Jon Lugbill is retiring from Sports Backers after 32 years. (Photos courtesy Sports Backers)
When Jon Lugbill joined Sports Backers in 1993, its main focus at the time was awarding scholarships to local high school student athletes and hosting some athletic-related events.
In the 32 years since, with Lugbill steadily at the helm, the nonprofit has grown into a multimillion-dollar organization that puts on some of the region’s biggest sporting events, including the Richmond Marathon, Riverrock and this weekend’s Monument Avenue 10k, which is approaching 25,000 participants.
And earlier this month, fresh off its move into a new headquarters in Lakeside, Sports Backers announced that Lugbill is passing the baton to a familiar face.
Will Dixon, a longtime employee and its chief administrative officer since 2020, will become executive director upon Lugbill’s retirement in June.
Dixon, a Richmond native, joined Sports Backers in 2008, after his graduation from James Madison University.
He worked his way up through the ranks, first doing “manual labor” jobs for the organization, then holding roles as both sponsorship manager and director of sponsorship. After a restructuring in 2020, he was promoted to chief administrative officer.
Most recently, Dixon oversaw the group’s headquarters move from Sports Backers Stadium in the city to a new home at 4921 Lakeside Ave. in Henrico County. It officially moved into the new office last month.
Dixon was part of the charge that raised about $1.4 million to renovate the former Bank of America branch into a hub that houses Sports Backers’ offices, along with a fitness and training room where the nonprofit can host free fitness classes and training sessions for fitness instructors.
“This will be a hub of activity for all that we do out in the community, and we have a front-row seat to the activity that’s going to happen on the Fall Line,” Dixon said, referring to the under-construction Fall Line Trail, a 43-mile paved trail that will connect Ashland, Hanover County, Henrico County, the City of Richmond, Chesterfield County, Colonial Heights and Petersburg.
Lugbill and Sports Backers have worked for eight years to bring the trail to fruition and are overseeing its development.
The project, which is a collaboration with VDOT’s Richmond District Office, the Central Virginia Transportation Authority, PlanRVA and the Crater Planning District Commission, is set to be completed in the next decade.
Lugbill said his work on the Fall Line is what he’s most proud of from his time at Sports Backers.
“It’s not finished, but it’s not my job to have finished everything. My job was to have set us on the right track,” he said.
Lugbill at a Sports Backers event.
Sports Backers’ work on the Fall Line is another example of its evolution during Lugbill’s tenure.
Sports Backers was founded in 1991 by Allan Strange, Bobby Ukrop, Mike Berry, J.R. Hipple and Bill Flowers.
Lugbill was coming off a famed career as a canoe slalom racer, racking up 12 gold medals at the World Championships between 1979 and 1991, including several individual medals. He applied to Sports Backers in 1993 after seeing a job ad and became the organization’s first executive director.
The nonprofit then began to expand its mission to create more athletics-centered events in the city. That started with bringing major sporting events like the NCAA men’s soccer championships to Richmond.
Come the early 2000s, Sports Backers took over the Richmond Marathon from the Richmond Times-Dispatch and began adding events like the Monument Avenue 10k and, later, Riverrock.
Other initiatives on Lugbill’s watch include programs like Bike Walk RVA, which advocates for further biking and pedestrian infrastructure in the region, and establishing events like the CarMax Tacky Light Run and the Ashland Half Marathon & 5K.
Sports Backers now operates with a nearly $7 million annual budget, with 12 annual events and 26 employees. It also provides free athletic and sports programming across the Richmond region, including its Fitness Warriors program, which brings free fitness classes to those in lower- and middle-income communities.
Last September, Lugbill, 63, announced that he would be retiring from Sports Backers this coming June. With the nonprofit’s move to its new headquarters, he felt it was the right time to step away, he said.
Will Dixon will lead the charge at Sports Backers starting in June.
Dixon was chosen to head up Sports Backers as the new executive director following a national search. Dixon said he chose to apply for the top position both for its alignment with his personal values and for the organization’s impact on the Richmond community at large.
“There are hundreds of thousands of people that are able to interact with our events and programs every year. I like to think we’re a part of brightening their day, that we’re providing value to their individual health and the community’s health,” Dixon said. “The prospect of being able to continue to be a part of that at a higher level was very exciting.”
Lugbill was not part of the search committee that chose his successor. The Sports Backers Board of Directors engaged search firm Warren Whitney to aid in the process.
Yet Lugbill said that as he worked with Dixon over the past year, he saw him grow into someone who has what it takes to lead the nonprofit.
“His confidence in himself to be the next CEO grew,” Lugbill said. “To go from being protective about what he knows how to do to being proactive on being a great leader, that transition was really awesome to see in the last year.”
Dixon, 40, said continuing the work on the Fall Line Trail, building community pride and using Sports Backers to help brand Richmond as a travel destination are priorities as he moves into the role in the coming months.
“We have such incredible assets. We have the trail systems throughout the region, the James River flowing through the center of downtown, we have amazing architecture and history,” Dixon said. “I’m interested in exploring how we build up community pride, as well as showcasing Richmond to people that are outside the area as a destination to come and experience active living.”
As for Lugbill, after landing on the Wheaties box for his paddling prowess and a storied history at Sports Backers, he’s ready for a third act, one that involves more time with his family.
“Sometimes people have a hard time retiring from a CEO position because it’s so much of who they are. Trust me, I really like working at Sports Backers, and I’m really proud of it,” Lugbill said. “But I know there’s more within me for whatever’s next.”
Jon Lugbill is retiring from Sports Backers after 32 years. (Photos courtesy Sports Backers)
When Jon Lugbill joined Sports Backers in 1993, its main focus at the time was awarding scholarships to local high school student athletes and hosting some athletic-related events.
In the 32 years since, with Lugbill steadily at the helm, the nonprofit has grown into a multimillion-dollar organization that puts on some of the region’s biggest sporting events, including the Richmond Marathon, Riverrock and this weekend’s Monument Avenue 10k, which is approaching 25,000 participants.
And earlier this month, fresh off its move into a new headquarters in Lakeside, Sports Backers announced that Lugbill is passing the baton to a familiar face.
Will Dixon, a longtime employee and its chief administrative officer since 2020, will become executive director upon Lugbill’s retirement in June.
Dixon, a Richmond native, joined Sports Backers in 2008, after his graduation from James Madison University.
He worked his way up through the ranks, first doing “manual labor” jobs for the organization, then holding roles as both sponsorship manager and director of sponsorship. After a restructuring in 2020, he was promoted to chief administrative officer.
Most recently, Dixon oversaw the group’s headquarters move from Sports Backers Stadium in the city to a new home at 4921 Lakeside Ave. in Henrico County. It officially moved into the new office last month.
Dixon was part of the charge that raised about $1.4 million to renovate the former Bank of America branch into a hub that houses Sports Backers’ offices, along with a fitness and training room where the nonprofit can host free fitness classes and training sessions for fitness instructors.
“This will be a hub of activity for all that we do out in the community, and we have a front-row seat to the activity that’s going to happen on the Fall Line,” Dixon said, referring to the under-construction Fall Line Trail, a 43-mile paved trail that will connect Ashland, Hanover County, Henrico County, the City of Richmond, Chesterfield County, Colonial Heights and Petersburg.
Lugbill and Sports Backers have worked for eight years to bring the trail to fruition and are overseeing its development.
The project, which is a collaboration with VDOT’s Richmond District Office, the Central Virginia Transportation Authority, PlanRVA and the Crater Planning District Commission, is set to be completed in the next decade.
Lugbill said his work on the Fall Line is what he’s most proud of from his time at Sports Backers.
“It’s not finished, but it’s not my job to have finished everything. My job was to have set us on the right track,” he said.
Lugbill at a Sports Backers event.
Sports Backers’ work on the Fall Line is another example of its evolution during Lugbill’s tenure.
Sports Backers was founded in 1991 by Allan Strange, Bobby Ukrop, Mike Berry, J.R. Hipple and Bill Flowers.
Lugbill was coming off a famed career as a canoe slalom racer, racking up 12 gold medals at the World Championships between 1979 and 1991, including several individual medals. He applied to Sports Backers in 1993 after seeing a job ad and became the organization’s first executive director.
The nonprofit then began to expand its mission to create more athletics-centered events in the city. That started with bringing major sporting events like the NCAA men’s soccer championships to Richmond.
Come the early 2000s, Sports Backers took over the Richmond Marathon from the Richmond Times-Dispatch and began adding events like the Monument Avenue 10k and, later, Riverrock.
Other initiatives on Lugbill’s watch include programs like Bike Walk RVA, which advocates for further biking and pedestrian infrastructure in the region, and establishing events like the CarMax Tacky Light Run and the Ashland Half Marathon & 5K.
Sports Backers now operates with a nearly $7 million annual budget, with 12 annual events and 26 employees. It also provides free athletic and sports programming across the Richmond region, including its Fitness Warriors program, which brings free fitness classes to those in lower- and middle-income communities.
Last September, Lugbill, 63, announced that he would be retiring from Sports Backers this coming June. With the nonprofit’s move to its new headquarters, he felt it was the right time to step away, he said.
Will Dixon will lead the charge at Sports Backers starting in June.
Dixon was chosen to head up Sports Backers as the new executive director following a national search. Dixon said he chose to apply for the top position both for its alignment with his personal values and for the organization’s impact on the Richmond community at large.
“There are hundreds of thousands of people that are able to interact with our events and programs every year. I like to think we’re a part of brightening their day, that we’re providing value to their individual health and the community’s health,” Dixon said. “The prospect of being able to continue to be a part of that at a higher level was very exciting.”
Lugbill was not part of the search committee that chose his successor. The Sports Backers Board of Directors engaged search firm Warren Whitney to aid in the process.
Yet Lugbill said that as he worked with Dixon over the past year, he saw him grow into someone who has what it takes to lead the nonprofit.
“His confidence in himself to be the next CEO grew,” Lugbill said. “To go from being protective about what he knows how to do to being proactive on being a great leader, that transition was really awesome to see in the last year.”
Dixon, 40, said continuing the work on the Fall Line Trail, building community pride and using Sports Backers to help brand Richmond as a travel destination are priorities as he moves into the role in the coming months.
“We have such incredible assets. We have the trail systems throughout the region, the James River flowing through the center of downtown, we have amazing architecture and history,” Dixon said. “I’m interested in exploring how we build up community pride, as well as showcasing Richmond to people that are outside the area as a destination to come and experience active living.”
As for Lugbill, after landing on the Wheaties box for his paddling prowess and a storied history at Sports Backers, he’s ready for a third act, one that involves more time with his family.
“Sometimes people have a hard time retiring from a CEO position because it’s so much of who they are. Trust me, I really like working at Sports Backers, and I’m really proud of it,” Lugbill said. “But I know there’s more within me for whatever’s next.”
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Thank you Jon for all you’ve done to expand Sports Backers that has diversified the recreational opportunities in this region. You are a city hero.