During the fall of 2007, Emerson Kilgore ran the Sharon High School varsity football team's defense and coordinated both its offensive and defensive lines.

This spring and summer, Kilgore has run the travel arrangements, the payroll and most other tasks for the Rhode Island Rampage of the new American Ultimate Disc League.

Kilgore owns the team.

"Everything basically is on me," says Kilgore, who spent one year as a Sharon High assistant football coach. His official Rampage title is president and CEO.

"I pretty much do everything except coaching them on the field."

The eight-team league is in its first year. The 6-7 Rampage are third in the Eastern Division, behind the Philadelphia Spinners and the Connecticut Constitution, and ahead of the Buffalo Hunters, according to the league's website. The Rampage play their home games at Pierce Stadium in East Providence, R.I. The Rampage finish their regular season at 1:05 p.m. Saturday at Philadelphia.

Kilgore says the Rampage drew about 160 fans for its April 14 debut against Connecticut.

The success of such high school programs such as in Sharon, where the Bad Clams finished fifth in the 2012 USA Ultimate Massachusetts High School Division 1 Championships in late May, is "definitely going to help" the league, Kilgore says.

"We could probably have lifelong fans," he says.

"That's something to build on."

Kilgore says he began investing in the AUDL last year.

He had been laid off from an assistant principal post, and "I was looking for something different, something to do with my (master's in sports administration) degree. I figured getting into sports would be the way to go."

An ad on a sports networking site offered the opportunity to own "a part of a professional team," Kilgore recalls.

He inquired, and someone involved replied to say a professional Ultimate Disc league was forming.

Kilgore says he was skeptical initially.

"I know all the relevant sports. I know how they make money. How in the world could you possibly make money off of Ultimate Frisbee?" he asks.

About two days later, he answered his own question by Googling the sport.

"The amount of leagues, teams, special groups, adult leagues. I was like, 'What, are you kidding? Oh my goodness. I guess they're really all over the place,'" Kilgore says.

Kilgore says he then asked for more information about the league.

About one year later, he funds all of the Rampage's expenses, including the players' pay of $50 per game.

"What I can tell you is that this is going to be an investment that grows over time," Kilgore says.

"I don't expect too much of a return this year or even the following year. If I break even, I'm going to be a happy camper. Obviously, I don't want to lose money. But, it may happen."