Forbes Names Burke Magnus '88 No. 11 on "Most Powerful People in College Sports" list

Answering the question “Who are the most powerful people in college sports?” Forbes released a list of 25 college sport giants. College of the Holy Cross graduate Burke Magnus’88, was No. 11 on the “Most Powerful People in College Sports” list. Magnus was named ESPN’s executive vice president of programming and scheduling in May 2015 after having served as senior vice president of programming and acquisitions since January 2014. He also served as senior vice president of college sports programming since March 2008.  Magnus will continue to set the strategic direction of the company’s college sports content, which includes acquiring, scheduling, and programming college football, basketball, and NCAA Championship across ESPN Networks.

Magnus told Holy Cross Magazine: “I love what I do. Holy Cross taught me how to write and how to communicate, which gave me the structure to be successful in almost anything. I just needed to follow my passion.” He continued, “There isn’t any blueprint for a job like this. Lots of folks go through communications programs, but I think there’s nothing in a communication degree that would prepare you for the business side of this job better than a degree from Holy Cross.”

Magnus joined ESPN in 1995 as a program associate. A year later, he was promoted to program planner and in 1998, he advanced to program manager. He became director of brand management in 2000 (later changed to director of programming and acquisitions).  During this time, Magnus was primarily responsible for ESPN’s men’s college basketball programming and scheduling.  From 2002-04, Magnus was a member of the ESPN Original Entertainment (EOE) team where he served as project manager for several projects, including Dale Earnhardt’s critically acclaimed biopic, “3.”  Before joining ESPN, Magnus was an administration assistant for Soros Fund Management from 1994-95.

Magnus graduated from Holy Cross with a B.A. in history and went on to receive his M.B.A. in sport management from the University of Massachusetts in 1994.  While attending UMass, he served as a programming intern for CBS Sports from 1993-94.  In 2011, UMass awarded Magnus the Distinguished Alumnus Award by the McCormack Department of Sport Management.

View the full list at Forbes.com.

This “Holy Cross in the News” item by Emma Collins ’16.