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The Big M: Sports business executives who came out of the University of Michigan

Name Position Company Graduation Year Degree
Seth Ader Vice president, marketing ESPN 1994 BA
Uday Ahuja Director of new business development RSE Ventures 2006 BBA
Bess Barnes* VP, college sports programming CBS Sports 2002 BBA
Brad Bates Athletic director Boston College 1981, 1982 CERTT, BS, MA
Jessica Berman* VP, special projects and CSR NHL 1999 BA
Dave Berson* President CBS Sports 1994 BA
Barry Blyn Vice president, consumer insights ESPN 1992 BA
Jason Botterill Associate general manager Pittsburgh Penguins (formerly NHL) 1997, 2007 BA, MBA
Christopher Brumm Senior counsel MLB 2001 JD
Carrie Brzezinski VP, marketing solutions ESPN 2000 BA
Scott Burton Executive editor ESPN The Magazine 1996 BA
Dustin Cairo Business development and strategy manager Zebra Technologies 2012 BA, BBA
Michael Cantor Project manager Sterling Project Development 2010, 2013, 2014 BA, MUP, PhD
David Cho Senior director, global NBA partnership, basketball sports marketing Adidas 2006 MBA
Casey Close* Partner Excel Sports Management 1986 BA
Dave Dixon Chief marketing officer Warrior Sports 1987, 1992 BA, MBA
Jared Drinkwater Vice president, national marketing Pizza Hut 1998 BA
Steve Dubin Principal Yee and Dubin Sports 1985 BA
Rich Eisen Television journalist, TV/radio host NFL Network, CBS Sports, DirecTV, Fox Sports Radio 1990 BA
Mark Fischer President and CMO Oceans Sports and Entertainment 1982 BA
Margot Freedman Client solutions representative, sports and entertainment Nielsen 2012 BA
Michael Freedman Coordinator, marketing services, valuation, and consulting Premier Partnerships 2014 BA
Joey Fox Marketing analyst Gatorade 2014 BBA
Tom Garfinkel President and CEO Miami Dolphins 2001 MBA
John Goldman Partner, co-chair of sports law group Herrick, Feinstein 1985 BA
Maury Gostfrand Owner Vision Sports Group 1991 BA
Julie Grand SVP, deputy general counsel NHL 1991 BA
Dave Greely President Precourt Sports Ventures 1988, 1996 BA, MBA
Dan Griffis President Narrative Partners 2001 MBA
Hayes Grooms Director, talent and partnerships Ross Initiative in Sports for Equality (RISE) 2006 BA
Wyc Grousbeck Managing partner, governor, CEO Boston Celtics 1986 JD
Howard Handler Chief marketing officer Major League Soccer 1983, 1985 BA, MBA
David Herman Associate partnerships manager Twitter 2015 BA
Desmond Howard Sportscaster ESPN (formerly NFL) 1992 BA
Seth Jacobs* Corporate consultant CAA 1985, 1988 BA
Dana Jacobson Morning show host CBS Sports Radio 1993 BA
Dhani Jones Entrepreneur; host, “Dhani Tackles the Globe” Travel Channel (formerly NFL) 2000 BA
Andrea Joyce Sportscaster NBC Sports (formerly CBS Sports) 1976 BA
Matt Kauffman* Head of events and brand experiences (sports and entertainment) Intel 1990 BA
Wayne D. Katz* Partner Proskauer Rose LLP 1988, 1991 BBA, JD
Jason LaRose SVP, global e-commerce Under Armour 1995 BS
Tom Lewand* Former president Detroit Lions 1991, 1996 BA, MBA
Jim Lites President and CEO Dallas Stars 1975 BA
Rich Luker Founder Luker on Trends 1984, 1986 AM
Warde Manuel* Athletic director University of Michigan 1990, 1993, 2005 BGS
Stephen Master SVP, global head of sports practice Nielsen 1990 BBA
Ron Melnyk General manager IMG-Michigan 1988 BA
Michael Meltzer Director of strategic ventures DraftKings 2008 BA
Brian Millman Director and partner Mindshare Entertainment & Sports Partnerships (ESP) 2007 BA
Hal Morris Director of professional scouting Los Angeles Angels (formerly MLB) 1988 BS
Brian Movalson Associate regional vice president, Western region IMG College 1991 BA
Ahmad Nassar* President NFL Players Inc. 2001 BA
David Oxfeld VP, client sales and business development Excel Sport Management 2002 BA
Rohan Oza* Founder Idea Merchants Capital 1997 MBA
Jon Paley Executive creative director The Vault 1995 BA
Joe Parker Director of athletics Colorado State University 1987 BA
Chris Parker SVP, corporate partnerships Premier Partnerships 1997 BA
Rob Pelinka Founder Landmark Sports Agency 1993, 1996 BBA
Len Perna President and CEO Turnkey Sports & Entertainment 1982, 1985 BA, JD
Estee Portnoy Senior vice president JumpDC 1989 BA
Erin Prober Director of strategic partnerships L.A. Clippers 2008 BA
Brandon Rhodes Global brand management Gatorade 2013 BA, BBA
Jeremy Ross Director of digital strategy Honeycommb 2013 BA
Stephen Ross Founder and CEO, chairman of the board The Related Cos., Miami Dolphins 1962, 2001 BBA
Matt Rossetti President Rossetti 1983, 1986 BS
Alan Rothenberg Chairman Premier Partnerships 1960, 1963 JD
Bobby Scales Special assistant to GM Los Angeles Angels 1999 BA
Daniel Schachne Formerly GMP at NBA Harvard Business School 2009 BA
Adam Schefter Sportswriter, football analyst ESPN 1989 BA
Amanda Schutte Account executive Paragon Sports 2011 BA
Donte Scott* EVP, chief insights officer Turnkey Intelligence 2001 BA
John Shea* Managing director Teneo Sports 2003 MBA
Harvey Schiller President, sports, media & entertainment Diversified Search 1962, '70 MS, Ph.D.
Daniel Sillman Director of new business RSE Ventures 2010 BBA
Mark Silverman President Big Ten Network 1991 MBA
Henry Stafford* Former president, North America Under Armour 1996 BA
Ira Stahlberger Senior VP, talent marketing WME-IMG 1993 BA
Arn Tellem Vice chairman Palace Sports & Entertainment 1979 JD
Natalie Verduin Client solutions representative, sports and entertainment Nielsen 2013 BA
KeJuan Wilkins Senior communications director Nike 1998 BA
Fred Wilpon Owner, chief operating officer New York Mets 1958 BA
Tracy Wolfson Sportscaster CBS Sports 1997 BA
Gary Zenkel President/president, operations and strategy NBC Olympics/NBC Sports Group 1983 BA

* SBJ/SBD Forty Under 40 honoree
Note: List is a sampling of those who went to Michigan
Source: MSBC, SBJ research

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