Pittsburgh will finally leave the Big East conference after reaching an agreement yesterday, malady agreeing to pay the conference $7.5 million dollars in order to leave the Big East a year early.

Pittsburgh will be allowed to join the Atlantic Coast Conference next July 1st.

“We are anxious to compete in our final season in the Big East and look forward to an exciting future in the Atlantic Coast Conference, ambulance ” Pitt athletic director Steve Pederson said in a statement.

Pittsburgh had initially agreed to the Big East’s standard 27 month waiting period, which would have kept the school in the Big East conference until July 1, 2014. But, thoughts of a 2014 exit went by the way side when Pitt filed suit against the conference claiming that a right to enforce a 2014 withdrawal was waived after the conference let West Virginia forego the complete waiting period to leave for the Big 12 conference. Pitt’s suit led to more serious settlement talks, and ultimately led to the $7.5 million dollar settlement. In the end, the Big East just decided it was better to cut their losses and move on,

“This is another step for the Big East to take toward a very exciting future,” interim Big East commissioner Joe Bailey said in a statement. “With the addition of our eight new members, the Big East will be incredibly strong and vibrant.”

When Pittsburgh and Syracuse join the ACC in 2013, they will become the fourth and fifth teams to leave the Big East for that conference, joining Miami, Virginia Tech, and Boston College, who all joined the ACC in the early 2000?s.

 

Beyond Sport organisers have announced that businesses including Adidas, Sony, PricewaterhouseCooper, Standard Chartered, Virgin Atlantic, Deloitte, Canterbury, and Barclays will attend its Summit and Awards ceremony next month. The Summit is scheduled for December 5-8, and has become a major event for innovators to gather and address sport’s role in pertinent social issues.

Beyond Sport is a global initiative supports initiatives that use sport as a platform to affect positive social change.

Beyond Sport expects over 1,000 guests, including three hundred executives from some of the world’s top companies.

International organisations such as FIFA, Qatar Foundation, UNCIEF, NBA, NHL, NASCAR and the Australian Football League will attend the Cape Town event along with join South African businesses, sports federations and NGOs.

Representatives from Manchester City and Liverpool, the NFL’S Philadelphia Eagles and the NBA’s Memphis Grizzlies will be in attendance- all four teams are in contention for the Beyond Sport Team of the Year Award.

Beyond Sport founder, Nick Keller said: “South Africa is an incredible country with a first-rate sport industry, countless business opportunities for international firms and an exciting future Beyond Sport works to drive positive social change through sport, but that does not mean it is only about grassroots projects – the investment of business in communities is absolutely essential, and sits at the very heart of our work. As the international sport and business communities look to South Africa in December, there is a very real opportunity for the country to take another giant step forward.”

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Celtic were reinstated in to the Europa League after UEFA upheld the club’s complaint relating to the matches against FC Sion and the fielding of ineligible players.

The Swiss club were charged by UEFA with fielding ineligible players in both Europa League play-off ties against the Hoops and the two European games were played under protest by Celtic.

Sion were initially drawn against Atletico Madrid, Udinese and Rennes in the group stages of the Europa League. Celtic will now take the Swiss side’s place in the competition, subject to an appeal.

A club spokesperson said: “We have been advised by UEFA that the two protests relating to the matches against FC Sion have been upheld, as a result of which each match has been forfeited in favour of Celtic.

“We are pleased by this decision, the approach which has been taken by UEFA and the fact that UEFA rules and regulations have been upheld. We are also grateful for the support of the SFA in this matter.”

Sion signed five players with the club still under a transfer ban imposed by FIFA after breaching rules over the signing of Egypt goalkeeper Essam El-Hadary three years ago, although a Swiss court had ruled in their favour. One of those players, Pascal Feindouno, scored two goals in the 3-1 second leg win over Celtic in Switzerland.

UEFA’s control and disciplinary body made today’s ruling although Sion having two rights of appeal, the second with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) who maintain they are the final voice.

UEFA president Michel Platini had offered Celtic some hope before the group stage draw when he said: “What is happening there is the rules have not been respected. FC Sion has not respected the rules of the transfer ban – they signed players and then played those players.”

However, Sion president Christian Constantin said before the second leg win over Celtic that he was confident that the Swiss club would win their case. He said:”‘I am not worried about that because the club is in the right.”

Celtic chief executive Peter Lawwell said yesterday that if the Parkhead club were successful, he would look forward to the group stages.

He said: “I think it is a Champions League group in terms of the quality of the clubs that are in there. It is exciting.”

Viagogo has renewed its partnership with the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals as its official premium and secondary ticket exchange partner on a three-year deal, including the 2013 edition of the tournament.

The agreement will take the relationship between Viagogo, Europe’s largest online ticket exchange, and the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals to five years.

The Barclays ATP World Tour Finals is the largest indoor tennis tournament in the world, featuring the top eight male tennis players at London’s O2 Arena. The renewed partnership will provide tennis fans with access to front row seats through Viagogo and also enable tennis fans to buy and sell tickets for the tournament in a safe, secure and guaranteed environment.

Chris Kermode, managing director, Barclays ATP World Tour Finals, stated: “Over the last two years, Viagogo has demonstrated to us and our customers why they are Europe’s number one ticket exchange. We have chosen to work with Viagogo over the next three years to ensure our customers continue to receive a first-class service and can trade tickets they can no longer use in a safe and secure environment.”

Edward Parkinson, director of viagogo UK, added: “The Barclays ATP World Tour Finals has become one of the most talked about events in the tennis calendar. With tennis fans guaranteed to see the best that professional tennis has to offer, tickets are likely to go quickly, so we are delighted to be working with the organisers again to enable fans to access hard to get tickets in a safe and secure way.”

Phillip Brook has been named as the new chairman of the All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC) most commonly known for their role as the private members club as the venue for Wimbledon Tennis.

Tim Phillips, the club’s previous chairman, has retired after 11 years in the role and is replaced by Brook who previously held the position of vice-chairman with the appointment taking place with immediate effect.

Brook’s former playing career accomplishments saw him become the captain of the Cambridge University lawn tennis team as well as Men’s Singles Champion for the Yorkshire region. He has been a member of the AELTC for 21 years as well as a member of the International Lawn Tennis Club of Great Britain since 1977, serving as a treasurer for a 15 year spell between 1986 and 2001.

Sharad Pawar has become President of the International Cricket Council (ICC), taking over from England’s David Morgan following the body’s annual conference in Singapore.

Pawar, who is a former chief of the Board of Control For Cricket in India (BCCI), will lead the ICC for two years after having served as Morgan’s deputy for the same amount of time.

Pawar is the second Indian to hold the top post in world cricket after Jagmohan Dalmiya’s stint in the late Nineties.

He praised the outgoing Morgan, saying: “David Morgan has set the principles by which the ICC operates and now it is our responsibility to build on his legacy.”

Morgan was grateful for having held the position, adding: “In the past few days many people have thanked me for my contribution to cricket. All I would say is that cricket has been kind to me it has given me much more than I have given back.”

Pawar becomes the seventh ICC President just as the sub-continent prepares to hold the World Cup next year.

Ketchum announced today that Ann Wool, partner and director of Ketchum Sports & Entertainment (KSE), has been promoted to president with the global public relations firm also launching a sports and entertainment base in London. 

Commenting on Wool’s promotion, Rob Flaherty, senior partner, CEO and president of Ketchum, said, “As our clients leverage global sports and entertainment sponsorships and invest more in content, we are expanding our resources to meet their needs. The innovation coming out of KSE around sports, music, branded film and video, content and celebrities in social media is in demand in all parts of the world, and Ann has shown her ability to attract talent to deliver break-through results.”

KSE recently has been responsible for leading campaigns at high-profile sporting events including the Summer and Winter Olympic Games and the FIFA World Cup. Recent client work includes the award-winning program to save wrestling at the 2016 Olympic Games, which won numerous awards including a Grand Sports CLIO, Bronze CLIO, a Bronze Cannes PR Lion and a PRSA Silver Anvil.

Describing the new KSE hub in Europe, Denise Kaufmann, partner and CEO of Ketchum London, said, “Ketchum’s London office serves as the base for some of our largest global clients and for strong regional clients throughout EMEA. Locating our new sports and entertainment hub in London will take advantage of that connectedness and enable us to provide even more services to help our clients reach their business goals.”

Under Wool’s leadership, KSE now operates from three continents, and experts from around the world collaborate through a series of regional hubs. New York and Los Angeles-based KSE teams serve as hubs for work across North America. In the U.S., Shawn McBride was recently promoted to executive vice president, sports, and Courtney Nally was promoted to senior vice president and group manager, entertainment, reporting to Marcus Peterzell, EVP, entertainment.

The Sao Paulo-based KSE team serves as the hub for work across South America and is led by Vania Ciorlia. The newly expanded London KSE team will operate across Europe with the addition of Steph Burke, vice president and associate director, with support from Sean Flynn, account supervisor.

Reflecting on her promotion, Wool said, “Ketchum Sports & Entertainment has become a nerve center for experts in global sports, media, movie studios, TV networks and digital properties who bring the most insightful and engaging ideas to the table. I couldn’t be more proud of the incredible team we have assembled and the stellar work being done. We have great momentum right now and look forward to expanding further as we look towards the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympic Games and 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympic Games.”

Ann Wool joined Ketchum as senior vice president and director of Ketchum Sports Network in 2001 and became a Ketchum partner in 2009. In 2012, Wool was one of 40 professionals profiled by Sports Business Journal in its annual “Game Changers” feature, dedicated to celebrating women who are making an impact in the sports industry. Prior to joining Ketchum, Wool spent 10 years at Edelman, where she played an instrumental role in establishing a sports and sponsorship marketing practice.

Anheuser-Busch have announced today they will debut five new ads during the Super Bowl XLVIII broadcast on FOX on Sunday, Feb. 2.

Iconic brands, Bud Light and Budweiser will represent Anheuser-Busch in 3.5 minutes of creative.

“The Super Bowl is the biggest moment in sports and advertising,” said Paul Chibe, vice president, U.S. marketing. “With the largest television audience of the year, it’s an unprecedented opportunity and we make the most of it. We have a game plan in place this year to deliver creative that celebrates Bud Light and Budweiser while reaching loyal beer drinkers and new generations.”

Super Bowl XLVIII marks the launch of Bud Light’s new creative campaign, “The Perfect Beer for Whatever Happens.” The campaign kicks off with two corresponding “Epic Night” units— totaling 90 seconds and telling one cohesive story across two ad blocks—featuring top celebrity surprises when they are least expected. The Bud Light “Epic Night” spots were created by BBDO.

“‘The Perfect Beer for Whatever Happens’ will be the most robust and digitally integrated campaign in Bud Light history,” saidRob McCarthy, vice president, Bud Light. AKQA is the lead agency for Bud Light digital.

The official beer sponsor of the NFL will also use advertising’s biggest stage to debut the new Bud Light reclosable aluminum bottle with a 30-second spot title “So Cool.” Holding the coveted 1A position in the game, “So Cool” will feature the world debut of a new song from a well-known artist. The spot was created by Cannonball.

Budweiser will be in the game with a 60-second and a 30-second spot—both featuring the world-famous Budweiser Clydesdales. Budweiser will continue its long-standing support of the U.S. military and celebrate returning troops with “Hero’s Welcome.”

“The Budweiser Clydesdales are an icon of the brand and have become an icon of the Super Bowl as well,” said Brian Perkins, vice president, Budweiser. “These majestic horses represent the values of the brand and universal values of trust, quality and nobility that appeal to audiences of all ages.”