C. Edward “Ed” Schumer – Director

Chief Executive Officer and Commissioner

Ed Schumer is a St. Louis native with over 40 years of business experience and is a principal in the ThomasSchumerGroup, a small business consulting firm that he co-founded with his wife, Joyce Thomas. He has owned, operated, and consulted businesses in a variety of industries and is currently active as a Director, Principal, and Officer in multiple companies. Schumer also is the Founder and CEO of a successful professional basketball developmental minor league that was formed in 2014 based in the Midwest.

Schumer served for more than 20 years as an NCAA basketball official in the Big 8 and Missouri Valley Conferences and was selected to work 3 NCAA tournaments and numerous National Invitation Tournament (NIT) games. He has also served as the Commissioner for both an NAIA Division I basketball conference and a high-level professional basketball minor league.

Joyce Thomas 

Chief Creative Officer / Director of Finance

Joyce Thomas, MFA, IDSA is an innovator with a passion to empower people through good design. She employs the user as an active participant in the designing process, integrating empathy and human-centered design strategies. She has designed hundreds of creative products that have accounted for more than $4 billion in retail sales and been awarded 59 patents worldwide.

Thomas teaches design thinking and studio courses for design, business and engineering students at Auburn University in Auburn, Alabama

Steve Hollaway 

Chief Technology Officer

Steve Hollaway owns and operates TeknoLogik, an IT consulting and web development firm he started after serving 6 years in the U.S. Army as his unit’s section leader in charge of radios, telephones, computers, satellites, and communication security.

Steve coordinates all IT services including websites and online video streaming of games for the UBA and all of its member teams.