Legends and JMI Sports, the new multimedia rights holders at Notre Dame, have hired Bucks Exec VP/Strategy & Development TED LOEHRKE as President of the Fighting Irish property. Loehrke, a Notre Dame graduate with a BS in chemical engineering, will oversee day-to-day operations that include sales, marketing, sponsorship, hospitality and national radio rights for Notre Dame football. The property’s headquarters, and Loehrke, will be based in Chicago, but he will have staff in both Chicago and South Bend. The size of staff is to be determined, but he is looking at 15-20 people, which would make Notre Dame among the largest properties in the country. “It was really important for them to have someone who appreciates the university for its values and mission,” Loehrke said. “We’re going to build some large and, I think, innovative partnerships on behalf of the university. I’ve done a lot of that in my career, so I look forward to carrying that over to Notre Dame.” While Loehrke will be working with one of the iconic brands in college sports, the Irish have traditionally been very conservative commercially. That less-is-more approach to sponsorship is both “intriguing and interesting,” Loehrke said. “That’s what makes Notre Dame special and we’re definitely going to lean into that.” The joint venture between Legends and JMI won the Irish’s rights in a competitive bid process in April as part of a 12-year agreement. Loehrke’s move into collegiate marketing comes after spending the last nine years in the NBA, first with the league’s Team Marketing & Business Operations group and most recently with the Bucks.
