Campbell University

2023 North Carolina Award

Former basketball star Fred Whitfield was inducted into the Campbell Athletics Hall of Fame on October 7, 1995.  A two-time Campbell graduate and all-region honoree as a senior in 1980, he later earned his law degree, served as an NBA and NFL player representative, and rose to become president, vice chairman, alternate governor and minority owner of the NBA's Charlotte Hornets.  He was inducted into the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame in 2018.
 
A talented sports executive with experience as a player, coach, agent, sports marketer and basketball operations administrator, Fred Whitfield joined Hornets Sports & Entertainment (formerly Bobcats Sports & Entertainment) as President & Chief Operating Officer in July 2006.
 
In this role, Whitfield oversees all business operations for the Charlotte Hornets and Spectrum Center, including the team’s name change from Charlotte Bobcats in the summer of 2014 and the arena’s rebranding in the summer of 2016 following naming rights partner Time Warner Cable’s merger with Charter Communications.
 
Since coming to Charlotte, Whitfield has overseen the dramatic growth of both the franchise and arena. Along with overseeing the team’s rebranding, Whitfield led efforts in recent years that resulted in securing $40 million in renovations for Spectrum Center. Additional accomplishments during his tenure with the organization include securing the 2019 ACC Men’s Basketball Tournament, reaching long-term agreements with Ticketmaster to serve as Spectrum Center’s ticketing provider and Live Nation to book the arena’s entertainment, hosting the 2012 Democratic National Convention, simultaneously signing an arena naming rights deal with Time Warner Cable and a television broadcast rights deal with Fox Sports, and making the largest donation ever given to Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools by a professional sports franchise. He also led the efforts to secure the 2017 NBA All Star Game and re-securing it after the repeal of HB2.
 
A native of Greensboro, North Carolina, Whitfield owns a portfolio that includes the Jordan Brand, a division of Nike, Inc.; the Washington Wizards; Nike Basketball; Falk Associates Management Enterprises (F.A.M.E.); and a private law practice.
 
Before joining the organization, Whitfield most recently served as Director of Business and Legal Affairs for Jordan Brand, where he managed endorsements and sports marketing strategy. Jordan Brand’s clients include and included some of the top athletes in professional sports. From 2000-03, Whitfield served as Director of Player Personnel and Assistant Legal Counsel for the Washington Wizards. While there, he was responsible for the team’s salary cap administration, contract negotiations and overseeing player scouting. He is widely credited with facilitating the methods to correct the team’s troubled salary cap situation, enabling that franchise to rebuild through trades and free agency.
 
Whitfield served as Director of Player Development for Nike Basketball prior to joining the Wizards. At Nike Basketball, he was responsible for scouting new potential endorsers, negotiating endorsement contracts and overseeing business and marketing strategies for more than 150 NBA players. His career in sports began as a player agent representing professional athletes with F.A.M.E. as Director of the Carolinas Region, based in Greensboro. Before joining F.A.M.E., Whitfield established and managed a successful law practice in Greensboro.
 
A graduate of Campbell University, Whitfield was an All-South, team MVP and basketball team captain player and was inducted into the school’s Sports Hall of Fame in 1995.   Whitfield was a member of Campbell’s first men’s basketball team to compete on the NCAA Division I level (1977-78) and set school D1 era records for points scored in a game and career.
 
He earned a BBA degree in Economics and then completed his MBA at Campbell while serving as Assistant Basketball Coach for the Camels. From there, he earned a Juris Doctorate Degree from North Carolina Central University School of Law where he served as Student Bar Association President.
 
Whitfield also founded HoopTee Charities, Inc, a North Carolina based non-profit corporation whose mission is to provide scholarships for disadvantaged youngsters to attend camps and educational youth based programs across the country. In addition, for the past 33 years he has run, which he founded, the Achievements Unlimited Basketball School in Greensboro and Charlotte serving more than 10,000 kids, including many who attend on need-based scholarships. In recent years, Whitfield has received the prestigious Thurgood Marshall Award of Excellence (2011) and YMCA George Williams Award (Volunteer of the Year 2012), as well as the Key to the City of Greensboro (2013). He currently serves on the Charlotte Chamber of Commerce Board, Charlotte Sports Foundation Board of Directors, Campbell University Board of Trustees and Charlotte Executive Leadership Council.
 
Whitfield, who delivered the commencement address at Campbell’s 2022 graduation exercises, and his wife Mary reside in Charlotte.