Fred Mangione is fresh off a role as chief business officer for the 2026 World Cup’s New York New Jersey Host Committee, helping to run one of the largest sporting events to ever pass through the region.
The role was the latest in a career of big and transformative sports business roles in the region.
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Mangione has spent nearly 30 years working for the Jets, Nets and Islanders — selling tickets, selling sponsorships and, in the case of the Nets, selling an old team to new locations, when the team moved from East Rutherford to Brooklyn in 2012 (after a brief stop in Newark).
It’s a career that started with the 1999 World Cup, as one of his first jobs was helping create support for an event that few knew was going to change the sports landscape in this country.
All that said, Mangione’s next role may be his most intriguing, most challenging — and for this state, potentially the most impactful.
Last week, Mangione became CEO of Scarlet Knight Enterprises, the university’s newly centralized commercial arm, created in March to help Rutgers Athletics grow and diversify its revenue in a rapidly changing college sports landscape. His job is to bring a professional sports operation’s approach — sponsorships, premium seating, brand strategy — to a college athletic department.
Mangione barely has had time to unpack. But in his first few days on the job, a clear approach — one built on energy and excitement — already has emerged.
Mangione spoke with BINJE about the role. Here’s how the new head of Scarlet Knight Enterprises is attacking the job.
10. Securing a database of every Rutgers alum CEO in America is already in the works
This is the fresh look approach he was hired to bring. Mangione said he’s borrowing a playbook from his Nets days. When the team was searching for naming-rights partners ahead of its move to Brooklyn, the front office researched every CEO born in Brooklyn.
“I’m not saying they’ll all do a deal,” Mangione said. “But they took the call, because we got them in the heart. I think Rutgers can be the same way.”
9. Premium seating is getting an interim fix, not a years-long wait
Rutgers has been fielding RFPs on a broader stadium overhaul since before Mangione arrived. Rather than wait, he’s planning stopgap upgrades in the meantime.
“There’s not enough premium in that football field right now,” Mangione said. “We’re going to bring in some field suites and do some creative things while we get through the interim.”
8. The jersey patch is his No. 1 target
This may not be the first thing he gets done, but it could be the most impactful of his early actions. Rutgers’ football jerseys currently carry no sponsor patch — prime, largely untapped real estate that marquee programs including Ohio State and Notre Dame have already sold.
“That’s the prime inventory in sports right now, and that is our number one goal,” Mangione said. “We don’t want to just grab any brand. We want to have the right brand.”
7. NIL now runs through his office
An NIL specialist hired from Penn State about six months ago now reports directly to Mangione, folding name, image and likeness deals into the same commercial operation as sponsorships and ticketing.
“The more money we can raise, and the more brands that could get involved in NIL, gives the athletic department and these coaches the chance to go out and get top-tier talent,” Mangione said. “There’s a lot of talent right in New Jersey that we should not be losing.”
6. The target sponsor list is going beyond the obvious names
Rather than only pursuing the state’s biggest, most recognizable sponsors, Mangione is targeting companies that want early access to a college-age demographic.
“It’s not even about the brands you would name off here in New Jersey,” Mangione said. “It’s these up-and-coming brands that want to get in front of students, want to get in front of these demos.”
5. He’s looking for unique ways to elevate athletic teams – and he’s looking beyond football and basketball
Wrestling routinely sells out in New Jersey, Mangione said, and he thinks the sport is underpriced. He’s pushing for ringside-style premium seating, similar to what NBA arenas offer courtside.
4. He’s looking to elevate usage of the 53,000-seat SHI Stadium
Rutgers’ football stadium sits mostly unused outside of home games. Mangione wants that to change. Watch parties and more could be coming.
“That stadium holds 53,000 people,” Mangione said. “Why can’t we book some concerts? Why can’t we do some different things to keep the campus active?”
3. He’s putting people ahead of pitches
Mangione’s first move wasn’t a sponsorship pitch or a five-year plan — it was sitting down with staff at every level.
“I don’t care what level you’re at, because I’m the kind of guy that digs in,” Mangione said. “I want collaborative, and I want to have a message out there of what we’re doing as a unit, so we can all row in the right direction.”
2. The future is now
Four major sponsorship calls were scheduled within his first few days, a sign Mangione isn’t waiting to get the internal house in order before engaging outside partners.
1. The whole state already has his number
Word of the hire didn’t stay contained to Rutgers. Mangione said the response since he was announced has come from well outside the athletic department — old colleagues, casual acquaintances, even his own son’s basketball coach.
“I was shocked by the inbound I got — not only from brands and people, but from friends I didn’t even know went to Rutgers,” Mangione said. His son’s coach, a Rutgers alum, texted him the day it was announced: “Don’t mess it up. Means the world to me.”
