Gary P. Stokan is CEO and president of Peach Bowl, Inc., a position he has held since 1998. Under his management, Peach Bowl, Inc. events have generated an economic impact of $1.299 billion and $79.34 million in direct government tax revenue for the city of Atlanta and state of Georgia since 1999. Stokan has positioned the Peach Bowl as one of the best bowl game organizations in the nation, and earned the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl a position as a New Year’s Six bowl game in the College Football Playoff (CFP) and will host future CFP Semifinal games in 2022 and 2025. Stokan also inked contracts with Mercedes-Benz Stadium through 2025 and with Chick-fil-A to continue its title sponsorship of both the Bowl and Kickoff Games through 2025.
During Stokan’s tenure, the Bowl has enjoyed sellouts in 22 of the past 25 years, and earned the second-longest sellout record in the Bowl business. Peach Bowl, Inc. has also distributed more than $281 million in team payouts under Stokan and is college football’s most charitable bowl organization – having donated $58.8 million since 2002 – which garnered Peach Bowl, Inc. the Atlanta Small Business Philanthropic Award. In 2019, Peach Bowl, Inc. donated a record $20 million to Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta creating the Peach Bowl LegACy Fund to find cures for childhood cancer. As result of this effort, the organization was named a finalist by ESPN for its 2020 Corporate Community Impact Award – a category in the annual Sports Humanitarian Award. Recently, Peach Bowl, Inc. was also named to Atlanta Business Chronicle’s 2021 Best Places to Work list, as well as a Best Employers in Sports by Front Office Sports, a Top 10 Small Business in Atlanta by Business Leader Media, and was presented by the Mayor of Atlanta with the Phoenix Award, the highest honor an individual or group can receive from the city of Atlanta.
Additionally, Stokan’s visionary leadership efforts resulted in the relocation of the College Football Hall of Fame to Atlanta and the creation of Atlanta Hall Management, Inc., which with Stokan serving as CEO and president, signed a 30-year licensing agreement with the National Football Foundation for Atlanta to build and operate the new Chick-fil-A College Football Hall of Fame. The site, architectural, exhibit design and experience of the Hall was also completed during Stokan’s tenure. For his efforts, in 2011 Atlanta Hall Management was recognized as winner of the Best in Real Estate Award – Land Category by the Atlanta Business Chronicle.
Stokan has created major events that bring exposure, economic impact and charitable donations to Atlanta by creating the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game in 2008, which is the leader in opening weekend games. Stokan’s innovation of the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game helped change the college football season by elevating opening weekend and placing a focus on scheduling nationally ranked, out-of-conference opponents. Since its creation, the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game has distributed a cumulative $83.5 million in team payouts and has sold out 12 of 15 games. He also created the Peach Bowl Challenge charity golf tournament, which since 2007 has given $8.73 million for scholarship and charity to its participating universities and coaches charities is the preeminent coaches golf tournament in the country. It was Stokan’s relationships that led to the 2006 Sugar Bowl being moved to Atlanta after Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans. Peach Bowl, Inc.’s addition of the management of The Dodd Trophy presented by PNC, college football’s most coveted national coach of the year award, is due to Stokan’s leadership. Stokan has also inspired the creation of the Peach Bowl College Corner at the Tour Championship and Peach Bowl Touchdown for Children’s which have raised and donated more than $1.5 million to Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta. These accomplishments have prompted national media to label Atlanta the Capital of College Football.
From 2005-2010, Stokan also served as president of the Atlanta Tipoff Club, as well as owner of the Naismith Awards, the most prestigious trophy in college basketball and named in honor of Dr. James Naismith, founder of the game of basketball. The Naismith Trophy is presented annually to the men’s and women’s college coach and basketball players of the year.
As president of the Atlanta Sports Council from 1998-2009, Stokan led Atlanta's efforts to brand the city as the “Sports Capital of the World,” drawing a range of world-class sporting events to metro Atlanta. Named the 2002, 2004 & 2006 Sports Commission of the Year, the Atlanta Sports Council successfully bid for and hosted Super Bowl XXXIV; the 2009 and 2012 ACC Men’s Basketball Tournament; 2002, 2007 and 2013 NCAA Men’s Final Four; 2003 Women’s Final Four, 2008 NHL All-Star Game, 2000 MLB All-Star Game, 2003 NBA All-Star Game, the AVP Pro Beach Volleyball Tour, USA Volleyball Junior Olympic Championships, the U.S. Women’s Figure Skating Championships and WrestleMania 27. Stokan also created the Atlanta Sports Awards, which recognizes and celebrates success in Atlanta sports, and during his leadership tenure at the Atlanta Sports Council created an economic impact of more than $2 billion and $75 million in direct government tax revenue for the city of Atlanta and the state of Georgia.
Stokan has 43 years of executive corporate sports management experience that includes his time at Adidas where he signed Herschel Walker and Mike Krzyzewski to contracts, while also managing a global marketing campaign for Kobe Bryant. He also held a position at Converse where he signed Karl Malone and extended Larry Bird and Magic Johnson to contracts, in addition to owning and operating two sports marketing companies. Stokan has been ranked by the Atlanta Business Chronicle as one of Georgia's 30 Most Influential Sports Business Figures, one of the 100 Most Influential Atlantans, a top 50 leader in Atlanta hospitality, one of Atlanta’s Most Admired CEOs, a Georgia Titan 100, and was inducted into the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame, the Atlanta Hospitality Hall of Fame and the Atlanta Sports Hall of Fame. He is a nationally recognized speaker and serves on the Board of the Children's Healthcare Sports, Atlanta Convention and Visitors Bureau and The Dodd Trophy. He has also been recognized by Sports Events Magazine as one of the top 25 key innovators and influencers in the sports community. Stokan has been honored with the Boy Scouts of America’s Bobby Jones Award, the American Diabetes Association Father of the Year Award, received the highest honor bestowed by Sigma Alpha Epsilon, ‘The Highest Effort,’ award for a lifetime of career achievement, the Tom Bingham Fellow Award honoring the highest achievement in support of the work of the Georgia Lions Lighthouse Foundation, the Playmaker Community Impact Award from the Roddy White Foundation and the Erk Russell Spirit Award by the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame for his contributions to sports. The Georgia Lions named the Gary Stokan Hero of the Gridiron Award after Stokan.
Stokan is a former basketball student-athlete, Jon Speaks Award winner for team leadership, assistant basketball coach and business management graduate of North Carolina State University. A proud native of Pittsburgh, Gary has been married to his high school sweetheart, Tia, for 43 years. Together, they have two daughters: Christie, who is married to husband John Hull, and Michele, married to husband Dave Sanders. Tia and Gary are the proud grandparents of four grandsons Eston, Stokan, Penn and Wilson.
