PLANO, Texas – Learfield IMG College appointed veteran media executive Grant Jones to serve as the company’s first senior vice president, head of content. He will office in New York, and he began the new role on Monday.
Jones is the former vice president, head of content for OneTeam Partners, jointly owned by NFLPA and MLBPA. Prior to that, he was vice president, head of content and partnerships for ACE Media, NFLPA, with oversight of all content for NFL sponsors and licensees and content operations. Jones also was co-founder of a sports comedy company, The Kicker, with Lorne Michaels’ owned Broadway Video. Additionally, he held previous positions with Condé Nast and The Onion handling extensive content creation as senior director of original programming and as executive producer, originals and head branded content, respectively.
“Grant’s experience as a creative executive at the intersection of sports will be a perfect complement to the resources and expertise of our media group as well as across our entire company,” said Learfield IMG College Chief Content, Strategy & Development Officer Rob Schneider. “As we look to make content an integral part of all of our solutions and continue our evolution as a media and technology company, we must develop our own original content and IP to engage fans and help our partners do the same.”
Jones will report to Schneider, who leads corporate development and strategic innovation through new data-driven content, products and services.
“The opportunity to start a content group at Learfield IMG College is incredibly exciting,” Jones said. “In addition to the amazing properties it manages, a best-in-class technology platform, Fanbase, and recently launched esports platform, Level Next, the company is perfectly positioned to take advantage of the evolving college sports and multi-media landscape. I look forward to joining this talented team, and to what we can build together.”
Learfield IMG College is the leading media and technology services company in intercollegiate athletics. The company unlocks the value of college sports for brands and fans through an omnichannel platform with innovative content and commerce solutions for fan engagement. The Learfield IMG College suite of services includes licensing and multimedia sponsorship management; publishing, audio, digital and social media; data analytics; ticketing, ticket sales and professional concessions expertise; branding; campus-wide business and sponsorship development; and venue technology systems. Headquartered in Plano, Texas, the company has long had the privilege of being an 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.