The college football landscape is forever fluctuating. And with it, comes pioneers embracing change and creating opportunity where it was once absent. In the NIL era of college football, consulting firms have made a lasting impact. They’ve helped collegiate sports programs, players, and managers alike. One such firm is Accelerate Sports Ventures (ASV), who just named former NY Jets personnel executive Greg Nejmeh president. And with Nejmeh at the helm, ASV will look to expand and become difference-makers in the college football landscape.
Accelerate Sports Ventures names former NY Jets Executive President
ASV was created to help college programs with player scouting and NIL directives during the transfer portal era. They help build rosters, make decisions in lieu of a front office, and use money management to help programs succeed. And, they’re already having success.
So far, the advisory firm has partnered with major programs such as Penn State, The University of Utah, and Boston College, among others. And speaking to The League Winners, the former NY Jets exec explained why he decided to join ASV after leaving New York.
“When I left the Jets last year, I tried to be really thoughtful and patient with what my next step would be,” began Nejmeh. “And I kept kind of getting pulled closer and closer into the college space. I just thought there was so much crossover with where it was going now, what my skill set was, and had been with the Jets. And so that was kind of how it, you know, how it materialized.”
Nejmeh also explained the goal of the company, and what they bring to the table.
“[We’re] really trying to bring pro-level evaluation and processes to college teams,” Nejmeh told The League Winners. “You know, trying to bring clarity. It’s A fast-moving landscape, and our goal is to bring as much clarity to them [college programs] as they can so we can help support each program’s decisions really.”
Who is Greg Nejmeh?
Now president of ASV, Greg Nejmeh has spent a long time in the realm of football. He started with the NY Jets as an intern before eventually working his way to the co-director of player personnel. Sticking with the team through numerous regime changes, it’s clear Nejmeh understands how to adapt to the ever-changing landscape that is professional football. And, it’s with the Jets that Nejmeh earned his reputation as a talent evaluator.
“I was first hired as a training camp intern. [I was] an intern for about two years, got hired full time, and was fortunate enough to be able to stay there through multiple different GMs and head coaches, you know, regime changes. And [then] I was able to work my way up to be the co-director of player personnel. [I] learned a ton and was around a lot of different ways of doing things, which I think helps me a ton now with this new venture. You know, was involved in a lot of decisions there and you’ll learn from every one of them, which again is really applicable to what I’m doing now … I just have a ton of gratitude for my time at the Jets. I wish we wish we could have been a little bit more successful, but we did a lot of really good things, and it certainly helped me in my career and the next step of that. It’s a credit to that organization.”
Accelerate Sports Ventures: What are their goals?
Every company has goals, and ASV is no different. Despite their short time in the industry, they have already made some massive partnerships with major programs. And as time continues, they only look to improve and grow their product. We asked Nejmeh what the goals of the company were, and he gave an insightful answer.
“That’s a great question. I mean, the goal is everybody that we work with feels a legitimate impact from us,” said the former NY Jets personnel executive. “Whether that’s two schools or 10 schools. I want this to be done at a really elite level for the schools that we do it with. I want it to grow, but I want it to be done the right way too. [And] I think over time we have the impact that I believe that we will, right? And that we’re able to build this out and almost have, you know, like a satellite front office; where we’ll have people watching guys and it’ll be structured very similarly and it can even grow from there. But that’s, you know, that’s obviously down the road.”
While that’s the long-term goal of ASV, Nejmeh also noted the firm’s short-term goals.
“Right now, it’s about having an impact, a true wins and losses impact. A decision-making support impact for all the schools that we’re working with. To me, that’s more important than the size or the scope of this in the short term.”
With both short and long-term planning in place, Nejmeh seems to know exactly how he wants to steer ASV’s ship moving forward. For the firm, programs, and fans, that’s important for production and consistency moving forward.
The Future of College Football?
With the way the college football world is moving, firms like ASV will become more commonplace. Consulting firms do a lot of heavy lifting that some programs can’t allocate resources towards. Yet while each provides their own niche, Nejmeh believes ASV offers a unique perspective others aren’t able to provide.
“I certainly think there’s third party vendors that can help with this sort of stuff,” began Nejmeh. “I think each one has kind of a different take. Some are a little bit more data or analytically driven or, you know, [with an] AI component. Ours is really true football film evaluation, like objective evaluation. [It’s the] valuing of players, and like I said, customizing it to each program that we that we work with, right? And so, you know, it’s a little bit more unique than I think what some others are doing. Not that not that those aren’t valuable, but I just think ours is different.”
This change in the college football world is certainly unique, and it’s becoming more commonplace with each passing year. As the business side of college athletics continues to grow, both players and programs will look at third-party avenues to protect themselves and their investments. That’s where firms like ASV come in, and they’re already receiving excellent feedback from current and prospective clients.
“The feedback from that’s been awesome so far. We’re working with a couple of schools already. We’ve had a bunch of ongoing conversations with others and we’re trending in the right direction. Really for me, it’s cool to hear their feedback so that I can try to structure each one in a way that makes sense for each program, right? The way you scout your scheme, each one’s a little different, right? And I feel like that’s where we can kind of differentiate ourselves. It’s not going to be one size fits all for us. We’re going to be very intentional about trying to make this really impactful for each school that we work with.”
Yet, while some firms have ulterior interests whether monetary or otherwise, ASV is led by those with experience already in the field. With Nejmeh at the helm, there’s a professionalism attached to ASV that is hard to find elsewhere. And, his experience at the NFL level is invaluable to both programs and players alike. That experience and passion have melded to provide a unique experience to college football programs.
“For me personally, this is really something that I’m super passionate about,” said Nejmeh. “It’s an opportunity to do what I love, which is football and scouting football players. But, it’s also having personal relationships and connections with each school that we work with. Being able to talk to them on the phone, being able to help guide them wherever they need it or support them wherever they need it. I love that aspect of it. That’s where I feel like we’re going to be a little bit different than some than what some other people are trying to do. For me, it’s awesome because it’s what I’m passionate about and love doing … This is how we did it in the NFL, but let me mold it in a way that can be easily integrated to each one of these schools. And so for me, that’s been really rewarding to see and to work with these schools and have these conversations.”
How NIL and Litigation Affect Consulting Firms
Between the President’s executive order and numerous other litigation continuously changing eligibility and other dynamics in college football, consulting firms are always evaluating and developing as times change. For ASV, Nejmeh is aware of these changes. He also believes that it can help those who are performing at an elite level.
“I feel like every day, something else happens that can certainly affect this. I think really at a high level, it just goes back to the fact that things move fast, there’s a ton of volume, and there’s a lot of complexity to it,” explained the former NY Jets executive. “And so having an objective, thorough evaluation of how you’re investing these resources that can provide clarity. Information is power, right? But it’s got to be used appropriately, you know, or else you kind of get lost in the weeds. For us to be able to provide objective, valuable information that is an additive layer to these teams; I think any of those things that you’re talking about, the executive order, other pending litigation things. You know, this kind of only helps that, right? Because the better you are you’ll be more prepared to act to them.”
With the way things continue to trend it’s likely that change will only continue. So far, it seems like Nejmeh not only has a plan in place for when those things happen, but is embracing those changes, too.
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