Naming Rights Vice President

Learfield is seeking an experienced, results-driven sales executive to lead the business development efforts for naming rights opportunities across its portfolio of collegiate athletic properties.

This role will be responsible for identifying, creating, and driving revenue-generating naming rights opportunities while serving as the primary liaison between university leadership, Learfield property teams, and the Commercial Partnerships organization.

The Vice President of Naming Rights will work directly with Athletic Directors, alongside of commercial partnership VPs and senior university stakeholders to identify and commercialize naming rights opportunities for arenas, stadiums, and other high-profile athletic venues across Learfield’s portfolio.

Success in this role will be defined by the ability to originate opportunities and partner with Learfield’s Commercial Partnerships team to develop and close transformational sponsorship agreements.

This role is ideal for a proven rainmaker with deep experience selling naming rights, entitlement partnerships, and large-scale sponsorship platforms who thrives on relationship building, business development, and revenue generation.

Essential Duties & Responsibilities

• Lead Learfield’s naming rights business development efforts across its portfolio of collegiate athletic properties.
• Identify and cultivate naming rights opportunities for stadiums, arenas and other premium university assets.
• Work with Commercial Partnership VPs to partner directly with Athletic Directors, university presidents, and athletic department leadership to gain approval and alignment on taking assets to market.
• Develop and maintain a robust pipeline of naming rights and entitlement partnership opportunities.
• Drive prospecting efforts and cultivate relationships with Fortune 500 brands, agencies, and senior marketing executives.
• Lead the sales process for high-value opportunities, from identifying prospects through negotiation and contract execution.
• Secure new revenue streams through long-term naming rights agreements and integrated sponsorship platforms.

Collaboration with Commercial Partnerships

• Work hand-in-hand with Learfield’s Commercial Partnerships team to bring naming rights opportunities to market.
• Collaborate with local and national sales teams to identify prospects, develop customized partnership solutions, and accelerate deal flow.
• Serve as the naming rights subject matter expert, supporting Commercial Partnerships teams throughout the sales cycle.
• Coordinate internal resources to ensure opportunities are effectively positioned, marketed, and sold.
• Partner with property leadership and sales teams to maximize the value of naming rights opportunities within broader sponsorship discussions.

University & Stakeholder Engagement

• Build strong relationships with Athletic Directors and senior university decision-makers across Learfield’s portfolio.
• Serve as a trusted partner to university leadership throughout the process of evaluating and commercializing naming rights assets.
• Present recommendations and opportunities to key institutional stakeholders.
• Help educate and guide university leaders on industry best practices and market opportunities related to naming rights partnerships.

Industry Leadership

• Maintain knowledge of naming rights trends, industry benchmarks, and emerging opportunities within sports and collegiate athletics.
• Represent Learfield at industry events, conferences, and executive meetings.
• Leverage an extensive network of brand and agency relationships to identify and create new partnership opportunities.

Impact

This role will be instrumental in driving significant new revenue for Learfield and its university partners by identifying, developing, and commercializing naming rights opportunities across one of the most expansive portfolios in collegiate athletics. The ideal candidate will combine elite business development skills with deep sponsorship expertise to help universities unlock the value of their most important assets while delivering meaningful partnerships for leading brands.

Required Experience

• 15+ years of sales, sponsorship, business development, or partnership experience.
• Proven track record selling naming rights, entitlement partnerships, and other large-scale sponsorship agreements.
• Demonstrated success securing multi-million-dollar partnerships and complex platform-based deals.
• Extensive experience building relationships with Fortune 500 brands, agencies, and C-suite decision-makers.
• Strong business development and consultative sales skills with the ability to create opportunities from concept through close.