Todd Knisley has been appointed as Executive Deputy Athletics Director, Chief Operating and Revenue Officer at Rutgers Athletics. The announcement was made by Rutgers Athletics Director Keli Zinn, who cited Knisley’s experience in revenue generation, partnerships, and strategic growth over more than 15 years in collegiate and professional sports business operations.
“Todd has a proven track record driving revenue and leading high-performing teams,” said Zinn. “His addition to the Rutgers Athletics staff is critical to our success moving forward. He knows what it takes for athletic departments to thrive and compete at the highest levels. I’m thrilled to welcome Todd, his wife, Kelsey, and their children, Brooks, Chase and Caroline, to the Rutgers family.”
Knisley expressed enthusiasm about joining Rutgers during a period of momentum for the department. “This is an exciting time to join Rutgers Athletics as the department continues to build momentum and move forward under strong leadership,” said Knisley. “Working alongside Keli once again and helping bring her vision of success to life is a tremendous opportunity. I’ve always been passionate about building relationships that drive sustainable growth and leave a lasting impact on both the student-athlete and fan experience.
“As we navigate the increasingly complex collegiate athletics landscape, particularly with the ongoing evolution of name, image, and likeness – collaboration, innovation, and a strong work ethic will be essential. Together, we have an incredible opportunity to build something truly special, and I’m eager to get started.”
Before coming to Rutgers, Knisley served as vice president and general manager of Ohio State Sports Properties with Learfield. In this role he managed one of college athletics’ largest revenue enterprises overseeing multimedia rights, naming rights, ticket sales, stadium tours, digital content initiatives related to name, image and likeness (NIL), among others. Under his leadership at Ohio State Sports Properties, revenue goals were surpassed for six consecutive years.
Knisley also contributed to creating the Buckeye Sports Group at Ohio State University—a program designed to enhance NIL opportunities for student-athletes across all 36 sport programs through a comprehensive approach supporting athletes and brands.
Prior roles include general manager of Mountaineer Sports Properties at West Virginia University where he oversaw consistent year-over-year growth in sales and operations; previous positions were held at Marshall University, Texas Christian University (TCU), University of Oklahoma as well as with the NFL’s Minnesota Vikings.
In 2023 he was named among Sports Business Journal’s “Forty Under 40” honorees. He has also served on the board of the Greater Columbus Sports Commission for five years.
Knisley holds both bachelor’s and master’s degrees in sport management from West Virginia University where he graduated magna cum laude.
Rutgers Athletics comprises 24 varsity sports serving over 730 student-athletes as part of the Big Ten Conference under NCAA governance. The university is recognized as the birthplace of college football following its first game against Princeton in 1869. With access to major media markets including Big Ten Network’s reach across nearly 60 million homes in North America—Rutgers maintains significant visibility nationally.
