McCormack Initiatives
The extraordinary McCormack Collection gift comprises McCormack's writings, photographs and client-related memorabilia, dating to 1960 when a handshake with legendary golfer Arnold Palmer launched what would become IMG International. The McCormack family gifted $1.5M to endow educational initiatives including the Executive-in-Residence program and an international travel and exchange program. The McCormack Department and the campus library are also making many of the papers available for study online, and using them as an integral part of the curriculum.
From the Archives
Mark McCormack predicts the future of the golf industry
On January 5, 1974, Mark McCormack wrote a twenty-one page speech about the future of professional sports, in particular professional golf, with the uncertain economic times ahead. Fifty-one years later, we can see history repeating itself as the United States faces fresh financial issues. We can apply McCormack’s words to the current economic climate, the 2020 COVID shutdown, and the future of golf as it continues to evolve.
Mark H. McCormack
McCormack revolutionized the sporting world by establishing athlete representation as a distinct business discipline and by demonstrating the value of sports as a cost-effective marketing tool. This system has given economic health to the players and tennis institutions and the industry as a whole.
Mark H. McCormack is widely credited with inventing the field of sports marketing as the founder, chairman and CEO of International Management Group (IMG). From representing the majority of top players in tennis for over four decades, to pioneering television coverage globally, to expanding the scope, size, and reach of the world’s foremost events, to his ability in raising millions of dollars annually for charitable organizations, to today’s online innovations which enable fans to follow every match point, McCormack’s influence on tennis will be felt for decades to come.
McCormack revolutionized the sporting world by establishing athlete representation as a distinct business discipline and by demonstrating the value of sports as a cost-effective marketing tool. This system has given economic health to the players and tennis institutions and the industry as a whole.
IMG’s licensing agency, the largest in the world, its literary agency, and its affiliation with recreational amenities and world-class destination venues have further contributed to the sport. McCormack shaped the way all sports are marketed around the world. He was first in the marketplace and his influence on the world of sports, particularly his ability to combine athlete representation and television broadcasting, will forever be a standard within the tennis industry.