The United States Golf Association has appointed Jim Noel as its chief legal officer. Noel will assume immediate oversight of the USGA’s legal department.
Noel joins the USGA from ESPN, where he served as associate general counsel and as a vice president in the network’s programming and digital media departments. His work included negotiations of media rights and distribution agreements, intellectual property licensing and new-media ventures.
He worked previously for the National Football League, first as director of legal affairs for NFL Properties, and then as assistant counsel to the Commissioner. He also was in private practice with the Seattle-based firm of Davis Wright Tremaine.
Noel holds a B.S. in journalism from the University of Oregon (1974) and a J.D. from the University of Alabama School of Law (1979).