Richard Giannini, a veteran of five decades of athletic administration, is the Executive Director of the Makers Wanted Bahamas Bowl. Giannini oversees the bowl’s operations and staff, is the bowl’s liaison with ESPN Events and serves in a key role with the bowl’s governmental relations with the Commonwealth of the Bahamas. As principal of Giannini Sports Consultants, LLC, he advises Conference USA, ESPN and the Boca Raton Bowl in addition to his work with the Makers Wanted Bahamas Bowl.  Giannini has played an integral role in the start-up of three current bowl games.

Giannini served as athletic director at Southern Miss from 1999-2012, after working as the athletics director at Louisiana-Monroe for five years. During his USM tenure, the school captured 13 Conference USA championships, including three football titles, two regular season and two tournament crowns in both baseball and softball and one in volleyball and men’s basketball. Concurrently,  Giannini spearheaded a total makeover of the school’s athletic facilities.

While working for the NCAA in the mid-1970s, Giannini’s responsibilities included serving as executive producer of the Sunday ABC College Football highlight shows, as well as NCAA Tournament basketball games not aired by NBC. He also served as director of licensing for the NCAA.

He served as assistant sports information director at Florida (his alma mater) from 1966-70, was sports information director at Duke from 1970-73, before becoming assistant athletics director at Duke in 1974. After working for the NCAA from 1976-77, Giannini returned to Florida as senior associate athletics director to oversee external affairs. He left Florida in 1986 to enter the private sector, taking over as CEO and co-owner of Raycom Management Group in Charlotte, N.C., a subsidiary of Raycom Sports.

Giannini and his wife, Gayle, are parents of four daughters – Ansley Stone, Brittney Borbash, Carlyn Linker and DeLancey – and they are grandparents of nine.