PRESS RELEASE: Legends Launches New College Division
Focus on Leveraging Legends’ Holistic Service Solution for Leading Universities,Collegiate Organizations, and Events
Mike Behan Appointed President, Legends College
Legends, a global premium experiences company, announced today the launch of Legends College, a new business unit that will provide the company’s integrated 360-degree service solution to support leading universities, collegiate organizations, and events. Mike Behan has been appointed as President, Legends College and will oversee the development and implementation of Legends’ services in the collegiate industry.
“Over the past decade-plus, Legends has built a robust business in the collegiate space across all our service divisions that continues to grow,” said Mike Tomon, Co-President and COO, Legends. “To better serve our current and future collegiate partners, we are excited to form Legends College and appoint Mike Behan as President. Under Mike’s leadership our collegiate business has experienced unprecedented growth, overseeing transformational projects for marquee institutions. We are excited to continue working with our partners to provide our holistic service solution to enhance the fan experience across every touch point and optimize sustainable revenue streams for their business.”
Added Behan: “Legends College will bring together our best-in-class industry experts across our 360-degree service solution to create an unmatched platform to support our collegiate partners. The college athletics landscape is rapidly evolving, and we are excited to build upon the great work our team has done with leading institutions over the past decade to continue providing innovative solutions to deliver on our partners’ goals.”
Born out of the impact Legends continues to have across the collegiate landscape, Legends College provides a holistic service solution unrivaled in the industry including research, project development, premium ticket sales, sponsorships, food and beverage, merchandise, business intelligence, marketing and philanthropic fundraising and engagement.
Legends’ college business has grown exponentially over the past 10-plus years and includes partnerships with countless marquee institutions. A core area of business has been advising leading athletic departments on major transformation facility projects to heighten fan experiences and maximize annual revenues. This list includes renovation and new facility projects at Northwestern University, University of Kansas, University of Maryland, University of Notre Dame, University of Oklahoma, University of Southern California, University of Wisconsin-Madison, University of Utah, Villanova University, and San Diego State University, amongst many others.
Behan previously served as COO, Collegiate Partnerships, where he was responsible for expanding Legends collegiate athletics business. Under his leadership Legends secured partnerships with leading institutions such as University of Notre Dame, University of Oklahoma, University of Southern California, University of Louisville, University of Wisconsin, University of Utah, Villanova University, and the Rose Bowl, to assist in maximizing revenue associated with over $2.0B in new and renovated facility projects. Behan joined Legends in October 2011 as Vice President, Collegiate Partnerships and was promoted to COO, Collegiate Partnerships in June 2021. Prior to Legends, he served as Sr. Director of Team Marketing & Business Operations (TMBO) at the National Basketball Association (NBA). In this role he was responsible for advising NBA, WNBA, and NBA-Development League franchises on all aspects of business operations, including ticket sales, sponsorship development, premium seating, customer retention, digital sales, and marketing to drive revenue through sharing of best practices. Earlier in his career, Behan was the Director of Business Development for the Cleveland Cavaliers.