Menu
Leagues and Governing Bodies

iHoops finds its man in MLBAM’s Godfrey

The NBA- and NCAA-owned iHoops has hired Derrick Godfrey as its chief executive officer, effective today.

iHoops CEO Derrick Godfrey
Godfrey, who previously worked as vice president of international development for Major League Baseball Advanced Media, replaces former iHoops CEO Len Elmore, who left the organization in February.

Godfrey will be responsible for growing iHoops, which was created in 2008 as a joint venture between the NBA and the NCAA to develop youth basketball training and educational programs. He signed a three-year contract in becoming the third iHoops CEO since the venture was launched, following Elmore and current Pac-12 Conference Deputy Commissioner Kevin Weiberg, who worked for iHoops from 2008 to 2010.

Godfrey, who captained the basketball team as an undergraduate at Colgate University, is counting on his previous digital media background to grow iHoops.com, which counts 750,000 unique visitors a month.

“We need to figure out how to monetize the site in a better way,” he said. “The way kids digest information is more mobile and we have to do a better job of providing access on the go.”

Since its inception, iHoops has signed Nike and Adidas as founding partners. The iHoops venture also has formed partnerships with USA Basketball, the Amateur Athletic Union and the National Federation of State High School Associations.

Parker Executive Search was retained by iHoops to recruit for the CEO job, with Godfrey chosen among seven finalists.

“Derek stood out with a strong background digitally,” said NBA executive Kathy Behrens, who was involved in the search as a member of the iHoops board of directors. “We want to figure out some new opportunities in the digital space. We are pleased with the traffic in terms of iHoops.com but there is more we can do.”

Godfrey also will be responsible for creating additional iHoops grassroots programs, as Behrens acknowledged, “The grassroots programming side has been a bit of a challenge for us.”

Godfrey will be based in Indianapolis and will lead a staff of nine employees, with more staff expected to be added.

“We are looking to add some resources,” Behrens said. “We feel like we have a terrific CEO in place and the NBA and the NCAA are committed to make this work.”

SBJ Morning Buzzcast: March 25, 2024

NFL meeting preview; MLB's opening week ad effort and remembering Peter Angelos.

Big Get Jay Wright, March Madness is upon us and ESPN locks up CFP

On this week’s pod, our Big Get is CBS Sports college basketball analyst Jay Wright. The NCAA Championship-winning coach shares his insight with SBJ’s Austin Karp on key hoops issues and why being well dressed is an important part of his success. Also on the show, Poynter Institute senior writer Tom Jones shares who he has up and who is down in sports media. Later, SBJ’s Ben Portnoy talks the latest on ESPN’s CFP extension and who CBS, TNT Sports and ESPN need to make deep runs in the men’s and women's NCAA basketball tournaments.

SBJ I Factor: Nana-Yaw Asamoah

SBJ I Factor features an interview with AMB Sports and Entertainment Chief Commercial Office Nana-Yaw Asamoah. Asamoah, who moved over to AMBSE last year after 14 years at the NFL, talks with SBJ’s Ben Fischer about how his role model parents and older sisters pushed him to shrive, how the power of lifelong learning fuels successful people, and why AMBSE was an opportunity he could not pass up. Asamoah is 2021 SBJ Forty Under 40 honoree. SBJ I Factor is a monthly podcast offering interviews with sports executives who have been recipients of one of the magazine’s awards.

Shareable URL copied to clipboard!

https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Journal/Issues/2012/05/21/Leagues-and-Governing-Bodies/iHoops.aspx

Sorry, something went wrong with the copy but here is the link for you.

https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Journal/Issues/2012/05/21/Leagues-and-Governing-Bodies/iHoops.aspx

CLOSE