Tennessee Vice Chancellor/Director of Athletics John Currie announced Tuesday that current College Football Playoff Chief Financial Officer Reid Sigmon is joining the UTAD leadership staff as Executive Associate Athletics Director and Chief Operating Officer. Sigmon has spent the past four years with the CFP.
“It is with great enthusiasm that I welcome Reid Sigmon to the Tennessee Athletics family,” Currie said. “He has earned national credibility as part of a visionary leadership group creating the College Football Playoff organization for the last four years, and his tremendous integrity and understanding of college athletics make him a perfect addition to our Tennessee leadership team.”
CFP Executive Director Bill Hancock has touted Sigmon’s business acumen, work ethic and attention to detail as instrumental in the evolution of the multi-bowl series, which was named Sports Event of the Year by Sports Business Journal in 2015.
“Reid’s intellect, personality and vast knowledge of college athletics helped get the College Football Playoff off to a great start,” Hancock said. “I know Tennessee folks will enjoy him as much as we do.”
“I would like to thank (UT) Chancellor (Dr. Beverly) Davenport and John Currie for this incredible opportunity to join the University of Tennessee family,” Sigmon said. “Growing up just across the mountains from Knoxville, I am well aware of the storied tradition of Tennessee athletics. I am excited to serve the student-athletes, fans, coaches and administration of such a world-class and nationally prominent institution.
“I would also like to thank Bill Hancock, the Board of Managers and Management Committee for the incredible opportunity to be part of the original staff for the College Football Playoff. I am grateful to have been part of the start and growth of the College Football Playoff National Championship in its first three years. It has been a great honor to work with the staff, participating institutions, bowls and host communities.”
Born in Charleston, South Carolina, and raised in Hendersonville, North Carolina, Sigmon previously worked alongside Currie at Kansas State University from 2009-13, with Sigmon ultimately rising to the post of Senior Associate Athletic Director and COO. Sigmon was Currie’s first hire at K-State and managed the day-to-day operations of the Wildcats’ athletic department, including finance and contractual and legal matters. Sigmon helped transform K-State Athletics from a department with a forecasted $2 million operating deficit in 2009 to one eventually recognized by ESPN, USA TODAY and other outlets as a model of intercollegiate fiscal responsibility, while also laying the groundwork for what grew to $210 million in athletic facility improvements, all privately funded without state or university dollars.
He also was the K-State athletics liaison to the university counsel and vice president for administration and finance offices. And he worked closely with the Wildcats football program and legendary Hall of Fame Coach Bill Snyder, earning a 2012 Big 12 football championship ring.
“Reid was a great friend of our football program,” Snyder said. “He always strived to do what was in our very best interest. Reid is a very caring, committed, responsible and hard-working young man, and I am certain he will be a major success in his new position.”
Added Currie, “Reid was the driving force in the academic, athletic and financial success we enjoyed at Kansas State, and I was able to see first-hand the impact he had in supporting our student-athletes and coaches throughout the department. He is a great listener and a tireless worker who is organized and detailed in his approach, and he always brings a wise, innovative perspective to the table.”
Sigmon, 42, boasts high-level, NFL administrative experience as Executive Director of the Tampa Bay Super Bowl XLIII Host Committee (2007-09), Vice President of Operations of the Jacksonville Super Bowl XXXIX Host Committee (2003-05) and Director of Operations of the Tampa Bay Super Bowl XXXV Task Force (1999-01).
He also worked from 2005-07 as the Director of Stadium Development and Event Operations for the NFL’s Cleveland Browns, where he was responsible for the management, supervision and coordination of all the organization’s event logistics and stadium construction projects. He managed all capital projects at Cleveland Browns Stadium, special events such as draft-day parties and training camp and also assisted with overall stadium operations and gameday management.
Prior to his three Super Bowl appointments, Sigmon was the Assistant Director for the Tampa Bay Organizing Committee for the 1999 NCAA Division I Men’s Final Four in St. Petersburg, Florida.
His career in intercollegiate athletics administration began in 1996 at his alma mater of Wake Forest after the conclusion of his football playing career—during which he lettered as a placekicker and played for head coaches Bill Dooley and Jim Caldwell—as he landed a position as an operations and facilities assistant.
Active in philanthropic initiatives as well, Sigmon stood for four years as a governance officer on the College Football Playoff Foundation, which serves as the CFP’s charitable arm (SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey is a member of the CFP Foundation’s Board of Directors).
A longtime NACDA member, Sigmon graduated magna cum laude with a degree in politics from Wake Forest in 1996, and he earned his MBA from Florida in 2003. At UF, he served as president of the MBA Association and a was Matherly Scholar.
Sigmon will begin his duties in Knoxville on May 15 and will earn an annual salary of $285,000.
