Nickell

Nickell joining NASCAR expats at IMG College

By Michael Smith, Staff Writer

Published April 30, 2012

Hunter Nickell, the former Speed president, is joining the collection of high-ranking executives who used to work in NASCAR at IMG College.

Nickell, who will come in as senior vice president of partnership management and business development, will report directly to IMG College President Ben Sutton. Nickell will be on a peer level with COO Tony Crispino, chief sales and marketing officer Roger VanDerSnick, and Mark Dyer, the company’s chief innovation officer.

VanDerSnick and Dyer formerly worked at NASCAR and International Speedway Corp.

Hunter Nickell was formerly president of Speed. Photo by: TIFFIN WARNOCK / STAFF

Nickell’s job largely will be to integrate all of IMG College’s offerings, from multimedia rights to ticketing, licensing, stadium seating, digital programming and sponsorship sales.

“He’s going to be a multifaceted guy,” Sutton said.

Before Sutton sold the business he founded — ISP Sports — to IMG, Nickell served on ISP’s board for close to 10 years.

“Hunter is just the guy to come in and coordinate our approach so that we can go to the marketplace in a more coordinated fashion,” Sutton said. “It’s a large part of what I’ve done for the last two years. We’ll also tap into Hunter’s background in TV to develop our digital, video and linear TV capabilities. ”

Before Nickell ran Speed, he was connected in the college space as general manager of Fox Sports Net South for 12 years.

Nickell will work out of the IMG College headquarters in Winston Salem, N.C., and joins the company this week.