PROVIDENCE, R.I. – The American Athletic Conference today announced the appointment of Carlos Padilla II as the Executive Director of the Miami Beach Bowl, the American’s owned and administered bowl game scheduled to debut in December 2014 at Marlins Park in Miami, Fla.
 
Padilla brings extensive college sports experience to his new role and most recently served as Assistant Executive Director of the Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl, the ESPN Inc. owned and operated bowl played at Tropicana Field, the home of MLB’s Tampa Bay Rays, in downtown St. Petersburg, Fla.
 
“We are pleased to welcome Carlos and look forward to his leadership in developing the Miami Beach Bowl into a great event for student-athletes, coaches and fans,” said Mike Aresco, commissioner of the American Athletic Conference. “We have received terrific support from the Miami Marlins, the City of Miami and the South Florida business community and Carlos has the experience and ability to enhance these partnerships to make the Miami Beach Bowl a long-term success."
 
As Executive Director of the Miami Beach Bowl, Padilla will work closely with the Conference office in Providence and will be responsible for the day-to-day operations of the bowl game, including sales development, marketing, game operations and working with a local committee made up of sponsors and civic leaders. He will work directly with the schools and the participating conferences to ensure a positive and rewarding bowl experience for all participants.
 
“I am thrilled with the opportunity to be a part of the Miami Beach Bowl from its inception,” said Padilla. “Miami offers a rich bowl tradition and I look forward to building on that history and bringing new bowl memories to Marlins Park and all of Miami-Dade County.”
 
Padilla joined the Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl at its founding in 2008 and primarily was responsible for implementing all sponsorship and ticket sales, marketing and branding strategies.
 
Prior to that, Padilla served as an Account Executive for the University of South Florida through its partnership with ISP Sports (now IMG College). Previously, he worked at ESPN, where he coordinated sponsorship elements at USF, and started his professional career as a Sports Marketing Assistant at USF.
 
Padilla is a 2006 graduate of the University of South Florida with a degree in marketing management.
 
The Miami Beach Bowl will match an American Athletic Conference team against an opponent from either Conference USA, the Sun Belt Conference or the Mid-American Conference. Institutions from other conference across the country will also have the ability to participate. The existing contract covers six seasons, beginning in 2014. Television and title sponsorship agreements will be announced at a later date.
 
Padilla and the Miami Beach Bowl staff will be based in Marlins Park. Marlins Park opened in 2012 and serves as the home of Major League Baseball's Miami Marlins. The state-of-the-art facility will seat 34,000 for football and has 50 luxury suites, a retractable roof, climate controlled temperatures and a pristine natural grass playing surface.