UK Athletics and JMI Sports Celebrate 10 Years of Partnership, Pioneering Naming Rights and Innovative Campus Collaborations

JMI Sports executives, partners, and college of communications staff gather for ribbon cutting celebration at new Lexington offices on Oct. 25

LEXINGTON, KY and SAN DIEGO, CA (Nov. 20, 2024) – The University of Kentucky and JMI Sports  recently celebrated the 10th anniversary of their landmark partnership, which has revolutionized multimedia rights and campus marketing.

“Our ten-year partnership with the University of Kentucky has been an incredibly rewarding journey,” said Erik Judson, Chief Executive Officer of JMI Sports. “From the start, Mitch (Barnhart) and his team trusted us, believing we could deliver a best-in-class, Kentucky-centric solution that would represent their iconic brand and meet their high expectations. What we’ve built together is truly remarkable, and our success highlights the strength of our partnership, the trust we’ve cultivated, and the outstanding efforts of our team.”

Since the partnership’s inception in 2014, JMI Sports and UK have achieved significant milestones in enhancing the university’s brand, growing its athletics program, and establishing a series of groundbreaking naming rights deals. These include:

• Kroger Field – Renamed in 2015 as the home of UK Football.
• Kentucky Proud Park – Named in 2019, this stadium is home to UK Baseball.
• Central Bank Center – Renamed in 2020, housing the iconic Rupp Arena.
• Esports Lounge at the Cornerstone (UKFCU) – Established in 2019 as the dedicated space for UK’s campus Esports team.
• Fidelity – UK Invests – Launched in 2022, this initiative with Fidelity Investments and its Fidelity Bloom app empowers students with lifelong financial skills to benefit themselves, their families, and communities.

“It’s incredible to reflect on 10 years of partnership between UK Athletics and JMI Sports,” said Mitch Barnhart, Director of Athletics at the University of Kentucky. “Over the past decade, we’ve accomplished so much together, from securing naming rights for some of our most iconic facilities to launching innovative multimedia programs like BBN Tonight on LEX18 and more. We are grateful for JMI Sports’ continued commitment to supporting UK Athletics and look forward to more successful years ahead.”

An in-house celebration took place on Oct. 25 at the newly unveiled Central Bank Center Pavilion in downtown Lexington, featuring tours of JMI Sports’ corporate offices, UK Sports & Campus Marketing offices, and the UK College of Communications’ state-of-the-art studios and learning spaces. For photos, please click here and for video, please click here (credit to University of Kentucky College of Communications).

“The studio space at Central Bank Center exemplifies the power of partnership—an essential element behind our most impactful initiatives and best results over the past decade at the University of Kentucky,” said Dr. Eric Monday, Executive Vice President for Finance and Administration at the University of Kentucky. “Through the collaboration of JMI Sports, the UK College of Communication and Information, and UK Athletics, we have created a state-of-the-art facility for broadcasting, podcasts, original productions, and classroom space—all of which supports our educational mission.”

For more information on UK Athletics, please visit ukathletics.com.

For more information on JMI Sports, a leading media rights and venue development company dedicated to transformative partnerships, please visit jmisports.com.

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ABOUT UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY

As the state’s flagship, land-grant institution, the University of Kentucky exists to advance the Commonwealth. We do that by preparing the next generation of leaders — placing students at the heart of everything we do — and transforming the lives of Kentuckians through education, research and creative work, service and health care. We pride ourselves on being a catalyst for breakthroughs and a force for healing, a place where ingenuity unfolds. It’s all made possible by our people — visionaries, disruptors and pioneers — who make up 200 academic programs, a $501 million research and development enterprise and a world-class medical center, all on one campus.

In 2022, UK was ranked by Forbes as one of the “Best Employers for New Grads” and named a “Diversity Champion” by INSIGHT into Diversity, a testament to our commitment to advance Kentucky and create a community of belonging for everyone. While our mission looks different in many ways than it did in 1865, the vision of service to our Commonwealth and the world remains the same. We are the University for Kentucky. 

ABOUT JMI SPORTS

JMI Sports is a leading media rights and venue development company that provides management of collegiate multimedia rights, sponsorship sales agency representation, and project management expertise for the development of collegiate and professional sports facilities. The company serves to maximize each client’s economic potential through customized initiatives, from marketing and branding solutions to facility design strategies.

JMI Sports’ signature collegiate multimedia rights partnerships include the University of Kentucky, the University of Utah, UCLA, the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Pittsburgh, Harvard University, DePaul University, Columbia University, San Diego State University, University of California at San Diego, and joint-venture properties of the University of Georgia (with Learfield), and University of Notre Dame (with Legends). JMI Sports also represents multimedia rights for several conferences, including the Ivy League, the Mid-American Conference, the Mountain West Conference, the Patriot League and the Atlantic 10, and serves as third-party sales representation for premier sports properties, venues and events, including the Breeders’ Cup, Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center, and the Penn Relays.

JMI Sports was founded in 2006 by CEO Erik Judson and technology entrepreneur John Moores, former owner of the San Diego Padres.

To learn more, please visit www.jmisports.com.