong,’” she said. “Seeing people together as a family and having fun is what drives me. There is so much joy in seeing the kids on the field in what we call the Fifth Quarter. That’s where the reward is and why I do it.”
