Allison Melangton in September stunned the local sports community by stepping down as president of the Indiana Sports Corp. to become senior vice president of events at Hulman & Co., parent of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and IndyCar Series.
MelangtonRyan Vaughn, who had served on the City-County Council and as chief of staff to Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard, succeeded Melangton at ISC.
The ISC board hired Vaughn before Melangton made her announcement, saying they did not conduct a national search because they sought someone with local roots.
Melangton was CEO of the 2012 Indianapolis Super Bowl Host Committee and headed the city’s unsuccessful bid for the 2018 game. In that role, she worked closely with host committee Chairman Mark Miles, CEO of Hulman & Co.
VaughnIn November, Vaughn told IBJ he intended to make ISC more of a business incubator, and emphasize creating and attracting more youth-related events, soccer, and track and field competitions.
Vaughn also said he would travel to Dallas in January to attend the first college national football championship game, to investigate whether the city should bid to bring the event here in 2018 and beyond.
During the interview process for ISC’s top job, Vaughn told Chairman Scott Dorsey he’d commit to the job for at least three years. But after less than a month on the job, Vaughn said, he liked it more than he imagined and intends to stay at least through the 2021 NCAA Men’s Final Four the city landed in November.
Explore all of our 2014 Year in Review coverage.
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