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). Founded in 1988, the ECHL is a minor professional ice hockey league that serves as a development league for the NHL. The ECHL iced 20 teams during the 2009-10 season. Coffee is also the founder of the Atlantic Coast Hockey League (ACHL) - where he served as the league's president; and he is the director of hockey operations for the Southern Professional Hockey League (SPHL). Coffee has been the owner of several minor league ice hockey teams.