ARLINGTON –Learfield IMG College has appointed Lance Wesson as General Manager for Maverick Sports Properties, the exclusive multimedia rights holder for UT Arlington Athletics.
Wesson joins UTA from Octagon, where he had spent the last year-and-a-half as a Senior Account Manager for the sports and entertainment agency. Prior to his time with Octagon, Wesson served as the Director of Basketball Operations & Special Events for five years at the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame.
Boasting previous collegiate experience with Kansas City Athletics (formerly referred to as UMKC), Wesson was the Director of Ticket Sales & Client Engagement in 2012-13 during the Kangeroos’ final season in the Summit League before transitioning to the Western Athletic Conference. Wesson’s basketball-rich background also features three years as an Account Executive with the NBA’s Detroit Pistons.
“We’re excited to welcome Lance into the UTA family to fill this extremely important revenue-producing role in our athletic department,” said UTA Director of Athletics Jim Baker. “He has a strong, diverse background which we believe will make a profound impact on maintaining, growing and creating partnerships with UTA Athletics in Arlington and the surrounding DFW market.”
In his role, Wesson becomes Learfield IMG College’s primary contact for Maverick Sports Properties, which oversees the university’s comprehensive athletics rights including venue signage; event sponsorships and promotion; corporate hospitality; television; digital engagement and visibility via UTAMavs.com and broadcasts.
Wesson will be joined on campus by Neil Patel, who serves as the Partnership Services Coordinator, and has been in that role with the Mavericks since earlier this spring.
“Lance is bringing terrific experience to our UTA team, and we’re thrilled to have him in the Learfield IMG College family as we continue working closely with Jim and the athletics administration in growing the UTA brand,” said Learfield IMG College Vice President-Multi-Media Rights Joey King.
While with Octagon, Wesson managed the planning, development and execution of various experiential marketing programs on behalf of Mastercard. He collaborated on sponsorship activations and high-impact execution of ideas while identifying new opportunities for clients in a multitude of markets.
Wesson exceeded events sales revenue quotas in his first year with the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame in Kansas City. He managed all aspects of events at the venue – including the high-profile induction ceremony – and solicited, closed and renewed all corporate partnership and sponsorship packages associated with the events.
At UMKC, he increased ticket sales revenue by nearly 40 percent in just one season. Wesson administered all athletics ticket office operations and worked in conjunction with the marketing department to secure and renew long-term sponsorship partnerships.
Additionally, Wesson created and delivered strategic marketing packages for the Detroit Pistons and significantly exceeded overall ticketing sales goals across a myriad of constituent groups from 2010-13.
Along with this move, Wesson’s predecessor, John Finch, has transitioned to General Manager of Red Wolves Sports Properties, the local Learfield IMG College team at Arkansas State. Finch had led Maverick Sports Properties since 2017 after serving as an Account Executive at TCU.
Learfield IMG College unlocks the value of college sports for fans and brands through an omnichannel fan engagement platform. The company engages millions of fans with data-driven media, commerce, and experiential solutions, including licensing and multimedia sponsorship management; publishing, radio, digital and social media; ticket sales and professional concessions expertise; branding; campus-wide business and sponsorship development; and venue technology systems.
Headquartered in Plano, Learfield IMG College is a longtime advocate for intercollegiate athletics and the student-athlete experience. Since 2008, it has served as title sponsor for the acclaimed Learfield IMG College Directors’ Cup, supporting athletic departments across all divisions.
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