.jpg)
.jpg)
 |
 Bill Battle |
Feb. 9, 2010
NEW YORK - Former Tennessee head coach Bill Battle is one of six exceptional individuals who have accepted positions as members of the National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame board of directors, it was announced Tuesday.
Joining 41 other active members of the prestigious board are:
*Troy Aikman, Television Game Analyst, Fox Sports, 2008 College Football Hall of Famer
*William "Bill" Battle, Founder, the Collegiate Licensing Company
*Timothy Cook, Chief Operating Officer, Apple Computer
*Robert L. Epling, President & CEO, Community Bank of Florida
*Jim Nantz, Television Broadcaster, CBS Sports
*T. Boone Pickens, Founder & Chairman, BP Capital
"It's an honor to welcome these six individuals to our board," said NFF President & CEO Steven J. Hatchell. "If you were to name the top leaders in collegiate athletics and our nation's business communities, this group would be on everybody's short list. Their combined business acumen and knowledge of collegiate athletics will greatly aid in our ability to carry out our mission as we greatly expand our efforts on all fronts."
The six new members increase the total number of people on the board to 47, including Chairman Archie Manning, President & CEO Steven J. Hatchell, Vice Chairman Clayton I. Bennett, and Vice Chairman George M. Weiss. Board members also include James Haslam II, former Vols team captain and Founder & Chairman of the Pilot Corp., and Barbara Dooley, mother of current Vols head coach Derek Dooley.
William R. "Bill" Battle III, Founder
The Collegiate Licensing Company
Bill Battle founded The Collegiate Licensing Company (CLC) in 1981. CLC, located in Atlanta, is the nation's oldest and largest marketing agency dedicated to providing domestic and international licensing services to the collegiate market. CLC currently represents nearly 200 colleges, universities, bowls and conferences, as well as the NCAA and The Heisman Trophy. CLC has been instrumental in growing the U.S. retail market for collegiate merchandise from approximately $250 million in 1984 to more than $4 billion in 2009. Since its inception in 1981, CLC has paid its member institutions more than $1 billion in royalties, most of which is used to fund scholarships.
|
|
 |
Bill founded the company and served as its president and CEO until 2002 when he turned the day-to-day operations over to his son, Pat. In 2007, CLC was acquired by IMG, the world's premier sports and entertainment marketing company. CLC remains a separate business unit within IMG, reporting to Pat Battle, who heads up IMG College. Bill still remains active in CLC and its related businesses.
In addition to his role at CLC, Bill also served as chairman of the board of Licensing Partners International (LPI). LPI was created in 2001 to represent the licensing interests of non-collegiate sports properties, as well as corporate and entertainment properties. LPI, which was also acquired by IMG in 2007, currently represents the Canadian Football League, the PGA Tour and Churchill Downs Inc., among other properties.
LPI's predecessor company, Battle Enterprises Inc. (BEI), served as the exclusive licensing representative for NASCAR from 1989-95, the PGA Tour from 1994-97, and Phase I of the Atlanta 1996 Olympics from 1990-91. Other properties represented by BEI over the years included various U.S. Olympic National Governing Bodies (USA Boxing, Diving, Gymnastics, Rowing, Swimming, and others) and Goodyear Racing.
Prior to starting CLC and Battle Enterprises, Bill held various positions within Circle S Industries in Selma, Ala. He served as president of two different companies, as well as vice chairman of the Circle S Holding Company Board. During his six years at Circle S, the organization grew from two companies earning $12 million in annual sales to 10 companies earning $60 million.
Bill's foundation for CLC began with football. He had a successful playing career as a three-year starter at Alabama and was a part of Coach Paul "Bear" Bryant's first national championship team. He entered the coaching profession as a grad assistant at Oklahoma in 1963. In 1964 and 1965, he served as an assistant coach at Army while serving a two-year military tour.
In 1966, he moved to Tennessee, where he served as an assistant coach for four years until he was named head coach in 1970. During his seven-year tenure as head coach, his teams went 59-22-2, ranked three times in the top-10, twice in the top-20, and won four out of five bowl games.
The 2010 National Football Foundation Officers and Board of Directors
Officers
Chairman Archie Manning
President & CEO Steven J. Hatchell
Vice Chairman Clayton I. Bennett
Vice Chairman George M. Weiss
Secretary & COO Matthew T. Sign (ex-officio)
Treasurer & Director of Finance Sue Chung (ex-officio)
Directors
Troy Aikman, Television Broadcaster, Fox Sports; Hall of Fame Player Class of 2008
Ray E. Anderson, Executive Vice President, Football Operations, National Football League
William "Bill" Battle, Founder, the Collegiate Licensing Co.
Timothy Cook, Chief Operating Officer, Apple Computer
Vice Chairman Clayton I. Bennett, President, Dorchester Capital; Chairman, Oklahoma City Thunder
J. Murry Bowden, Founder, Chairman & CEO, The Hanover Co.; Hall of Fame Player Class of 2003
Bill Byrne, Director of Athletics, Texas A&M University
William V. Campbell, Chairman of the Board, Intuit Inc.; Former Head Football Coach, Columbia University
Joseph R. Castiglione, Vice President for Intercollegiate Athletics Programs & Director of Athletics, University of Oklahoma
Michael J. Cleary, Executive Director, National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA)
Jeffrey M. Cooney, Director, EUE Screen Gems Ltd.
Eugene F. Corrigan, Former NCAA President; Former Commissioner, Atlantic Coast Conference; Former Athletics Director, University of Notre Dame
David M. Davis, Principal, Gamble Jones Investment Counsel
Gene DeFilippo, Director of Athletics, Boston College
James E. Delany, Commissioner, Big Ten Conference
Barbara A. Dooley, Coldwell Banker Upchurch Realty; Southern Broadcasting Co.
Robert L. Epling, President & CEO, Community Bank of Florida
Jack Ford, Anchor & Host, TruTV
Archie Griffin, President/CEO, Ohio State University Alumni Association; Hall of Fame Player Class of 1986
James A. Haslam II, Founder & Chairman, Pilot Corp.
President & CEO Steven J. Hatchell, Former Commissioner, Big 12, Southwest and Metro Conferences; Former Executive Director, Orange Bowl
Terry S. Jacobs, Chairman of the Board, President & CEO, The JFP Group, LLC
Ron A. Johnson, Owner & President, Rackson Corp.; Hall of Fame Player Class of 1992
Jerry Jones, Owner, President & General Manager, Dallas Cowboys
John Junker, President & CEO, Tostitos Fiesta Bowl; Executive Director, Insight Bowl
Jefferson W. Kirby, Managing Member, Broadfield Capital Management, LLC
Robert K. Kraft, Founder, Chairman & CEO, The Kraft Group; Chairman & CEO, New England Patriots
Jack Lengyel, Former Director of Athletics, U.S. Naval Academy
Ronnie Lott, Managing Partner, HRJ Capital; Hall of Fame Player Class of 2002
John J. Mack, Chairman & CEO, Morgan Stanley
Chairman Archie Manning, President, Archie Manning Co.; Hall of Fame Player Class of 1989
Bill Martin, Director of Athletics, University of Michigan
Edward F. McGinley III, Retired, Former V.P. Goldman Sachs Group
Michael Moe, Partner, Next Global Advisors
Robert E. Mulcahy III, Former Director of Athletics, Rutgers University
Jim Nantz, Television Broadcaster, CBS Sports
Chuck Neinas, President, Neinas Sports Services, Inc.; Former Executive Director, College Football Association
T. Boone Pickens, Founder & Chairman, BP Capital
Kevin Plank, Founder, Chairman & CEO, Under Armour Inc.
Christine A. Plonsky, Director of Women's Athletics & Senior Associate Athletics Director External Services, University of Texas
George F. Pyne, President, IMG Sports & Entertainment
Robert A. Simms, Founder, Simms Capital Management Inc.; Vice President, NFL Alumni Association of New York
Michael L. Slive, Commissioner, Southeastern Conference
George M. Steinbrenner III, Principal Owner, New York Yankees
Larry D. Striplin, Jr., Chairman & CEO, Nelson-Brantley Glass Contractors Inc., and Circle "S" Industries Inc.
Grant Teaff, Executive Director, American Football Coaches Association (AFCA); Hall of Fame Coach Class of 2001
Vice Chairman George M. Weiss, Chairman & CEO, Beechtree Capital
Roger Williams, Texas 105th Secretary of State; President & CEO, Roger Williams Chrysler Dodge Jeep
Deborah A. Yow, Director of Athletics, University of Maryland
