Jason Lublin is taking over the day-to-day operations as IMG College’s new president, replacing Ben Sutton, a pioneer in collegiate multimedia rights who has decided to step back from the business and become an adviser.
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Jason Lublin played a crucial role in the integration of William Morris and Endeavor.
Photo by: WME-IMG |
Lublin, global chief operating officer of WME-IMG, began transitioning into the role of IMG College president in the spring and was instrumental in the recent 10-year multimedia rights extension at UCLA, as well as the licensing renewal at Alabama. He’ll retain the COO title at WME-IMG as well.
Sutton, 57, is not leaving the company, but he will carry the title of chairman emeritus. Essentially, Sutton said he’ll step into more of an advisory role at IMG College, while moving away from the company’s day-to-day operations.
“I’ve got so much energy, but there are just other things I want do,” Sutton said. “I don’t know if I want to run a company again. I need a break from this before I can call yea or nay on that. Friends say don’t make a commitment for six to 12 months. Something will pique my interest, but I’m not in any hurry.”
The leadership shake-up means that Sutton will not be front and center in the collegiate multimedia rights business for the first time since 1992, when he founded ISP Sports. Sutton sold ISP to IMG in 2010 and has run IMG College since then.
Lublin, meanwhile, has been a behind-the-scenes dealmaker and operator of global businesses since 2007, when he first joined Endeavor. Lublin, 44, played a crucial role in the integration of William Morris and Endeavor during their 2009 merger, and he has evolved into one of the most trusted advisers to WME-IMG co-CEOs Ari Emanuel and Patrick Whitesell.
The key question for IMG College as Sutton moves away from the business is how the company will replace his relationships in the college space, some of which span more than 20 years.
During that time, Sutton has been the face of ISP Sports and IMG College. In the IMG College portfolio, the company has 500 contracts across the 225 institutions it does business with, and Sutton has negotiated many of them.
The responsibility of replacing Sutton will fall on the shoulders of Lublin, as well as his top lieutenants, Mark Dyer, Tim Pernetti and Jim Connelly.
“We have an incredible team of people at IMG College and are proud of the unique offerings and service we provide our partners,” Lublin said in a statement.
Lublin, a graduate of Wisconsin who earned an MBA at Southern California, spent much of the past year shadowing Sutton as they visited campuses and attended games together. Sutton, who estimates that he’ll spend one day a week working on IMG College business, said continuing to make introductions will be part of his role.
“I’ll still be involved in strategy and relationships,” Sutton said. “What I’ve enjoyed the most over the last 23 years is the relationships. When you think about a lot of the commissioners and athletic directors we work with, I’ve grown up in the business with them.”
The change at the top comes at a time when the multimedia rights landscape has endured its share of disruption, which has affected IMG College’s business over the past year. WME-IMG would not disclose financial specifics, but the company in the past 14 months lost the multimedia rights at Kentucky to a newcomer in JMI Sports and endured a messy breakup at Arizona State, the kinds of losses that had been uncommon at the company previously.
On top of that, the Pac-12 came out this year with a plan that would enable schools to manage their own rights — not good news for IMG College, which has the rights at six Pac-12 schools. UCLA, which tripled its revenue with a 10-year deal at close to $150 million, chose to renew with IMG College rather than go with the conference, but the new Pac-12 multimedia rights model remains a threat to take business from the rights holders in the conference.
Lublin’s challenge will be navigating the shifting multimedia rights landscape, though he is aided by a senior leadership team that has deep roots in the college space.
Dyer has led IMG College’s ancillary businesses, such as stadium seating and ticketing, since they began nearly five years ago. Pernetti, the former Rutgers athletic director and executive at ABC and CBS, joined IMG College earlier this year as president of multimedia, including sales. Connelly, along with Cory Moss, directs Collegiate Licensing Co., the licensing arm of IMG College.
