Armato out as head of pro beach volleyball tour
By JIMMY GOLEN, Associated Press.
Leonard Armato, the AVP commissioner and the husband of three-time Olympian Holly McPeak, has resigned as the head of the pro beach volleyball tour.
Chief operating officer Jason Hodell will take over, the AVP was set to announce on Wednesday night. Armato will reman as a special adviser, according to the announcement, a copy of which was obtained by The Associated Press.
The management shakeup as the tour tries to capitalize on the buzz generated by the U.S. sweep of the Olympic gold medals in Beijing, where Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh won the women's tournament and Todd Rogers and Phil Dalhausser won the men's.
"For Phil and me, along with Misty and Kerri, to win golds in Beijing last year were big moments for the AVP," said Rogers, who teamed with Dalhausser to win the domestic tour's championship in 2007 and '08. "It's one of the most exciting times to be a pro volleyball player and I know everyone is extremely excited about the new leadership."
The former agent for basketball stars Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Shaquille O'Neal and boxer Oscar de la Hoya, Armato acquired the AVP in 2001. What had been separate men's and women's tours with six events is now a unified circuit with 15 outdoor stops this year and 14 more over the winter in an indoor tour; prize money has quadrupled.
"I am thrilled with the progress we have made," Armato said. "Coming off the success of the 2008 Olympics in which we won men and women's gold medals, pro beach volleyball is now one of the hottest sports in the world."
Walsh said he will be missed.
"I will forever be grateful to Leonard Armato for his contributions to the growth of the sport of beach volleyball," she said. "With his tireless enthusiasm, Leonard has been an evangelist for our great sport bringing it to the masses and bringing to it many of our nation's best athletes. Leonard deserves to be recognized as a lead contributor to the advancement and betterment of our sport."
The AVP announced last year that Crocs had renewed its deal to serve as title sponsor for the AVP tour. Russell Athletic, Anheuser-Busch and John Paul Mitchell Systems have also extended their sponsorship agreements for three more years.
"It is an honor to work with the AVP, our athletes and our sponsors to continue the growth of our wonderful sport," Hodell said. "I'm sure I speak for the entire AVP when I say this is truly one of the most exciting times in the history of pro beach volleyball. I look forward to leading the Tour as we build on the momentum created under Leonard's leadership."
Also Wednesday, the tour announced that it received additional financing from RJSM Partners, part of the current ownership group.
In other moves, Paul Tedeschi has been selected the AVP's chief marketing officer. New members of the board of directors include Sam Kennedy, the chief marketing officer for the Boston Red Sox, and Bob Potter, CEO of Bombo Sports & Entertainment, a production company.
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9 comments:
todd, now that leonard is out, when is K.K taking the job? alan beverly/birmingham, alabama
Jerry Solomon had a vision of making the AVP just like the ATP Tennis tour. The AVP's niche in the glory days was tournaments played on beaches, Miss Miller Lite, free attendance and American Beach Volleyball not the FIVB wussy European rules. Instead of trying to assimilate to the other sports the AVP needs to go back to there niche and exploit that sweet spot. Good luck to the new leadership. We love this sport and hate to see some of the stuff that has happened. Not sure if the guy Tedeschi is from Massachusetts but I used to work at a chain store here called "Tedeschi's". Also see some suit from the Red Sox...interesting!
What do you think about the deal Todd? Is it a good thing or a bad thing that Leonard left?
Sure, the AVP will be around. It survived a bankruptcy period in the late '90s and now a decade later is facing the same circumstances. Give Armato credit for assertively striving to take the AVP to the next level. In the end, this arrogance may have been his undoing.
Billy
Alan- Don't think that is in the works but you never know.
Scott- I have heard very good things about Tedeschi from a variety of people.
Anonymous - Will get back to you on that.
Margo- Glad you had fun out west. The kids had a great time at our Easter Egg Hunt.
Billy - Will comment on it soon.
Todd
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