PROVIDENCE, RI –  Tom Odjakjian, senior associate commissioner for broadcasting at the American Athletic Conference, has been named the recipient of the 2019 SVG College Pioneer Award presented by the Sports Video Group. He will be honored at the SVG Summit at the Omni Hotel at CNN Center in Atlanta on May 30.
               
The award celebrates those who have advanced the industry at large and innovated in the fields of video production and technology.
               
Regarded as one of the most respected media executives in collegiate sports, Odjakjian is one of the industry’s most influential leaders in broadcasting. He serves as the primary liaison at The American with television partners, managing those relationships on a daily basis, and assists with the administration for the league’s digital network. Odjakjian also has been the principal contact for a number of significant television agreements, including The American’s current partnerships with ESPN and CBS Sports.

He also has direct involvement with the annual scheduling for the Conference’s football, men’s basketball and women’s basketball regular-season contests.
               
This is a well-deserved honor for Tom and I could not be happier that he has been selected to receive this prestigious award,” said American commissioner Mike Aresco. “I have known Tom since our time together at ESPN and there are very few individuals in our industry who have his level of knowledge, expertise and experience. He knows virtually everyone in the college sports and media universes and has cultivated strong relationships that have served him well throughout his career. Tom is a tireless worker and a loyal employee. We and our conference are extremely fortunate to have him as part of our leadership team at The American.”
           
Odjakjian joined ESPN in 1981 and held a number of executive roles there until 1994. While at ESPN, he served as director of college sports where he was responsible for negotiation, acquisition, scheduling, and budget supervision for the network’s collegiate sports programming. He is credited with being the architect of ESPN’s Championship Week for basketball and Bowl Week for football. While at ESPN, he was named one of the four most influential people in all of college basketball by Sporting News in 1990, and, in 1994, was named The Most Influential Person in College Sports by College Sports magazine.  In 1995, Odjakjian was hired at the Big East Conference.
                 
Odjakjian is a 1976 graduate of Lafayette College and was the recipient of the George Wharton Pepper Prize, the most prestigious honor given annually to a senior “who represents the Lafayette ideal.”
 
The SVG College Pioneer Award is selected by a panel of past Pioneer Award honorees, current and former SVG College Summit chairmen, SVG staffers, and members of the SVG College Advisory Committee.
 

SVG College Sports Summit Pioneer Award Honorees:
2019:  Tom Odjakjian, American Athletic Conference, Big East Conference, ESPN
2018:  Rick Bagby, Clemson University
2017:  Chris Taylor, Ball State University
2016:  Jim Nachtman, Pennsylvania State University
2015:  John Kvatek, University of Central Florida
2015:  Jeff Schmahl, Texas A&M University, University of Nebraska
2014:  Rick Church, Michigan State University
2013:  Mark Rodin, Florida State University
2012:  Ken Norris, University of California, Los Angeles