Dallas, TX (May 13th, 2025) – Learfield, the leading media and technology company powering college athletics, announced today the significant expansion of the company’s Corporate Partnerships division to include another highly experienced sales executive from the professional sports industry. Allison Fillmore has joined Learfield’s Corporate Partnerships organization as Senior Vice President of Naming Rights. Fillmore’s addition to the Learfield team enhances the company’s capabilities to help school partners generate more revenue through premium sponsorships, naming rights, and innovative corporate partnerships. The additional focus on naming rights and premium assets is pivotal when college athletics institutions search for additional revenue-generation opportunities.
Allison will work closely with Learfield’s 150-plus sports properties and its corporate partnerships team to identify naming rights and premium sponsorship opportunities for brand partners, including on-field and on-court logos. She will collaborate with these teams to identify, package, and position high-value opportunities to grow significant school sponsorship revenue. In her new role, Fillmore will also serve as a liaison across Learfield’s corporate partnership team to identify brand partners well-aligned with schools for these premium opportunities.
Fillmore joined Learfield after spending eight years at the PGA TOUR, where she experienced tremendous success in leading naming rights sponsorships and major official partnerships. During her time at the PGA TOUR, Allison spearheaded significant partnerships with leading brands including Delta Air Lines, Pacific Life, Accenture, Tumi, Coca Cola and more. Fillmore previously held strategic leadership positions, including serving as Executive Director of the TOUR Championship, Vice President of Sales at Atlanta Motor Speedway, and other senior business development positions with the Atlanta Falcons and Atlanta Dream.
“We are focused on investing in the growth of naming rights, premium assets, and corporate sponsorship opportunities for our school partners. With Allison, we gained a seasoned professional with a proven track record to lead these efforts,” said President of Learfield Sports Properties, Kim Damron. “Our unrivaled, at-scale breadth of college athletics properties makes Learfield the ideal partner for national and local companies looking to align their brand with leading college athletics organizations.”
Allison will report to Shawn Hegan, Executive Vice President of Corporate Partnerships at Learfield. Hegan joined Learfield in January of 2024 and made transformational changes to Learfield’s corporate partnerships team. Before joining Learfield, Hegan served as Senior Vice President of the PGA TOUR, overseeing corporate partnerships and holding other executive roles in his 20-year tenure at the TOUR. While at the PGA TOUR, Hegan built strategic partnerships with major corporations, including FedEx, Mastercard, Charles Schwab, and many other blue-chip brands. Hegan now leads a corporate partnerships team of over 50 dedicated professionals who work to create national sponsorships across Learfield’s portfolio of 150 sports properties partners. These corporate partnerships enable Fortune 500 companies and leading brands to participate in innovative sponsorships, including student-athlete storytelling Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) campaigns, integrated with school intellectual property marks and logos.
“Our integrated solutions offer national brands a single partner to tap into premium sponsorship activation across the country, including NIL influencer campaigns, highly visible logos on playing surfaces, and venue naming rights,” said Shawn Hegan, Executive Vice President of Corporate Partnerships at Learfield. “We’ve experienced substantial growth in these areas, which has not only delivered significant revenue opportunities for our school partners but also provided cutting-edge opportunities for our global sponsors.”
Learfield has helped schools and local and national brands deliver groundbreaking sponsorships, including NIL student-athlete storytelling campaigns infused with their brands. This year, Learfield’s NIL services have enabled school partners and their student-athletes to participate in NIL sponsorships, representing over $140 million in total investment from brand partners that include NIL assets. Several leading brand partners, including Marriott, State Farm, Nissan, and many others, recently realized successful NIL campaigns during the college basketball postseason with national recognition.
About Learfield
Learfield is the leading media and technology company powering college athletics. Through its digital and physical platforms, Learfield owns and leverages a deep data set and relationships in the industry to drive revenue, growth, brand awareness, and fan engagement for brands, sports, and entertainment properties. With ties to over 1,200 collegiate institutions and over 12,000 local and national brand partners, Learfield’s presence in college sports and live events delivers influence and maximizes reach to target audiences. With solutions for a 365-day, 24/7 fan experience, Learfield enables schools and brands to connect with fans through licensed merchandise, game ticketing, donor identification for athletic programs, exclusive custom content, innovative marketing initiatives, NIL solutions, and advanced digital platforms. Since 2008, it has served as title sponsor for the acclaimed Learfield Directors’ Cup, supporting athletic departments across all divisions.