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About Peak Scouts

A Team With Real Game Experience

We're not theorists. We're builders, coaches, recruiters, and operators who've lived it.

Dave Dagostino, Jr

Dave Dagostino

Managing Director
Gene DeFilippo

Gene DeFilippo

Advisor
J.P. Ricciardi

J.P. Ricciardi

Advisor
Mike Lynch

Mike Lynch

Advisor
Tom Burnett

Tom Burnett

Advisor
Tim Fitzpatrick

Tim Fitzpatrick

Advisor
Joseph Negri

Joseph Negri

Operations
Pat Hogan

Pat Hogan

Business Dev

Meet Dave →

Leadership Team →

Our Story →

Our Values →

1,000+

Organizations Served

148

Countries in Our Network

Top 1%

U.S. Talent Firm

Weeks

Not the usual 60 to 90 days

Meet Our Managing Director

Managing Director

Dave Dagostino, Jr.

Dave has spent his career finding and developing talent. He coached and recruited at Union College, Saint Rose, Jacksonville State, Cincinnati, and West Virginia, turning underdogs into contenders and contenders into constants. He built Peak Scouts on what he learned on the recruiting trail: put the right people in the right seats, and stay invested long after they're hired. Today he brings that same approach to every search and engagement. Along the way, Dave has advised NFL Legends, the NBA Retired Players Association, Baylor University, and U.S. state commissions, and hosts The Real Voices of the Game, a top-3% podcast.

$400M+

Scholarship Pipelines Built

$500M+

In NIL earnings

148

Countries in Our Network

Meet Our Managing Director
Leadership Team

Operators Who’ve Sat in the Seat

Decades inside college athletics, pro sports, and conference leadership.

Gene DeFilippo

Gene DeFilippo

Former Boston College AD (1997 to 2012). Led BC’s move to the ACC

Joseph Negri

Business operations

Sports industry professional with deep experience in business development, operations, and revenue generation.

Joe brings extensive hands-on experience from the professional sports world, having contributed to organizations including the New York Jets, the United States Golf Association (US Open), and ESPN. With a strong passion for business development, leadership, data-driven decision making, and marketing, he excels at building efficient systems and driving growth in fast-paced sports environments.

A former Division III golfer at Fairleigh Dickinson University – Madison, Joe also served as a volunteer firefighter, demonstrating his commitment to leadership, teamwork, and service in his community. He is dedicated to helping Peak Scouts deliver exceptional service and scalable solutions to the organizations and talent we serve.

Tom Burnett

Tom Burnett

Former Commissioner, Southland Conference

Tom Burnett is a nationally respected leader in Division I athletics with decades of experience spanning conference administration, NCAA governance, media strategy, and organizational leadership.

He served as Commissioner of the Southland Conference from 2003-2022, overseeing administrative, academic, and competitive operations while helping expand the conference’s national visibility through major television and media partnerships, including its first multi-million-dollar broadcast agreement in 2020.

Burnett also helped secure Frisco, Texas as the long-term host site for the NCAA Division I Football Championship Game, with the Southland Conference serving as host from 2011–2025.

At the national level, he served on nine NCAA committees, including the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Committee (2017–2022), where he helped oversee March Madness and the Men’s Final Four. In 2021–22, he became the first FCS commissioner to serve as chair of the committee.

Earlier in his career, he held senior roles with the Sun Belt Conference and American South Conference, and worked at Louisiana Tech University. More recently, he founded Southwest Sports Partners, LLC and Lone Star NIL, LLC, and authored two books on NIL education for families of recruited student-athletes.

He was honored with the National Football Foundation/College Football Hall of Fame Legacy Award (2022) and inducted into the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame (2024) as recipient of the Dave Dixon Louisiana Sports Leadership Award.

Tim Fitzpatrick

Tim Fitzpatrick

Former Deputy AD & COO, Brown

Tim Fitzpatrick brings more than three decades of leadership experience in collegiate athletics, with a track record spanning Division I programs, service academies, and national-level athletic organizations.  

A respected leader in collegiate athletics, Tim brings deep expertise in athletic administration, fundraising, and program development. He offers a seasoned perspective on building high-performing organizations and driving long-term success. 

He most recently served as Deputy Director of Athletics and Chief Operating Officer at Brown University, overseeing facilities, capital projects, external relations, and revenue generation. He was part of the Executive Leadership Team and supervised women’s basketball, men’s lacrosse, and men’s hockey.  

His prior leadership includes serving as Chief Executive Officer of the Diamond Sports Foundation and as Director of Athletics at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy, where he led a comprehensive departmental rebrand, secured a major apparel partnership, and significantly elevated fundraising performance. 

Tim also served as Athletic Director at Texas A&M University–Corpus Christi Athletics, playing a key role in advancing the institution’s Division I profile. Earlier in his career, he held senior administrative positions at Indiana University Athletics, Army West Point Athletics, and University of Pittsburgh Athletics. 

Gene DeFilippo

Gene DeFilippo

Former Athletics Director, Boston College

Gene DeFilippo led Boston College Athletics for 15 years (1997 to 2012). He guided the Eagles’ move from the Big East to the Atlantic Coast Conference. His teams won four men’s ice hockey national championships and 11 national titles in sailing, and BC football had 12 straight winning seasons. Before BC, he was Athletics Director at Villanova and at South Carolina-Spartanburg, and Associate AD at the University of Kentucky. He is a member of the Boston College Varsity Club Hall of Fame.

J.P. Ricciardi

J.P. Ricciardi

Former GM, Toronto Blue Jays

40+ years in professional baseball, including GM of the Blue Jays and Senior Advisor with the San Francisco Giants. He knows what separates a hire who performs from one who just interviews well.

Tim Fitzpatrick

Tim Fitzpatrick

Former Deputy AD & COO, Brown

30+ years inside Division I athletics. He's built the department, managed the budget, and lived with the hires he approved, and brings that operator's view to every search.

Mike Lynch

Mike Lynch

AVP Athletics, Babson

30+ years in intercollegiate athletics and fundraising, and a two-time Athletics Director of the Year. He knows the day-to-day realities of the roles we fill.

Tom Burnett

Tom Burnett

Former Commissioner, Southland Conference

Southland Conference Commissioner from 2003 to 2022 and former chair of the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Committee. Today he specializes in NIL strategy and player relations, backed by 30+ years in conference leadership and NCAA governance.

Operations

The team running Peak Scouts day to day.

Joseph Negri

Joseph Negri

BUSINESS OPERATIONS • New York Jets, USGA, ESPN
Read Bio

Joe has worked with organizations including the New York Jets, the USGA, and ESPN. His experience in business operations, revenue generation, and data-driven decision-making helps Peak Scouts deliver scalable solutions for sports organizations and talent.

Pat Hogan

Pat Hogan

business development • Worcester bravehearts, new england revolution
Read Bio

Pat has built his career across professional sports with experience at the Worcester Bravehearts and New England Revolution. His background in business development, operations, and talent acquisition helps sports organizations connect with the right people and opportunities.

The Peak scouts Story

Rooted in relationships. Powered by expertise.

Peak Scouts didn't start with a business plan. It began with an honest conversation about where the sports industry is headed, and how organizations perform better when people are treated like people, not transactions.

So we merged three worlds: business, family, and sports. Family-owned and people-first by design, we operate with precision, trust, and long-term commitment, bringing a level of care and accountability that's rare in modern talent search firms.

It's the combination of big-league resources and small-team trust.

For us, winning doesn't start on the field. It starts with people.

The Peak scouts Story
OUR MISSION

Turn Chaos Into Clarity

We help organizations move from the old, linear Sports Business to the Business of Sports: a fast, entrepreneurial world where leadership, branding, analytics, and adaptability win games.

We place people. We build futures. We create lifelong relationships.
The Peak Scouts Philosophy

Hire character. Develop leaders. Build relationships that last.

Our Values

The Values That Help Us Win

Big-business infrastructure with family-first values, built for the new era of sports.

Radical Transparency

Honest conversations and clear expectations. No tricks, no plays.

Lifelong Relationships

Most firms chase the next transaction. We build your next decade.

Proven Systems

We bring order to the chaos with a system you can trust, personalized to your program.

WHAT WE BRING TO THE TABLE

We anticipate the next move before anyone says it out loud.

Every engagement draws on the same toolkit, so you're building a system, not filling a seat.

Retained, exclusive executive search

Revenue Maximization & Resource Allocation

Organizational structure & role alignment

NIL strategy, compliance & cost management

Transfer portal process & culture

Booster, collective & agent alignment

Succession planning & internal development

Leadership & coaching culture