| IMG Academy | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Location | |
 | |
5650 Bollettieri Blvd , U.S. ,34210 | |
| Coordinates | 27°26′28″N82°36′07″W / 27.441°N 82.602°W /27.441; -82.602 |
| Information | |
| Former name | Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy |
| Type | Private,college preparatory school |
| Established | 1978; 47 years ago (1978) |
| Founder | Nick Bollettieri |
| Grades | 6–12 &postgraduate |
| Gender | Co-educational |
| Campus size | 600 acres (243 ha) |
| Campus type | Suburban |
| Colors | Blue White Black |
| Nickname | Ascenders |
| Accreditation | NAIS |
| Affiliation | |
| Website | www |
IMG Academy is apreparatoryboarding school and sports training facility inBradenton, Florida, United States. The organization is set across over 600 acres (243 ha) and features programs consisting of sport camps for young athletes, adult camps, a boarding school, including apost-graduate/gap-year program, events, professional and collegiate training, group hosting, and corporate retreats.[1]
In April 2023,Endeavor announced the sale of IMG Academy toBPEA EQT for $1.26 billion. On June 28, 2023, the deal was completed.
Nick Bollettieri founded theNick Bollettieri Tennis Academy in 1978. Sports companyIMG purchased the academy in 1987.[2] IMG acquired the youth division of theDavid Leadbetter Golf Academy in 1993 and added programs for soccer and baseball in 1994. Hockey and basketball programs were added in 2000 and 2001, respectively, and by 2002 the IMG campus had expanded to 190 acres (0.77 km2).[3] IMG Academy suspended its hockey program in 2003.[citation needed] Football was added in 2010,[4] as well as lacrosse.[5] Track & field and cross country were added in 2013.[6]
IMG Academy currently sits on 450 acres (180 ha) of land, and in 2011, IMG paid $7.5 million for an additional 110 acres (45 ha) adjacent to the current campus for future expansion.[2] In 2014, IMG purchased an additional 24 acres (9.7 ha). The land borders IMG's west campus, where the sports performance academy is undergoing a $198 million expansion.[7]
The IMG Pendleton School was founded in 1999 as a co-educational,college preparatory school for athletic students. In 2012, the school changed its name to "IMG Academy".[8] It delivers both academics and athletics.[9]
In 2021, the school's football teamfaced off againstBishop Sycamore in which they won in a 58–0 rout. Bishop Sycamore received scrutiny after the game and its existence was questioned.[10][11]
On April 25, 2023, parent companyEndeavor agreed to sell IMG Academy toprivate equity firmBPEA EQT at a value of $1.25 billion – the sale was completed in June 2023.[12][13]
IMG Academy tennis programs offer year-round tennis camps ranging from one to five weeks in length and were led by director Rohan Goetzke in 2019.[14][15] The campus has 35 outdoor hard courts, 5 indoor hard courts, and 16 greenclay courts.[16]
In 1987, thirty-two academy students or former students were in theWimbledon draw and twenty-seven were in theU.S. Open. Famous past students includeAndre Agassi,Monica Seles,Jim Courier,Kei Nishikori,Alejandro Tabilo,Anna Kournikova,Serena Williams, andMaria Sharapova.[17] Current students includeMichael Mmoh.
IMG announced theJohn Madden Football Academy in March 2010 and held its first camp from June 4–6, 2010. The football program offers a residency program and year-round camps ranging from three days to five weeks in length and was previously led by formerNFL quarterbackChris Weinke.[18] The academy fielded a high school football team for the first time in 2013.[19] In 2013, MaxPreps called IMG Academy the "nation's top high school football facility."[20] Kevin Wright was named head coach in 2015 after Weinke accepted a position as quarterbacks coach with the then-St. Louis Rams.[21] Wright guided the program to its first undefeated regular season (9–0) in 2015.[22]
IMG Academy offered an academy soccer program and year-round soccer camps from 1999 to 2017. IMG Academy was home toU.S. Soccer's full-time residency program for the United States' U-16 and U-17 men's national teams. It was integral in developing the United States' top youthsoccer prospects. The Bradenton Academy grew from an initial twenty players to thirty in 2002 and then to forty in 2003. The program was split into a U-16 squad and a U-17 squad. The girls program was a member of the Girls Academy League.
The academy traced its roots back toProject 2010 which highlighted ways U.S. Soccer could make the senior men's national team a legitimate threat to win theWorld Cup by the end of the decade. Two programs that were born from Project 2010 wereGeneration Adidas (previously calledProject-40) and the Bradenton Academy. The academy was started in January 1999 with the backing ofIMG andNike, but was closed in 2017 due to the proliferation of U.S. Development Academy programs.[23]
IMG Academy has an academy baseball program and year-round camps, in addition to summer Wood Bat Leagues.[24]
IMG Academy'spostgraduate program played in their only appearance in the 2016 National Prep Championship inNew Haven, Connecticut. Among the teams were Brewster Academy,DME Academy, Elev-8 Sports Institute, Fork Union Military Academy, Hargrave Military Academy, IMG Academy, Northfield Mount Hermon School, and more.[25] The head coach of IMG's national high school team is Sean McAloon, who previously was the head coach atSt. John's College High School inWashington, D.C.
Its basketball alumni includeDallas Mavericks forwardDwight Powell andOrlando Magic forwardJonathan Isaac, the 6th overall pick of the 2017 NBA draft. In 2017, IMG Academy had its first two selections to the McDonald's All American Game:Trevon Duval was selected to the boys game and Rellah Boothe was selected to the girls game. In 2018,Anfernee Simons entered directly from the academy to the2018 NBA draft, becoming the second player in the academy's history to do so and the first American to enter and be selected in an NBA draft directly after graduating from high school since the league first implemented age restriction rules in 2005
During the preparation for the2017 NBA draft, the IMG Academy hosted their first ever draft combine. The Professional Basketball Combine was held as an alternative (mainly for seniors) to measure their abilities and potentially give them the chance to enter theNBA, if not allow them the chance to play in theNBA G League or even overseas, with nearly every participant that year doing exactly that. Currently,[when?] four players that participated in the event signedtwo-way contracts to enter the NBA properly, with eight of them going overseas and 11 players entered the G League.[26] The event would be held once again in 2018, gaining more popularity that year with the participation of formerUCLA player and current professional playerLiAngelo Ball.[27]
Due to theCOVID-19 pandemic, the entireWNBA2020 season was held there. Under a plan approved on June 15, 2020, the shortened 22-game regular season was heldwithout fans present.[28][29][30]
IMG Academy has an academy lacrosse program and year-round camps. IMG Academy launched a high school team in 2012, featuring a new women's program made in 2018. Notable alumni includeTehoka Nanticoke.[31] Prior to that, IMG Academy hosted their first full-time lacrosse student-athlete, Matthew Xirinachs, starting in September 2010. Xirinachs went on to join theDrexel men's lacrosse team in fall 2011.[32] The women's team hired head coach Jeff McGuigan in July 2019.[citation needed]
IMG Academy has an academy track and field and cross country program and year-round camps.[33]
IMG Academy offers academy level golf for boys' and girls' starting in grade six.[34]
In 2022, IMG Academy hired two-time OlympianDonald Suxho[35] as Director of Volleyball to launch its entry into girls' indoor volleyball beginning in fall of 2023. The inaugural class of 29 girls included two teams that will compete in the 18U and 16U club circuit.[36][37]
After successfully adding girls' volleyball in 2023, IMG Academy will introduce boys' volleyball with summer camps in 2025 followed by a full academy program in 2026.[38]
IMG Academy is set to launch softball in 2025, to further enhance opportunities for female athletes.[39]
IMG Academy has announced the addition of it's third new sport in 2025. They will construct a new state of art pool and the program will officially begin in 2027.[40]
| Race | Pop 2022 | % 2022 |
|---|---|---|
| White (NH) | 561 | 43.2 |
| Black or African American (NH) | 104 | 8.0 |
| Native American orAlaska Native (NH) | 12 | 0.9 |
| Asian (NH) | 393 | 30.3 |
| Pacific Islander (NH) | 2 | 0.2 |
| Some Other Race (NH) | 0 | — |
| Mixed/Multi-Racial (NH) | 2 | — |
| Hispanic or Latino | 227 | 17.5 |
| Total | 1299 | 100.1 |
Since opening in 1978, IMG Academy has trained hundreds ofOlympic and professional athletes, including those in theNBA,NFL,MLB,MLS,NWSL,NLL,ATP,WTA,PGA Tour andLPGA Tour.
