University of Massachusets Athletics
Bjorn To Rejoin UMass Team
 |  UMass alum Thorr Bjorn has been selected as the school's new Associate A.D. for sales and marketing. |
April 8, 2003
Amherst, Mass. -- University of Massachusetts Athletic Director Ian McCaw announced today that Thorr D. Bjorn will rejoin the athletic department April 28 as the school's new Associate Athletic Director for sales and marketing."We are delighted to have Thorr and his family return to Amherst," McCaw said. "He has a strong track record of success in corporate sales, and I'm confident he will help our program enhance our future revenue streams.
"After exploring the possibility of out-sourcing our inventory and rights, we elected to bring all of our sponsorships and marketing opportunities, both for the department and the Mullins Center, in-house," McCaw added. "Having been very successful in a similar role previously at UMass, coupled with the regional and national sales contacts and expertise that he has developed over the past three years, we believe Thorr is ideally suited to lead us in this new endeavor."
Bjorn returns to the UMass athletic family after a three-year stint as the Director of Regional Sales and Marketing for Resorts Sports Network in Portland, Maine. At RSN, a company which provides cable systems with programming and sells the advertising to ski resorts, he was personally accountable for $1 million in national/regional TV and web advertising revenue, while managing a nine person local sales force nationwide with an annual revenue goal of $1.7 million.
"I am both honored and thrilled to have the opportunity to return to my alma mater and have a chance to help sell the program I believe so strongly in," Bjorn said. "This is a tremendous opportunity to work with one of the nation's top young athletic directors in Ian (McCaw), and it is truly a homecoming for my entire family. I look forward to helping the program return to the success of the past."
Before joining the RSN staff, Bjorn, served as UMass' Associate Athletic Director for marketing from 1996-2000. He directed all aspects of the athletic department's corporate sponsorship program and under his watch saw annual sponsorship revenue climb by over 135 percent to more than $610,000 annually. Bjorn also directed the department's retail merchandise program, coordinated advertising campaigns and directed a ticket office which produced more than $2 million annually in revenue.
After graduating from UMass and spending six months as Assistant Business Manager at the University of Connecticut, he returned to his alma mater as Assistant Athletic Director for tickets and game operations in Dec., 1990, a position he held until being promoted in the summer of 1996. In his first position at UMass, Bjorn was responsible for over $2,000,000 annually in ticket revenue, a 1,000 percent increase over a five-year period. He also designed and implemented a donor priority seating system and developed ticket pricing structures for all events.
Bjorn, who received both his bachelor's (1990, Bachelor of Science in Sport Management) and master's (1995, M.Ed. in Higher Education) degrees from UMass, earned three varsity letters for the Minuteman football team from 1988-90. He and his wife, Cyndy, have three children, Robyn, Stephanie and Rachael.