IMG Academy Makes Leadership Moves

Two big moves at IMG Academy:

COO Mike Milliron has been promoted to president of IMG’s campus
Digital media exec Fred Santarpia is now president of IMG’s online academy

Milliron will “oversee the strategic direction, growth and operations of IMG Academy's Bradenton, Florida campus businesses, including its boarding school, camps, events and team training, Legacy Hotel and IMG Academy Golf Club.”

Santarpia — most recently Endeavor’s President of Streaming — will “lead the organization's digital businesses, including IMG Academy+, NCSA and SportsRecruits.”

Santarpia succeeds Chris Ciaccio, who had led IMG Academy Online while also serving as chief commercial officer. Ciaccio - a speaker at our Buying Sandlot Summit - has been at IMG for almost 30 years, and will remain with the organization and "focus on commercial aspects of the campus business and organizational brand and commercial synergies."

I view this as yet another bullish sign for the convergence of athletics and education. For one, it’s notable that IMG’s business is big enough to have separate individuals who oversee the physical campus and the expanding digital offering. The latter includes IMG’s recently released digital platform, IMG Academy+, which distributes on-demand access to IMG’s resources and even one-to-one training.

In a world where sports, mental and physical education are becoming more important, quality and trust in content and curriculum are paramount. IMG is uniquely positioned as a leader in - and in many ways the canonical example of - sports education to succeed well beyond the boundaries of its 600-acre campus.

And none of that includes IMG Elevate, the school’s only B2B business which combines its in-person expertise and digital offerings into a platform aimed at organizations and schools.

Lots of opportunity here, at all levels.