Aug 2020 staff moves and industry news in one spot — updated as they happen, so make sure you check back throughout the month.
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PEOPLE
Jonathan Beane joins NFL as SVP & Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer (effective Sep 8), a newly-created role, from SVP, Global Diversity and Inclusion at 21st Century Fox.
Nick Khan named President & Chief Revenue Officer of WWE from Co-Head of Television at CAA.
Amanda Kraus is named CEO, USRowing, from CEO, Row New York. She will start the new role on Nov 1, 2020.
Michele Meyer-Shipp named Major League Baseball‘s Chief People & Culture Officer, from Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer, KPMG.
MLB announces two promotions to C-suite:
- Noah Garden to Chief Revenue Officer from EVP, Business & Sales; and
- Chris Marinak to Chief Operations & Strategy Officer, from EVP, Strategy, Technology & Innovation.
Tom Penn is stepping down from his role as President at Los Angeles FC to move into private business. Per LAFC, Penn will remain as Executive Consultant, but leaves to become the CEO of Co.Protect, which he recently founded. LAFC GM John Thorrington and Chief Business Officer Larry Freedman will serve as interim Co-Team Presidents.
Tony Reagins elevated to Chief Baseball Development Officer at MLB, from SVP, Youth Programs.
Maryann Turcke, the NFL‘s Chief Operating Officer (and highest ranking woman), is stepping down at the end of Aug. She will transition to an advisory role, with her replacement to be announced at a later date.
Victor Williams is the new CEO of NBA Africa from Executive Head, Corporate & Investment Banking, Africa Regions for Standard Bank Group.
Jason Wright tabbed President, Washington Football Team, from partner, McKinsey & Co. Of note, Wright is the NFL’s first Black team president, and at 38 years old, he’s currently the league’s youngest as well.
BRANDS & LEAGUES
Aug 3, 2020
Align Technology, Inc., parent company of Invisalign, the clear teeth aligner, announce an agreement with the National Football League to make the Invisalign brand the “Official Clear Aligner Sponsor of the NFL.” This agreement builds on Align’s previously announced Club sponsorship agreements with the New England Patriots and the San Francisco 49ers and expands the Invisalign brand’s “Official Smile” designation to 11 individual NFL teams with the addition of these nine clubs: Dallas Cowboys, New Orleans Saints, Green Bay Packers, New York Giants, Kansas City Chiefs, Houston Texans, Philadelphia Eagles, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Chicago Bears.
Aug 5, 2020
ECHL announces the 2020-21 season, originally scheduled to start Oct 16, 2020, but delayed due to COVID-19 concerns, will instead start Dec 4, 2020, with a full 72-game schedule.
OHL announces that the 2020-21 regular season, a 64-game schedule to be followed by a 16-team playoff, has been scheduled to play Dec 1, 2020 to Apr 29, 2021.
Aug 10, 2020
Insurance Office of America and Orlando Magic announce the extension of their sponsorship. IOA becomes the team’s sixth partner at the “Champions of the Community” partnership level. Assets include an in-market promotion where 20 fans will win a $500 credit to Magic team shop by completing a quote on SimplyIOA, IOA’s “new consumer facing platform that compares home and auto quotes.”
WNBA and Twitter announce 10 live 2020 regular-season games will be streamed on Twitter as part of an extension marking the fourth consecutive year of their partnership with live games available on the platform (via @WNBA). “As part of its efforts to bring fans closer to live game action, the WNBA will stream a unique broadcast on Twitter hosted by alternative commentators – including basketball analysts LaChina Robinson and Ros Gold-Onwude. This live execution will be exclusive to Twitter and includes integration of Twitter content within the digital broadcast, allowing for direct fan interaction with the commentators.”
Aug 12, 2020
NASCAR’s Richard Petty Motorsports (RPM) race team and No. 43 car driver Bubba Wallace announce a new, multi-year partnership with Columbia Sportswear that includes a primary sponsorship in 2020. Columbia will debut on the 43 car Aug 23 at the Drydene 311 at Dover Speedway. A focus will be promoting Columbia’s PFG (Performance Fishing Gear) collection.
Aug 13, 2020
Major League Soccer‘s St. Louis expansion franchise unveils its official name—St. Louis City FC—along with its crest and colors (City Red, River Blue, Energy Yellow and Arch Steel Gray).
Aug 14, 2020
RPM and Wallace announce another new, multi-year partnership with DoorDash that includes a 7-race
primary sponsorship over the remaining 2020 season and another 7 in 2021. Agencies involved include Leverage and ProSport Management (Wallace).
The National Basketball Retired Players Association (NBRPA) and social media influencer platform SwayBrand announce a partnership to “bring [influencer] brand deal opportunities directly to NBRPA Legends through an easy-to-use mobile app.”
Aug 17, 2020
DoorDash announces “a multiyear marketing partnership that makes it the Official On-Demand Delivery Platform of the NBA, WNBA and NBA 2K League.” As part of the partnership, DoorDash will launch its #PlayItForward Challenge, “a new social media campaign designed to unite communities and encourage fans to support Black-owned restaurants.”
Also at the NBA, Oculus, a virtual reality platform from Facebook, and the league announce a multiyear partnership that makes Oculus an Official Marketing Partner and the first-ever Virtual Reality Headset Partner of the NBA, WNBA and NBA G League. 
“As presenting partner of the ‘NBA Rail Cam Replay’ on ESPN, ABC and TNT, the newly-dubbed ‘Oculus Front Row View’ camera angle is just one of the many ways the NBA and Oculus will provide an innovative experience for fans watching games at home. Oculus will also continue to make live NBA League Pass games available in virtual reality (VR) via Oculus Venues on Oculus Quest and Oculus Go headsets.”
The Canadian Football League, with its 2020 season already pushed back from its usual mid-Jun start, decides to cancel the entire season due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Government regulations would have prevented fans from being able to attend CFL games this year eliminating the league’s main source of revenue: ticket sales. The CFL had attempted to stage a shortened season inside a “bubble,” with Winnipeg as the “hub city” with play starting in Sep. However, the Canadian government rejected the CFL’s request for a $30 million loan to help fund its fan-less approach.
Aug 19, 2020
Constellation Brands‘ Modelo and Woodbridge by Robert Mondavi are unveiled as Official Cerveza and Official Wine, respectively, of the Las Vegas Raiders and their new home, Allegiant Stadium. Modelo assets include the Modelo Cantina Club, a 26,000 sq. foot space overlooking the 50-yard line and the Modelo Tailgate Zone outside the stadium. Woodbridge assets include the Robert Mondavi Winery Bar inside the Modelo Cantina Club.
Aug 25, 2020
The NBRPA launches Legends Media & Entertainment (LME), “a multifaceted storytelling platform that will produce, distribute and quantify the wide reaching stories of many of the NBA and WNBA’s biggest stars.” (For more, see the TMR Insider story: “Definitely Not the Last Dance.”)
The National Women’s Soccer League announces the NWSL season will resume with an 18 match Fall Series starting Sep 5. The three teams will be in three “pods” with the teams each playing the other two clubs four times. The NWSL Game of the Week will be a televised on CBS Network every Saturday in Sep, and on CBS Sports Network three Saturdays in October. CBS All Access will exclusively stream four games as well as the CBS broadcast coverage in Sep.
Aug 28, 2020
The Seattle Mariners announce T-Mobile as the first and founding partner of Mariners Care‘s newly established On BASE Hometown Nine program. T-Mobile makes a $50,000 donation to assist with costs associated with “supporting communities of color and helping bridge the gap that prevents a more diverse pipeline of baseball and softball players by covering costs to participate on elite teams.”
Aug 31, 2020
NWSL announces all 18 matches of the 2020 Fall Series will also be streamed globally via Twitch.
For COVID-19 or coronavirus-specific impact on leagues and properties, please head to our COVID-19 Status Tracker here.
To view past ROSTER MOVES, click here.
Updated: Aug 28, 2020