New UK athletic department board will include Jacob Tamme, Keeneland president
When UK announced plans to move its athletic department to a nonprofit LLC called Champions Blue in April, the announcement came with a promise that the new holding company’s board would include experts from outside the university to help manage the new challenges of a college sports landscape that looks much closer to professional sports.
We now know the three outside experts who will begin serving on the board.
Former Kentucky football and NFL tight end Jacob Tamme and Keeneland President, CEO Shannon Arvin and former Fanatics executive Chris Prindiville were confirmed as “subject matter experts” on the Champions Blue board Thursday.
“We wanted folks that were in industries and fields that either had undergone change or had some expertise related to change,” Eric Monday, UK’s executive vice president for finance and administration, said. “... We need to understand what the pro space has done, how they’ve thought about fan experiences, how they thought about the game day experience, how they thought about all the ways in which they manage their facilities.”
Four of the seven seats on the Champions Blue board will be held by university employees with specific job titles: president, executive vice president of finance and administration, vice president/chief strategy and growth officer, and senior advisor to the president. Those seats are not term limited and are currently held by Eli Capilouto, Monday, Rob Edwards and George Wright, respectively.
The three subject matter experts will serve staggered one-, two- and three-year terms to start. The UK athletics director (Mitch Barnhart) and president of the university’s media rights holder (Paul Archey) will serve as non-voting advisors to the board.
The seven-person Champions Blue board will meet monthly over the next year. Beginning in July 2026, the board will meet as needed but no less than quarterly.
UK has tasked the Champions Blue board, which will still report to the UK Board of Trustees, with final approval of the LLC’s strategic plan, review of significant corporate partnership and capital projects over $1 million and approval of significant changes to the media rights agreement. The board will also approve Champions Blue’s annual budget, multi-year financial plan and individual sports expenditure budgets. It will publish a monthly financial report and quarterly reports of revenue share expenditures by sport.
CHAMPIONS BLUE BOARD MEMBERS
Jacob Tamme (subject matter expert)
A 2018 inductee into UK’s Hall of Fame, Tamme is arguably the best tight end in Kentucky football history. He caught 133 passes for 1,417 yards and 11 touchdowns as a Wildcat, helping the program to Music City Bowl wins in 2006 and 2007. Tamme went on to play nine seasons in the NFL, including two Super Bowl appearances. After retiring in 2017, Tamme joined Meridian Wealth Management in 2019 where he serves as director of the sports and entertainment division. Tamme graduated from UK with a master of business administration in 2007 and previously served on the board of directors for Farmers National Bank.
Shannon Arvin (subject matter expert)
A 2002 graduate of UK’s College of Law, Arvin was named Keeneland’s eighth president and CEO in 2021. She previously practiced law at Lexington firm Stoll Keenon Ogden, representing thoroughbred owners and industry organizations. She is the chair of the National Thoroughbred Racing Association and president of the board of The Lexington School. Under Arvin’s leadership, Keenelend is currently working on the track’s largest capital project since opening in 1936. The expansion will include a new permanent Paddock Building as well as new dining options and seating areas for patrons. Keeneland will host the Breeders’ Cup in 2026.
Chris Prindiville (subject matter expert)
A former Nike business manager, Prindiville most recently served as the senior vice president for Fanatics college sports division. Prindiville was one of the founders of Fermata Partners, a collegiate licensing firm that was later acquired by CAA Sports in 2015 and Fanatics in 2017. UK was a client of Fermata, which also served as trademark licensing representatives for the Kentucky Derby, PGA Tour and a dozen English Premier League soccer clubs.
Eli Capilouto (university president)
UK’s 12th president has served in that role since July 1, 2011. Capilouto’s tenure has seen a $7 billion revamp of UK’s campus that embraced partnerships with the private sector. The Montgomery, Alabama, native is 75 years old. He previously served as the president of the Southeastern Conference’s executive committee and chair of the NCAA’s board of directors. Capilouto will serve as the chair of the Champions Blue board.
Eric Monday (executive vice president for finance and administration)
Monday has served in his current position at UK since December 2012. According to his university bio, Monday, “ensures compliance with the university and external fiscal requirements, provides human resources management, ensures equal opportunities in academic programs and employment, coordinates university-wide planning, budgeting and policy analysis, maintains the physical facilities and property management, manages central procurement, provides risk management, and directs auxiliary and operational campus services, as well as supervises Coldstream Research Campus internal audit, UK analytics and technologies.”
Rob Edwards (vice president/chief strategy and growth officer)
Edwards’ primary university responsibilities involve working with UK HealthCare and the academic medical center. He is responsible for clinical partnerships, strategy, clinical contracting and leading on other strategic opportunities. He previously worked in multiple positions for in the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services.
George Wright (senior advisor to the president)
The former president of Prairie View A&M University, Wright began his scholarly career as an assistant professor at UK in 1977. A noted African-American scholar, Wright returned to UK as a visiting professor in 2019 in recognition of the 70th anniversary of the integration of the university then remained at the school to serve as interim vice president for institutional diversity before being named senior adviser to Capilouto.
This story was originally published June 12, 2025 at 5:20 PM.