Naming Rights Vice President

About the role

Learfield is seeking an experienced, results-driven Vice President of Naming Rights to lead business development for naming rights opportunities across its portfolio of collegiate athletic properties. The role identifies, creates and drives revenue-generating naming rights opportunities, acting as the main link between university leadership, Learfield property teams and the Commercial Partnerships organization. It works directly with Athletic Directors and commercial partnership VPs to commercialize naming rights for arenas, stadiums and other high-profile venues.

Key responsibilities

• Lead naming rights business development across collegiate athletic properties and build a robust pipeline of naming rights and entitlement partnership opportunities.
• Prospect and cultivate relationships with Fortune 500 brands, agencies and senior marketing executives, then lead the sales process from prospecting through negotiation and contract execution.
• Partner with Commercial Partnerships VPs and local/national sales teams to bring opportunities to market, and act as the naming rights subject matter expert.
• Build strong relationships with Athletic Directors and university decision-makers, presenting recommendations and educating them on naming rights best practices.
• Stay current on naming rights trends and represent Learfield at industry events and conferences.

Required profile

• 15+ years of sales, sponsorship, business development or partnership experience.
• Proven track record selling naming rights, entitlement partnerships and multi-million-dollar sponsorship deals.
• Experience building relationships with Fortune 500 brands, agencies and C-suite executives, and managing long sales cycles.
• Preferred: experience in collegiate athletics, professional sports, sports marketing, media or entertainment, and an existing network of senior marketing executives and sponsorship buyers.

Required skills

• Naming rights and entitlement sales, sponsorship sales and consultative selling.
• Negotiation, deal structuring and executive relationship management.
• Strategic prospecting and cross-functional collaboration.

What we offer

• Approximate base pay range of $215,000 to $275,000, with possible annual discretionary bonus and/or sales compensation.
• Medical, dental, vision, HSA, life insurance and other plans, flexible paid time off (minimum 10 days), parental leave, 20 paid holidays, 401(k) match and short/long term disability.

The position requires about 40-50% travel to university campuses, client meetings and industry conferences.