Learfield’s Mike Hamilton was well-liked and respected. youtube
Learfield President and CEO Cole Gahagan calls it his journey across the Carolinas with Mike Hamilton.
Gahagan, just 18 months into his role as leader of the collegiate media and marketing giant, was still putting names with faces in the fall of 2021. That October, he and Hamilton embarked on their journey to visit with five schools and their athletic directors across North and South Carolina, as well as ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips, to learn about their challenges in the post-pandemic world.
Gahagan learned as much or more about Hamilton during that journey as he did the ADs and their schools.
“My most vivid memory was the level of respect and admiration each leader had for Mike, as he essentially served as the quarterback for that entire trip,” Gahagan said. Phillips and those ADs “were open, kind and deferential, not necessarily because of the new CEO, but, by my account, because of their history with and admiration for Mike. It was palpable in every meeting.”
Gahagan and many other leaders in the college space found themselves reminiscing last week about Hamilton, 60, who died on Nov. 10 after a six-month battle with a rare and aggressive bile duct cancer.
“After meeting him in 1998, he’s been one of the closest friends that anyone can have for more than 25 years,” Phillips said. “He was a servant leader who lived life helping others, and he did it in a way that showed everyone lucky enough to know him that you could have it all — a phenomenal family, a deep relationship with God and an incredible career that significantly changed the lives of so many.”
Hamilton was the executive vice president of Learfield’s university partnership group. He joined the company in 2018 and still called into Learfield meetings as recently as a few weeks ago, even as he awaited a liver transplant. Previously, Hamilton spent 19 years in Tennessee’s athletic department, eight as the AD from 2003-11 when he succeeded Doug Dickey. Hamilton resided in Franklin, Tenn., just outside of Nashville, and is survived by his wife of 35 years, Beth, and five children.
In addition to his role overseeing many of Learfield’s college relationships, Hamilton hosted “From the Chair,” which became a must-listen podcast for the collegiate sports industry.
“One of my favorite times with Mike was the 2022 CFP championship game,” said Kim Damron, Learfield’s president of sports properties. “It was the first big game that we had been to since the COVID shutdown. We stayed to the bitter end, watching the celebration and just taking it all in. I remember him saying, ‘There is nothing like college sports.’”
Former Learfield President Greg Brown, who hired him in 2018, remembers thinking that Hamilton was “easily one of the most well-liked and respected people, a good-natured guy who always had the highest integrity. Even after he had been out of the business for some time, he still had tremendous relationships.”
Many of the memories his friends shared focused on Hamilton’s relationships — he was named winner of the Clyde Lear Award for Character in 2021. But Wake Forest AD John Currie, who worked alongside Hamilton at Tennessee, said his business chops shouldn’t be overlooked.
“So many comments about Mike were about what a great guy he was, but he was a really good AD and a really good fundraiser and a really good idea person,” Currie said.
