PHILADELPHIA – (Staff Report from Official News Release) – The National Lacrosse League named Brett Frood as Commissioner. Frood joined the NLL from Stewart-Haas Racing, where he has served as President of the NASCAR team since its inception in 2008, leading all business initiatives for the championship-winning organization co-owned by NASCAR Hall of Famer Tony Stewart and industrialist Gene Haas.

Frood, who will begin his new role on September 1, will become the fifth Commissioner for the NLL since its relaunch in 1997. CAA Executive Search assisted the NLL Board of Governors in the search process.

“Brett Frood has known success at every turn of his career, from playing lacrosse at a championship level at Brown to building out one of the most successful properties in sports at Stewart-Haas Racing,” said Matt Hutchings, COO and EVP at Kroenke Sports and Entertainment, owner of the NLL Champion Colorado Mammoth, speaking as Chairman of the NLL Board of Governors. “That combination is both unique and perfect to lead the National Lacrosse League in the accelerated growth period that we are currently in and will now continue and expand under his leadership.”

“I am humbled and energized to be able to work alongside a group of motivated and sophisticated owners and organizations to continue to cultivate the best product in professional sports,” Frood said. “The NLL provides such a unique opportunity to marry my professional and personal passions and grow enterprise value amongst all its constituents.”

“We conducted a thorough search process and spent time with an extremely deep pool of candidates from multiple areas of our industry,” said Erik Baker, Board member of New York Riptide owner GF Sports and Entertainment, and Jamie Dawick, owner of the Toronto Rock, co-chairs of the search committee of the NLL Board of Governors. “Brett is everything we were looking for. He brings an amazing track record of business success, a passion and deep understanding of lacrosse and a clear vision of where we want to go as a league. He will be the perfect leader for the NLL and a welcome difference maker in taking the sport of lacrosse to the next level.”

A native of Elbridge, N.Y., Frood played lacrosse at his undergraduate alma mater, Brown University, where he was a multi-year starter, team captain, Final Four member, and two-time Ivy League Champion at Attack/Midfield for the Bears. He also led the team in scoring his senior season.

Frood joined Stewart, the championship-winning INDYCAR and NASCAR driver, 18 years ago after graduating from Harvard Business School to manage and expand all of Stewart’s business interests, including, but not limited to, Eldora Speedway in Rossburg, Ohio, Tony Stewart Racing, The Tony Stewart Foundation, the introduction of Tony Stewart’s Original food line, the All-Star Circuit of Champions, and the 2021 launch of Superstar Racing Experience, a primetime racing series airing on CBS.

As President of Stewart-Haas Racing, Frood managed all aspects of the racing and commercial operations of the $100M+ enterprise that won two NASCAR Cup Series championships (2011 and 2014) and a NASCAR Xfinity Series title (2018) while totaling more than 90 victories. During his tenure at Stewart-Haas Racing, Frood led an organization with 350 employees and negotiated over $600 million in corporate partnerships. He also represented Stewart-Haas Racing on the Race Team Alliance, an organization consisting of all NASCAR Cup Series teams with the goal of promoting, marketing and expanding commercial opportunities of the teams and drivers as well as working with NASCAR in the collective growth of the industry.

The post Frood Named NLL Commissioner appeared first on Digital Sports Desk.

PHILADELPHIA – The National Lacrosse League announced that Commissioner Nick Sakiewicz has decided to leave his position to pursue other interests but will continue to advise the league until June 30, 2022. The league has also announced that Deputy Commissioner Jessica Berman will assume the Commissioner duties. The league will announce the selection process for a new Commissioner in the near future.

The NLL has enjoyed unprecedented growth, new media partnerships, and expansion during Sakiewicz’s term as league Commissioner. His tenure began began January 1, 2016.

“The National Lacrosse League has seen transformative change and is poised for both future growth and success, thanks to Nick’s leadership during the past six years,” said Matt Hutchings, COO and EVP at Kroenke Sports & Entertainment, franchise owner of the Colorado Mammoth, speaking as Chairman of the NLL Board of Governors. “On behalf of the NLL Board of Governors, we thank him and the league staff, for all they have done to put the NLL in this position and look forward to seeing what he does next.”

Hutchings continued, “We understood the importance of having a strong team to carry on when the organization’s success provides opportunities for its leaders. Therefore, several years ago, we very intentionally empowered Nick to strengthen our management team with the Deputy Commissioner position. Jessica Berman has done a wonderful job in her short time in this role, and the league is in great hands with her and our experienced management team supporting her efforts.”

“I have enjoyed my time leading the NLL, and want to thank the lacrosse community, NLL’s amazing fans, players, our board, owners, partners, and, league staff for the support that has led us to the point where we are now, poised for greatness in the years ahead,” Sakiewicz said. “Through thoughtful and strategic business planning the league expanded with the right investors, embracing the digitally native fan and expanding our media reach now with both ESPN and TSN for the first time in league history, the NLL and the sport of lacrosse on every level, is in a much better place with a brighter future than ever before.”

“My decision to leave now is a personal one,” he added. “The goals I had set out when I came to the NLL from soccer have been met, and it is time for me to pursue a new, exciting and different global opportunity as my next challenge.”

Under Sakiewicz’s watch, the NLL has experienced unprecedented growth, expanding from nine to 15 teams. Under his leadership, the League also secured the two largest media rights deals in the history of the league, first partnering with B/R Live, Turner’s live streaming service, for all games to be streamed on the platform starting with the 2018–2019 season. The NLL also signed a broadcasting rights deal with ESPN.

The post Sakiewicz Steps Down from NLL Post appeared first on Digital Sports Desk.