Pac-12 deputy commissioner Jamie Zaninovich to depart conference

Pac-12 deputy commissioner Jamie Zaninovich is leaving the conference this week after nine years to become managing director at TrailRunner International, a global strategic communications firm.

Zaninovich doubles as the Pac-12’s chief operating officer and has worked closely with commissioner George Kliavkoff on the media rights negotiations.

Friday will be his final day. However, his first consulting project at TrailRunner will be to advise the Pac-12 on the media negotiations, expansion and basketball strategy.

(The media rights saga, which began in July, is expected to conclude later this spring.)

In his new role, Zaninovich will help TrailRunner grow its sports business operation. The company is based in Dallas-Fort Worth but has offices across the country and in Shanghai.

Its clients include the Dallas Cowboys, Buffalo Bills, Oakland A’s and, on two previous occasions, the Pac-12.

TrailRunner worked with the conference during its multi-year initiatives in China and provided communications advice in January when two executives were dismissed for failing to properly disclose overpayments by Comcast to the Pac-12 Networks.

The SportsBusiness Journal was the first to report Zaninovich’s move.

His duties at the Pac-12 include serving as the liaison between the conference’s executive staff and the athletic directors. Deputy commissioner Teresa Gould, a former athletic director at UC Davis, is expected to take over that role.

A former member of the NCAA Tournament selection committee, Zaninovich also oversees Pac-12 men’s basketball. He played a leading role in several strategic endeavors, including the move to a 20-game conference schedule, the implementation of non-conference scheduling standards and the creation of the series with the Southwestern Athletic Conference.

Drew Seidenberger, the associate commissioner for men’s basketball operations, will replace Zaninovich on an interim basis and seemingly is a candidate for the permanent position as the sport’s supervisor.

Zaninovich, who was the commissioner of the West Coast Conference before joining the Pac-12 in 2014, will continue to live in the Bay Area.

*** Send suggestions, comments and tips (confidentiality guaranteed) to pac12hotline@bayareanewsgroup.com or call 408-920-5716

*** Follow me on Twitter: @WilnerHotline

*** Pac-12 Hotline is not endorsed or sponsored by the Pac-12 Conference, and the views expressed herein do not necessarily reflect the views of the Conference.