Category: Orlando Magic Blog

Jacque Vaughn, who spent the last two seasons as an assistant coach with the San Antonio Spurs and was a member of their 2006-07 NBA World Championship team as a player, has been named head coach, Orlando Magic General Manager Rob Hennigan announced today.  Vaughn becomes the tenth head coach in franchise history.

“We are beyond excited to name Jacque Vaughn as our head coach,” Hennigan said. “As we navigated through our coaching search, we quickly saw that Jacque’s spirit and leadership strengths made him the clear choice. We are confident that his diligence, attention to detail and communication style will help establish the bedrock of our culture moving forward. His commitment and passion to building a sustainable program will help steer our organization for years to come.”

According to the Deseret News, “Most league insiders regard Vaughn as bright, hard-working and organized. But, at the same time, those same insiders note that Vaughn brings just two seasons of coaching experience. He ended his 12-year NBA playing career in 2009. A year later, the Spurs hired him as an assistant coach. In San Antonio, Vaughn had the same duties as fellow assistant coaches Mike Budenholzer, Don Newman and Brett Brown. They scouted future opponents, helped run practices and had other responsibilities. Still, league rules allow only three assistant coaches on the bench during games, and Budenholzer, Newman and Brown — all longer-tenured — occupied those seats. Meanwhile, Vaughn sat directly behind the bench.”

During Vaughn’s two seasons on San Antonio’s staff, the Spurs compiled a regular season record of 111-37 (.750).

Vaughn was originally selected in the first round (27th overall) of the 1997 NBA Draft by Utah.  He played 12 years in the NBA from 1997-2009 with Utah, Atlanta, Orlando, New Jersey and San Antonio, averaging 4.5 ppg. and 2.5 apg. in 776 career regular season games.

Vaughn played 80 games (48 starts) with the Orlando Magic during the 2002-03 season, averaging 5.9 ppg., 2.9 apg. and 1.5 rpg. in 21.1 minpg.

As a collegian, Vaughn played four years at Kansas University.  He was named Second Team All-America during both his junior (1995-96) and senior (1996-97) campaigns by The Associated Press.  Vaughn concluded his collegiate career as the school’s all-time leader in assists with 804.  He was named the Big Eight Conference Player of the Year in 1996 and the Newcomer of the Year in 1994.

Vaughn also excelled off the court, being named a two-time First Team GTE Academic All-American and the 1996-97 GTE Team Member of the Year, signifying him as the top student-athlete among Division I basketball players, after posting a 3.72 GPA.  He earned his degree in business administration while at KU.

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The Orlando Magic and Chief Executive Officer Alex Martins announced the following promotions within the executive office: Charlie Freeman— executive vice president and chief revenue officer; Chris D’Orso— senior vice president of sales & ticket operations; Joel Glass—senior vice president of communications; Audra Hollifield—senior vice president of human resources & administrative services; Catherine Carlson—vice president of corporate partnership activation; Michael Forde—vice president of corporate partnership sales; and Anthony Perez—vice president of business strategy.

In addition, the Orlando Magic announced the following front office promotions: Nyea Sturman to assistant director of legal services and Pat Gallagher to assistant director of legal services.

Freeman is entering his 17th year with the Magic.  His primary responsibilities include oversight and management of corporate partnerships, marketing, ticket sales, premium sales & client services, ticket operations, arena operations and retail.  Freeman was an integral piece in the building of the Amway Center.  He was recently named to SportsBusiness Journal’s Forty Under 40 list.

D’Orso enters his 24th season with the team.  He oversees the day-to-day operations of sales for the Amway Center including ticket sales, premium hospitality, Chairman’s Suite, tourism, Junior Magic, camps, retail and ticket operations for both the Magic and Amway Center.   In addition, he oversees the arena operations for the Amway Center.

Glass joined the Magic in 1995 in the communications department.  He directs the Magic’s communication and media/public relations efforts.  He is responsible for media operations, strategic communications, media releases, publications and statistical material, while also coordinating media interviews with players, coaching staff members and front office personnel.  In addition, he oversees the team’s website, orlandomagic.com and Orlando Magic broadcasting.

Hollifield has been with the Magic since 1999, entering her 14th season with the team.  She handles oversight of recruiting, compensation and benefits, employee relations, training and development and administrative services for the “team behind the team.”

Carlson joined the Magic in February 2009.  In her role she oversees the corporate partnerships activation team, and is responsible for activation, fulfillment and renewals of corporate sponsor contracts.  Carlson is also focused on the strategic growth of corporate partnerships in the Amway Center.

Forde is entering his ninth season with the team.  He is responsible for establishing strategies targeted to bring new corporate clients to the organization.  He also oversees a sales team dedicated to finding marketing solutions for local, regional and national companies seeking an affiliation with the Orlando Magic brand.

Perez originally joined the Magic in August 2004, working on the team’s arena development efforts until June 2007.  He then spent a year working in investment banking before returning to the Magic in June 2008.  His responsibilities include the organization’s long-term strategic planning and use of analytics to improve business performance.  Perez focuses on yield management, customer targeting & retention, and the organization’s overall data integration strategy among other initiatives.

After leaving his assistant-coaching job with the Los Angeles Lakers to accept a similar position with CSKA Moscow, Quin Snyder has notified the Orlando Magic that he is not interested in their head-coaching vacancy.

It’s unclear whether the Magic add to their list of candidates now that Snyder has decided not to pursue the job in Orlando.

The Magic’s current list of candidates are Utah Jazz assistant coach Jeff Hornacek, Phoenix Suns player development coach Lindsey Hunter, Golden State Warriors lead assistant coach Michael Malone, Indiana Pacers associate head coach Brian Shaw and San Antonio Spurs assistant coach Jacque Vaughn.

— Reported by Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel