As Gary Stokan leaves Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl, celebrate his great impact
In today’s college sports landscape — especially within college football — the environment has evolved far beyond the game itself, becoming a fast-moving, highly sophisticated business ecosystem undergoing seismic transformation.
Each year brings new opportunities for student-athletes, expanded media partnerships, and shifts in conference strategy, creating a rapidly changing landscape.
Amid this momentum, it can seem as if the focus on constant growth and innovation takes priority over the personal connections that have long been at the heart of college athletics.
Anyone who believes that has clearly never met Gary Stokan.
As the longtime CEO and president of the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl, Gary is living proof that relationships remain the greatest competitive advantage in college athletics. As he prepares to retire after nearly three decades leading one of the nation’s premier bowl organizations, his legacy serves as a reminder that despite all the change, the heart of this industry is — and always will be — the people.
Nick Saban understood Stokan’s talent
Gary understood something that far too many people overlook: trust cannot be bought. It is built, and in an era where everything feels purely transactional, Gary’s approach was anything but that.
Since taking over in 1998, he has led with gratitude, invested in people and valued partnerships not for what it would do to benefit the Bowl, but for what the organizations could accomplish together.
Legendary college football coach Nick Saban summed up Gary’s impact wonderfully, explaining that “Gary has always understood the power of relationships in college football … In 2008, he gave Alabama a national stage with the first Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game. That moment helped shape our program and speaks to the lasting impact Gary’s vision has had on the sport.”
While a plethora of accolades and national recognition have been placed on both Gary and Peach Bowl, Inc., the results truly speak for themselves.
Bowl became more than just a game
Gary’s leadership has produced some of the strongest and longest-running partnerships in the history of college football. This includes the nearly 30-year relationship with Chick-fil-A, the longest running bowl sponsorship in college football, thanks to the relationships he built and maintained with Chick-fil-A founder Truett Cathy and later, Dan Cathy.
It is further evidenced by the Aflac Kickoff Game partnership, which was developed alongside Aflac President Virgil Miller. These weren’t deals created in a conference room. They were curated through years of trust, shared purpose and Gary’s commitment to doing things the right way.
Through it all, Gary has elevated the Bowl to become much more than just a game. Under Gary’s leadership, Peach Bowl, Inc. has become college football’s most charitable bowl game, donating more than $70 million to causes across the country and making a substantial impact on local organizations like the Aflac Cancer and Blood Disorders Center at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta.
On Jan. 9, the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl will host a College Football Playoff Semifinal, pitting two of the nation’s best college football teams against each other in the pinnacle of competition. Individuals who know Gary and his leadership style understand this moment didn’t arrive because of money, leverage or luck. It arrived because of long-standing relationships cultivated over many years.
In a world that often feels defined by contracts and compensation, Gary Stokan leaves behind a legacy that reminds us all that the strongest programs, the strongest brands and the strongest communities are built person by person, handshake by handshake and year after year.
College sports may be evolving every day, but relationships still win.
Percy D. Vaughn, an Atlanta native is vice president of southern region operations for Kia America. He earned his bachelor’s degree from Southern University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and his M.B.A. from Atlanta University.
