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Archey returning to Kentucky roots with JMI

Veteran MLB executive Paul Archey is leaving to join JMI Sports, where he will oversee the University of Kentucky property in returning to his home state.

Archey, a native of Greenup, Ky., and a self-described longtime Kentucky Wildcats die-hard, portrayed the new job as an opportunity to return to his home and tackle a new challenge in college athletics.

Paul Archey has led MLB’s international efforts since 1999.
Photo by: COURTESY OF JMI
Archey, 51, had been with MLB since 1989 and engineered its international growth, including the creation of the World Baseball Classic.

For JMI, Archey represents a key, strategic hire. He will be based in Lexington, Ky., and will be president of UK Sports & Campus Marketing. JMI won the Wildcats’ multimedia rights last June as part of a 15-year deal valued at $210 million, which took the rights away from longtime partner IMG College.

“There are not a lot of jobs that I’d leave this one for,” said Archey, who will start next month. “I’ve had my dream job for nearly 25 years. But the appeal of going back to my home state, the people at JMI and this university made this really appealing. I’m not sure I would have made this move for any other university.”

The UK property already has 12 people employed and they’re seeking at least two more, which will make it one of the largest college properties in the country.

Major college properties typically have staffs that range from eight to 12 employees. Within the SEC, Learfield’s property at Alabama has a nine-person staff, while IMG College’s property at Tennessee lists a staff of eight.

“Paul brings a dimension and new ideas that we don’t have with his experience,” said Tom Stultz, JMI’s president, who worked with CEO Erik Judson to recruit Archey. “We set out with a philosophy to take our best people and put them at the property, not in a corporate office somewhere. That’s what we’re doing with Paul. He’s a worldwide leader and entrepreneur, and his unique combination of experience and passion for UK athletics make him a great fit.”

Archey spent nearly all of his time at MLB in its international division. A 2002 SportsBusiness Journal/Daily Forty Under 40 honoree, Archey was elevated to senior vice president of international in 1999 and has largely overseen MLB’s growth there ever since.

The senior vice president for MLB International opened MLB offices in Beijing, London, Sydney and Tokyo during that time, while also starting MLB’s initiative to play games outside of the U.S.

Stultz said he had been aware of Archey’s rise at MLB because both of them grew up at separate times in the rolling hills of Greenup, Ky., in the eastern part of the state.

Stultz said he first met Archey more than a decade ago, when Stultz was CEO of Host Communications. Over the years they stayed in touch and Archey shared stories of streaming UK basketball games, even when he was tending to MLB business out of the country.

In December, Stultz took Archey to a Kentucky-Texas basketball game in Rupp Arena and they began talking about the job of running the UK property. Archey’s interest grew from there.

“I grew up with two brands that meant the most to me — the Cincinnati Reds and the University of Kentucky,” Archey said. “One of my first memories as a child was watching Dan Issel on a black-and-white TV. Now, to do something unique and do it in my home state, that’s really exciting.”

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