Bill Coffey

{{Short description|American businessman and sports entrepreneur}}

{{for|the Australian footballer|Bill Coffey (footballer)}}

Bill Coffey is a businessman and minor league sports entrepreneur. He is one of the founders of the ECHL (formerly known as the East Coast Hockey League).{{cite book|first=Jon C.|last=Scott|title=Hockey Night in Dixie: Minor Pro Hockey in the American South|year=2006|publisher=Heritage House Publishing Company Ltd.|pages=138–139|isbn=1-894974-21-2|url=https://archive.org/details/hockeynightindix0000stot}} Founded in 1988, the ECHL is a minor professional ice hockey league that serves as a development league for the NHL.{{cite web |url=http://www.echlhalloffame.com/members.shtml |title=Honored Members |publisher=ECHL Hall Of Fame |accessdate=2010-06-05 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20100806010529/http://www.echlhalloffame.com/members.shtml |archivedate=2010-08-06 }} The ECHL iced 20 teams during the 2009–10 season.{{cite web|url=http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/leagues/seasons/echl19892010.html |title=2009-10 East Coast Hockey League |publisher=Hockeydb.com |accessdate=2010-06-05| archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20100524040132/http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/leagues/seasons/echl19892010.html| archivedate= 24 May 2010 | url-status= live}}

Coffey is also the founder of the Atlantic Coast Hockey League (ACHL){{cite book|first=Jon C.|last=Scott|title=Hockey Night in Dixie: Minor Pro Hockey in the American South|year=2006|publisher=Heritage House Publishing Company Ltd.|page=185|isbn=1-894974-21-2|url=https://archive.org/details/hockeynightindix0000stot}} - where he served as the league's president; and he is the director of hockey operations for the Southern Professional Hockey League (SPHL).{{cite book|first=Jon C.|last=Scott|title=Hockey Night in Dixie: Minor Pro Hockey in the American South|year=2006|publisher=Heritage House Publishing Company Ltd.|page=199|isbn=1-894974-21-2|url=https://archive.org/details/hockeynightindix0000stot}} Coffey has been the owner of several minor league ice hockey teams.