The American Athletic Convention is concentrating on IMG Academy president and former Rutgers athletic director Tim Pernetti as its subsequent commissioner, a number of folks briefed on the hiring course of advised The Athletic on Tuesday. A deal just isn’t but finalized however could possibly be quickly. Yahoo Sports activities first reported the information.
If accomplished, Pernetti would change the outgoing Mike Aresco, who introduced in December he would retire on the finish of the 2023-24 college 12 months. Aresco is the one commissioner within the historical past of this model of the convention, which spun out of the Massive East’s break up in 2013.
Like Aresco, Pernetti has a background in each sports activities enterprise, tv and school sports activities. Maybe coincidentally, Pernetti labored with each Aresco and Massive Ten commissioner Tony Petitti at CBS Sports activities within the 2000s, they usually additionally every frolicked at ABC Sports activities/ESPN.
Pernetti has spent the final decade in quite a lot of sports activities enterprise and sports-adjacent roles. He’s been IMG Academy’s president since 2022 after holding different roles with IMG and former dad or mum firm Endeavor. IMG Academy is a prep highschool and sports activities powerhouse in Bradenton, Fla. Final 12 months, Endeavor entered an settlement to promote the varsity to a personal fairness agency.
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Earlier than taking up the academy, Pernetti helped lead IMG School, which works with universities on their branding and business partnerships. (IMG School merged with Learfield in 2019.) Pernetti was Rutgers’ athletic director from 2009 to 2013. A former Rutgers soccer participant, he was one of many youngest ADs within the nation when employed by his alma mater and was the AD when Rutgers accepted an invite to affix the Massive Ten.
He stepped down in April 2013 amid the lads’s basketball scandal involving former coach Mike Rice. The coach had been suspended three video games and fined the earlier December over what Pernetti stated was inappropriate language and habits. After video surfaced of Rice grabbing gamers, throwing balls at them and calling them homophobic slurs, Pernetti stated he had wished to fireside Rice relatively than droop him, however didn’t have the help of college officers primarily based on college coverage.
A January report performed by the varsity’s outdoors counsel acknowledged that Rice might have been fired on the time.
Earlier than Rutgers, Pernetti labored at ABC Sports activities from 1994 to 2003, together with time overseeing the faculty sports activities protection. He then labored at School Sports activities TV and CBS, which acquired CSTV.
As Aresco heads into retirement, the AAC finds itself in positions of each energy and uncertainty. The league has undoubtedly been the strongest Group of 5 convention because the School Soccer Playoff period started in 2014. It weathered the lack of Cincinnati, Houston and UCF to the Massive 12 by including six Convention USA faculties and Military soccer this upcoming season.
Its faculties have the most important budgets and salaries amongst G5 leagues, and the convention has the richest G5 tv take care of ESPN, which works into 2032. However the way forward for school sports activities stays unsure with numerous authorized challenges, the potential of athlete employment and the consolidation of cash and energy across the Massive Ten and SEC.
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