Baseball
The Class AA Southern League’s Pensacola (Fla.) Blue Wahoos hired Chuck Arnold as sales manager, Michael Taylor as group sales executive and Courtney Griffith public relations consultant. Griffith is the owner of Lawson Consulting.
The MLB Players Association hired Jeffrey Hammonds as special assistant, player program development. Hammonds played 13 seasons in MLB.
The Atlanta Braves promoted Larry Bowman to vice president of stadium operations and security, Kim Childress to vice president and controller, and Lara Juras to vice president of human resources.
The Boston Red Sox promoted Tom Tippett to senior baseball analyst, Dan Dyrek to director of sports medicine service, Steve Sanders to coordinator of amateur and international scouting, Mike Regan to coordinator of baseball operations, Shawn O’Rourke to coordinator of baseball systems development, Paul Buchheit to head minor league medical coordinator, Mauricio Elizondo to Latin American medical coordinator and Javier Hernandez to assistant director of the Red Sox Dominican Academy. The team hired Greg Rybarczyk as baseball operations analyst.
The Kansas City Royals hired former player Mike Sweeney as special assistant to baseball operations.
Carolina Perrina de Diego left her position as director of business communications for the Miami Marlins.
The San Diego Padres hired Jesse Agler as director of content. Agler was a TV and radio host for the Miami Dolphins.
Basketball
The NBA hired Jordan Solomon as vice president of team marketing and business operations. Solomon was associate principal at McKinsey & Co.
The Philadelphia 76ers promoted Jake Reynolds to vice president of ticket sales and service. Reynolds was senior director of sales.
The Portland Trail Blazers hired Christa Thoeresz as senior director of community relations. Thoeresz was head of community relations for the Portland Timbers.
Boxing
The World Boxing Council elected Mauricio Sulaiman president.
Colleges
University of Hartford Athletic Director Pat Meiser will retire, effective July 31.
University of Tennessee director of football operations Brad Pendergrass resigned.
Stanford University promoted Heather Owen to associate athletic director for development.
The Ohio University College of Business hired Norm O’Reilly as professor and chair of the department for sports administration.
Louisiana Tech University hired Nate Warren as assistant athletic director for development. Warren was assistant director for development at Kansas State University.
The University of Northern Colorado hired Ayo Taylor-Dixon as senior associate athletic director. Taylor-Dixon was senior associate athletic director at the University of South Florida.
Rice University hired Bryan Blair as compliance coordinator. Blair worked in the academic and membership affairs department at the NCAA.
The University of Washington hired Lance Lopes as senior associate athletic director. Lopes was senior vice president and general counsel for the Seattle Seahawks, Sounders FC and CenturyLink Field.
Facilities
Global Spectrum promoted John Page to president.
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PLATTNER
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Sonoma (Calif.) Raceway hired
Cheri Plattner as community events manager.
Texas Motor Speedway hired Gregg Elkin as media relations manager. Elkin was senior associate athletic director for external relations for the University of Texas at Arlington.
Football
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers hired Isaiah Harris as director of player development. Harris was director of player development with the Chicago Bears.
The Green Bay Packers hired Cliff Christl as team historian. Christl covered the Packers regularly during 36 years as a sportswriter for four Wisconsin newspapers.
The Houston Texans promoted Larry Wright to assistant director of pro personnel and hired Brian Gaine as director of pro personnel. Gaine is the former assistant general manager for the Miami Dolphins.
The Washington Redskins hired former quarterback Doug Williams as personnel executive.
Hockey
Bruce Landon stepped down as president and co-owner of the American Hockey League’s Springfield (Mass.) Falcons. Landon remains director of hockey operations.
Horse Racing
Del Mar Thoroughbred Club hired David Jerkins as racing secretary, effective in early June. Jerkins is racing secretary at Golden Gate Fields.
Marketing
Greg Busch stepped down as GMR Marketing executive vice president of global sports and entertainment consulting.
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EDWARDS
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UTRUP
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Learfield Sports hired
Tim Utrup as general manager for N.C. State’s Wolfpack Sports Properties.
Brian Asbill was named associate general manager.
The Legends Entertainment District, a joint outdoor marketing venture between the Arizona Diamondbacks and Phoenix Suns, hired Blake Edwards as general manager.
Sports Marketing Services hired Mike Cunningham as sports business manager for cycling.
Media
Fox Sports Ohio promoted Trey Dolle to vice president and general sales manager.
Time Inc. named Mark Ford executive vice president of ad sales as part of the reorganization of the company. Todd Larsen will expand his duties and with Evelyn Webster will have oversight of Sports Illustrated and all U.S. brands.
Binary Event Network hired Amanda Angelini as president. Angelini was vice president of business development at USA Today Sports Media Group.
Motorsports
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VANZUDIEN
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DRISCOLL
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The
IHRA hired
Dan Driscoll as director of contingency and drag review sales and
Nate VanZudien as partner services manager.
Soccer
USL Pro’s Orlando City SC hired Chris Gallagher as vice president of ticket sales and Rob Parker as vice president of corporate partnerships. Gallagher was regional sales director of the Miami Dolphins and Sun Life Stadium. Parker was senior vice president of business development of the Philadelphia Union.
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ARNOLD
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LEE
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Major League Soccer hired
Elizabeth Lee as a director in finance and
Christopher Savino as a financial analyst in finance. Lee was senior development officer at Canaras Capital Management, and Savino was a senior consultant at PricewaterhouseCoopers and founded the website Business of Soccer.
USL Pro’s Wilmington (N.C.) Hammerheads FC hired Jason Arnold as general manager, Kelly Wenger as ticket sales manager, Jessica Hotzelt as ticket sales representative and Tracy Meadows as club accountant. Former team general manager Matt Sadler has taken the role of director of development.
Sporting Goods and Apparel
Sports Authority hired Jeremy Aguilar as chief financial officer. Aguilar was chief financial officer of H.H. Gregg.
Smack Sportswear hired Tom Mercer as president, chief marketing officer and vice president of sales and marketing. Mercer was vice president of sales and marketing at High 5 Sportswear.
Tennis
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BECK
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The Western & Southern Open hired
Marissa Beck as corporate sales manager.
Other
Damon Evans formed Evolution Sports Partners, a consulting and services company. Evans was with IMG College and previously was athletic director at the University of Georgia.
Jackson Lewis, a workplace law firm, hired Randy Levine as of counsel in the New York office. Levine is president of the New York Yankees.
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OATS
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The National Athletic Trainers’ Association named
Rachael Cole Oats associate executive director. Oats was director of the NATA Research & Education Foundation.
Stu Upson resigned as U.S. Bowling Congress executive director.
Back on My Feet, a nonprofit organization that uses running to combat homelessness, named Mary FitzGerald its chief executive officer. FitzGerald was chief operating officer for Pop Warner Little Scholars.
Volleyball Factory, a division of Factory Athletics, hired Kristee Porter as director of volleyball operations. Porter is a former U.S. national team member.
Awards and Boards
Dover Motorsports named Timothy Horne to its board of directors.
Ed Randall’s Fans for the Cure, a charity focused on prostate cancer awareness and early detection, named former MLB All-Star Steve Garvey to its board of directors.
People news
To have your personnel announcements included in the People section, please send information and photos to Brandon McClung at 120 W. Morehead St., Suite 310, Charlotte, NC 28202, or email them to careers@sportsbusinessjournal.com. Electronic photos must be a jpg or tiff file for Macintosh, 2.25 inches wide at 300 dpi. Color only, please. News items may also be sent via fax to (704) 973-1401. If you have questions, call (704) 973-1425.
