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The N.I.L. M.B.A.

Once the domain of backslapping good ol’ boys who excelled at shaking alumni down for donations, big-time college A.D. jobs are increasingly being filled by actual business executives.

Pete Bevacqua
As recently as a few years ago, any list of A.D. candidates would have been dominated by college sports administrators, but this started to change two years ago when Notre Dame brought in Pete Bevacqua from NBC Sports as its new A.D. Photo: Michael Reaves/Getty Images
John Ourand
May 15, 2025

The University of Maryland’s recent search for a new athletic director has illuminated just how professionalized the college sports landscape has become. Maryland, which just announced the hiring of Atlanta Braves senior vice president of business strategy Jim Smith, didn’t simply poach an executive from the world of professional sports. Almost all the finalists were senior business leaders, including senior vice president of NBC Sports digital and emerging businesses Damon Phillips, and senior Roc Nation executive Michael Yormark, the identical twin brother of Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark. In fact, only one of the final four candidates came from the college ranks—Maryland’s interim athletic director, Colleen Sorem.