YSU alum’s career is focus of ‘AIR’
YSU Foundation hosts special pre-screening of movie
Youngstown State University alum John Paul Vincent "Sonny" Vaccaro and his career at Nike are the focus of the new major motion picture “AIR” which will be released in theaters worldwide April 5. During his time at Nike, Vaccaro transformed the athletic shoe industry and signed Michael Jordan to his first shoe deal, launching the Air Jordan brand.
Through Vaccaro, the Youngstown State University Foundation hosted a special pre-screening of the movie on March 30 at Golden Star Theaters - Austintown Cinema in Austintown, Ohio. 238 members of the YSU community including students, student-athletes, YSUF donors and YSUF staff gathered for the private viewing which included a recorded interview with Vaccaro prior to the movie. The invitation-only event was one of only five early showings of the movie around the country.
Vaccaro, who was born and raised in Trafford, Pennsylvania, graduated from YSU in 1962 with a bachelor of science degree in Health and Physical Education. He then went on to become a sports marketing executive at Nike, Adidas and Reebok.
He founded the ABCD All America Camp which operated from 1984 to 2007, featuring the top high school basketball prospects in the country and also founded, with Pat DiCesare, the Dapper Dan Roundball Classic, which was the first national high school all-star game.
Vaccaro’s story was also featured in an ESPN 30 for 30 documentary in 2015 called “Sole Man.”
Vaccaro has also been an outspoken advocate for the rights of college athletes, recruiting former UCLA basketball star Ed O’Bannon for an antitrust class action lawsuit against the NCAA for its use of the name, image and likeness of student athletes for commercial purposes. The ruling on the case set the stage for NIL rules that the NCAA enacted in 2021.
Vaccaro and his wife Pam established an endowed scholarship in memory of Pam’s sister, Mary Jo, in 2021 at the YSU Foundation.
About "AIR"
Directed by Ben Affleck
Written by Alex Convery
Produced by David Ellison, Jesse Sisgold, Jon Weinbach, Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, Madison Ainley, Jeff Robinov, Peter Guber, and Jason Michael Berman
Starring Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, Jason Bateman, Chris Messina, Matthew Maher, Marlon Wayans, Jay Mohr, Julius Tennon, with Chris Tucker and Viola Davis
From award-winning director Ben Affleck, “AIR” reveals the unbelievable game-changing partnership between a then-rookie Michael Jordan and Nike’s fledgling basketball division which revolutionized the world of sports and contemporary culture with the Air Jordan brand. This moving story follows the career-defining gamble of an unconventional team with everything on the line, the uncompromising vision of a mother who knows the worth of her son’s immense talent, and the basketball phenom who would become the greatest of all time. “AIR” features an all-star cast, including Matt Damon as Vaccaro, Affleck as Nike co-founder Phil Knight and Viola Davis as Deloris Jordan.