IMG Academy names two new presidents

IMG Academy has named two presidents as the Bradenton-based sports education brand grows on its physical campus and expands its digital footprint. Mike Milliron has been promoted from COO of IMG Academy to president, while Fred Santarpia has been named the president of IMG Academy online.

In the past year — under Milliron’s leadership — IMG Academy has undergone its largest capital expansion in campus history, with about 16 projects under construction across the 600-acre campus in west Bradenton. It also added four new sports in the last 18 months — softball, boys volleyball, wrestling and swimming — compared with one in the previous decade, according to a statement. 

In a move to provide its resources to students beyond the physical campus, which includes a boarding school, the company last week introduced IMG Academy +, which provides online coaching.

“With our campus expansion nearing completion and IMG Academy+ now live around the world, we’re positioned to deliver student-athletes and families with valuable sports education at a scale we’ve never seen in our history,” IMG Academy CEO Brent Richard says in a statement. “These leadership moves are how we make sure that scale translates into real impact."

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Milliron was COO of IMG Academy from 2024 to 2026 and has held leadership roles across the organization since joining it in 2011. As president, he will oversee the strategic direction, growth and operations of the campus, including the boarding school, camps, events, team training, Legacy Hotel and IMG Academy Golf Club, according to the statement. 

While Milliron will handle the campus businesses, Santarpia will oversee IMG Academy online, which includes IMG Academy+ as well as digital recruiting platforms NCSA and SportsRecruits.

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Santarpia comes to IMG Academy from Endeavor, where he served as president of streaming and led a global team of 500, according to a statement. Among his previous roles were chief digital officer at Conde Nast and executive vice president and general manager of Vevo, a music video network founded by Universal Music Group and Sony Music Entertainment.