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Sports Business Awards

Decade Of Dominance: Star-Studded Crowd Attends 10th Annual Sports Business Awards

It was a who’s-who in sports business last night at the Marriott Marquis at Times Square for the 10th annual Sports Business Awards, presented by SBJ/SBD. Almost 900 people attended the event, which began with attendees on the 8th floor lobby waiting for the doors to open at 5:30pm ET in the Broadway Lounge. The Red Carpet was lined with camera crews from NFL Network, SBJ/SBD, CNBC, CNN Money and Cheddar, as well as photographers from Getty Images and others. The winners for the 17 categories, as well as the Lifetime Achievement Award and the new Celebration of Service Award are listed below:

'17 SPORTS BUSINESS AWARDS
CATEGORY WINNER
Sports Executive of the Year Chair Chair Tom Ricketts
Best In Sports Media NBC Sports Group
Sports League of the Year MLB
Sports Event of the Year 2016 Indianapolis 500
Sports Breakthrough of the Year Fanatics
Athletic Director of the Year Clemson AD Dan Radakovich
Best In Corporate Consulting, Marketing & Client Services Momentum Worldwide
Best In Digital Sports Media NBC Sports Group
Sports Facility of the Year Golden 1 Center
Best in Sports Event & Experiential Marketing Engine Shop
Sports Team of the Year Chicago Cubs
Best In Sports Social Media Chicago Bulls
Sports Sponsor of the Year JPMorgan Chase
Best Talent Representation of the Year CAA Sports
Best In Sports Technology Intel
Best In Mobile Fan Experience Gametime
Best In Property Consulting, Sales & Client Services AEG Global Partnerships
Lifetime Achievement Award Cowboys Owner Jerry Jones
Celebration of Service Mel Young, Homeless World Cup

KEEPING UP A BRISK PACE: The evening ceremony lasted just a tad over two hours and 30 minutes, and started with a video montage of the year in sports, followed by Turnkey Sports' Tony Ponturo taking the stage to present the first award of the night -- it came after a video that showed then A-B exec Ponturo presenting the first ever Sports Business Award for Team of the Year to the Red Sox in ‘08. That was just one of the occasional flash backs of the past 10 years that took place last night. The most-tweeted moment? Homeless World Cup founder Mel Young’s impassioned plea to help the less fortunate, and Jerry Jones’ tribute to his family that has been with him all the way, every day, during his ownership of the Cowboys.

FROM BEHIND THE SCENES: It is impossible to list all the bold-face names and stories we observed but here are a few that caught our eye. Two of the best-known execs in Hollywood, WME-IMG’s Patrick Whitesell and former CAA head David “Doc” O’Connor (now with MSG), chatting together off to the side on their way into the ballroom. New UNLV AD Desiree Reed-Francois was seen with her husband supporting her former colleague, Whit Babcock from Virginia Tech, up for AD of the Year. She had just flown in from Africa after a weeklong trip to support her former boss. Meanwhile, Fanatics Founder & Chair Michael Rubin, being photographed backstage with his Sports Breakthrough of the Year trophy, saw Ricketts and told him, “I should have thanked you on stage.” The Cubs’ World Series win fueled the largest hot market in sports licensing history.

OH, TO BE A DECIDER: The efforts of the 16 judges who were asked by SBJ/SBD to select the winners was recognized on screen during the event. “The judges were diligent, thoughtful, prepared and passionate about positions,” SBJ/SBD Exec Editor Abe Madkour said. “They volunteered a number of hours to this tough task -- and each commented about how difficult it was.” The judges were Dawn Aponte, RSE Ventures; Laurence Applebaum, Golf Canada; Chuck Baker, O’Melveny & Myers; Sharon Byers, American Cancer Society; Susan Cohig, NHL; Don Cornwell, PJT Partners; Derrick Heggans, Global Sports and Entertainment Business Academies; Arlen Kantarian, Kantarian Sports Group; Vada O. Manager, Manager Global Consulting Group; Alex Martins, Orlando Magic; Jacqueline Parkes, MTV, VH1 and Logo; Neal Pilson, Pilson Communications; Tony Ponturo, Turnkey Sports; Russell Scibetti, KORE Software; Michael Trager, The Trager Group; Glenn Wong, Arizona State University.

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