Nick Carparelli serves as Executive Director of Bowl Season, an appointment announced in December 2019. Widely respected in college football, he brings nearly 30 years of senior leadership in athletics with proven success in university athletic departments, bowl administration, a conference office, a professional sports franchise and a major athletic apparel brand.
In his role with Bowl Season, he oversees operations and direction for the organization that will grow to 43 postseason college football games starting with the 2020-21 season. He is responsible for effectively advancing the Bowl Season's mission and position, supporting bowl game membership, developing new revenue streams, and enhancing industry relationships with the NCAA, conference commissioners, athletic directors, College Football Playoff and bowl staffs.
Carparelli recently spearheaded Bowl Season’s rebrand with the tagline “A Celebration of College Football,” embracing the grand tradition of the bowl system and its enduring value to student-athletes. Prior to joining Bowl Season, Carparelli served as Senior Director of College Sports at Under Armour, leading the brand’s collegiate sports marketing efforts. He managed outfitting partnerships with schools and universities including Notre Dame, Auburn, St. John’s, Navy and South Carolina while working closely with athletes, teams and leagues with the goal of growing the brand, creating demand and driving sales by delivering a powerful go-to-market strategy.
In his role, Carparelli was responsible for creating strategic marketing plans, leading a cross-functional team which included product categories, PR, media, digital/social media, retail marketing, events, creative and all distribution channel partners. Serving as the point person and lead negotiator, Carparelli helped Under Armour secure several new strategic partnerships including Wisconsin, UC Berkeley and UCLA - currently the largest footwear and apparel deal in the history of the NCAA.
Prior to joining Under Armour, Carparelli worked as Senior Associate Commissioner for the Big East Conference. He served as the conference’s primary football administrator, overseeing operations, officiating, bowl relationships, television and scheduling. Carparellialso served as the conference’s liaison with IMG Sports, the league’s sponsorship and marketing partner. He chaired the NCAA Football Issues Committee, its postseason bowl licensing subcommittee and served as a member of the NCAA Rules Committee. While at the BIG EAST, Carparelli’s annual work with the conference football schedule construction contributed to some of the highest-rated telecasts in college football history. Carparelli led the charge in the creation of the New Era Pinstripe Bowl at Yankee Stadium and in the establishment of the St. Petersburg Bowl now located in Tampa, FL.
Before joining the BIG EAST, Carparelli served as Director of Operations for the New England Patriots during the team’s first Super Bowl championship season. Working with legendary head coach Bill Belichick, Carparelli coordinated team travel, directed the club’s summer training camp, managed player personnel and supervised game day operations. He also coordinated all aspects of the Patriots’ participation in Super Bowl XXXVI.
Carparelli also served as a football administrator at Notre Dame prior to his time with the Patriots, where he coordinated all recruiting efforts, created travel and gameday itineraries and oversaw NCAA football compliance matters. He spent two years as a graduate assistant at Syracuse, where he helped the Orange to a win against Colorado in the 1993 Fiesta Bowl. Between Notre Dame and Syracuse, Carparelli assisted in the recruitment of several players who moved on to the NFL, including Donovan McNabb and Justin Tuck.
Originally from Cheshire, Connecticut, Carparelli is a 1990 graduate of Worcester Polytechnic Institute with a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering. He obtained his Master of Business Administration from Syracuse in 1994. Carparelli currently resides in East Greenwich, RI with his two sons - Nicholas III is a junior pitcher on the baseball team at Rhode Island College (RIC) and Michael is a freshman and student assistant for the men’s basketball team at Providence College.
