Big East Conference From the Big East Media Day on Oct. 24 at Madison Square Garden, Commissioner Val Ackerman is flanked by Joel Fisher (right), EVP, marquee events and operations at Madison Square Garden Entertainment Corp., and Jordan Bazant (left), EVP, Fox Sports, and Big East men’s basketball coaches.
Jacksonville MLS Next Pro From the announcement on Nov. 2 of an independent team from Jacksonville joining MLS Next Pro, MLS Next Pro SVP/General Cousnel Brook Gardiner; Jacksonville Mayor Donna Deegan; Jacksonville Armada FC owner Robert Palmer and President/GM Nathan Walter; MLS Next Pro SVP Ali Curtis and President Charles Altchek.
Mark H. McCormack Department of Sport Management 2023 McCormack Executive-in-Residence DeMaurice Smith, former executive director of the NFLPA, poses for a photo with UMass Amherst students on Oct. 30 after delivering the McCormack Innovators Lecture on “The Power and Necessity of Innovation for a Sports Labor Union” during his two-day visit.
PowerPlay NYC PowerPlay NYC held its 25th Anniversary Gala Celebration on Oct. 26 at The Lighthouse At Chelsea Piers in New York City. Gala honorees were: Dan Mannix, co-founder and managing partner of Underdog & Company; Lisa Sherman, president/CEO of the Ad Council; PowerPlay NYC founder Ellen Markowitz; Mia Hall, program director at the Steve and Marjorie Harvey Foundation; Benita Fitzgerald Mosley, CEO, Multiplying Good; and Michelle Madera, assistant principal, High School for Violin and Dance.
Courtesy of Joe Browne FleishmanHillard CEO John Saunders (right) was awarded an honorary doctorate of philosophy from Dublin City University on Oct. 26 in his native Ireland. Joe Browne, longtime NFL communications executive and current FleishmanHillard international advisory board member, was among those attending the graduation ceremony.
AIMM From the Alliance for Inclusive and Multicultural Marketing Member Forum on Oct. 9 at the Red Rock Casino and Hotel in Las Vegas, Tulsea Sports Marketing partner Sreesha Vaman; event panelists NHL EVP Kim Davis and Vegas Golden Knights President/CEO Kerry Bubolz; and Ethnicity Matters partner and co-founder Bobby Sahni.
Savannah Russell / Wuerffel Foundation From the 13th annual Desire Cup Rivalry for a Cause, a charity golf tournament and gala fundraiser, Oct. 26-27 at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.: gala emcee, sportscaster and Florida alum Laura Rutledge; 1996 Heisman Trophy winner from Florida and event host Danny Wuerffel; two-time Georgia All-American and college football analyst Matt Stinchcomb; and Major Wright, who starred on Florida’s 2008 national championship team. The event served as the unofficial kickoff to the Florida-Georgia rivalry weekend.
