Gary Bettman, commissioner of the National Hockey League, Hockey Hall of Fame inductee, and the longest serving commissioner in professional sports, has been named as the Mark H. McCormack Department of Sport Management Executive-in-Residence at the University of Massachusetts Amherst Isenberg School of Management this fall.

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Bettman will visit the UMass Amherst campus on Tuesday Dec. 2, during which he will participate in the Mark H. McCormack Sport Innovator’s Lecture at 6 p.m. in Room N151 of the Integrative Learning Center. Bettman will discuss his career with Brian Burke, former NHL general manager, Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) executive and founder of You Can Play, an organization that combats homophobia and promotes LGBTQ+ inclusion in sports. The event is open to members of the UMass and Five College communities and will also be livestreamed on the department’s Facebook page.

Bettman’s residency activities will also include classroom visits, roundtables with McCormack students and faculty, and participation in the McCormack Collection Oral History Project. 

“The Executive-in-Residence program continues to honor Mark H. McCormack’s legacy by bringing to campus Commissioner Gary Bettman, one of the most accomplished and respected leaders in the sports industry,” says Matt Katz, chair of the McCormack Department of Sport Management. “Welcoming an active commissioner to campus to meet with our students is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for all our aspiring sports industry leaders. Each year we learn so much from our esteemed guests and Commissioner Bettman’s perspective on fan engagement, international growth and the future of our industry will further strengthen the McCormack tradition of innovation and insight.”

“We are honored to have Commissioner Bettman join us as our esteemed McCormack Executive-in-Residence this semester, joining an impressive group of sport business leaders who have shared their stories of forward-thinking innovation and career fulfillment with our students, faculty and alumni,” says Will Norton, senior lecturer and McCormack graduate program director. “Commissioner Bettman stands alone as the only active commissioner to serve as McCormack Executive-in-Residence, and his presence in our classrooms will enrich the student experience immensely. For students studying the growth of professional sports leagues and learning the management skills needed to lead and inspire from the top, Commissioner Bettman’s visit will serve as the highlight of our academic year and help reinforce the leadership pillars that remain the hallmark of Mark McCormack’s legacy.”

Bettman has served as the NHL Commissioner since Feb. 1, 1993, and has guided the world’s top professional hockey league for over three decades. Under his leadership, the league has achieved record revenues, record attendance and a variety of fan-friendly initiatives. He has overseen the formation of the Winter Classic outdoor game, the implementation of four-on-four overtime, and the creation of the shootout. During his tenure, there have also been advancements in the game regarding officiating and player safety, with the NHL being the first major professional sports league to mandate neuropsychological baseline testing to help determine return-to-play guidelines for players who have suffered concussions.

He also championed the NHL’s international expansion. The league debuted in the Olympic Winter Games in 1998, returning to the competition in 2002 at Salt Lake City and in 2006 at Torino, Italy. The NHL will return to Olympic play in 2026 in Milan. Additionally, NHL games now are televised in more than 160 countries worldwide, and Bettman helped launch the World Cup of Hockey, which features the top NHL players representing their homelands in an international tournament.

Before being named NHL commissioner, Commissioner Bettman served 12 years with the National Basketball Association, rising to senior vice president and general counsel.  Prior to that, he worked at the New York law firm Proskauer Rose Goetz & Mendelsohn. A native of Queens, N.Y., he graduated from Cornell University and New York University School of Law.  He and his wife, Shelli, live in New Jersey and have three adult children.

Recent McCormack Executives-in-Residence include former CBS Sports Chairman and CBS News President Sean McManus, former NFL Players Association Executive Director DeMaurice Smith and NBA Commissioner Emeritus David Stern.

More information about the Executive-in-Residence program and recaps of previous visits by sports industry leaders can be found on the McCormack Department of Sports Management website.