Jackals Announce Scott Sonju as President

The Dallas Jackals are proud to announce Scott Sonju as President of the organization. Sonju brings the Jackals extensive sports industry leadership experience, including his role as longtime President and General Manager of the Frisco RoughRiders (Double-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers). 

During Sonju’s 13 years leading the RoughRiders, the club was named “Organization of the Year” twice and received Baseball America’s top accolade, the Bob Freitas Award. Known as one of the most successful teams in minor league baseball history, the RoughRiders led all 30 double-A teams in attendance every year of Sonju’s tenure. 

Sonju graduated from Texas A&M University and earned his MBA at Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management, where he quadruple majored. His first job in sports was at the Dallas Mavericks, where he worked in the ticket sales department. After two years, Sonju moved to upstate New York to help manage a nonprofit family resort, CAMP-of-the-WOODS.  While there, he founded LIFT, an outdoors oriented leadership development program for gap year students. LIFT is in its 24th year of operation.

Currently, Sonju serves as President of Neltex Sports, parent company of the Jackals that owns, develops, and operates various sports and entertainment related properties. Among these include the Texas AirHogs (an independent professional baseball team) where Sonju facilitated a historic partnership with the China Baseball Association. In 2018 and 2019, twenty members of the Chinese National Baseball team joined the AirHogs roster, making it the first time a National Team has played a season as part of any professional league in the United States. 

Sonju likes to be involved in the community and over the years has served on multiple boards, including the Collin County Business Alliance, Chosen Child Adoption Services, National Sports Marketing Network, Frisco Chamber of Commerce and the Frisco RoughRiders Foundation, which he founded. He is also an adjunct professor at Southern Methodist University, where he teaches a popular masters level Sports Sponsorship course. Sonju is an experienced public speaker and emcee. He enjoys working with various companies (both sports and non-sports) to help them maximize their potential.

Sonju is a two-time selection for the Dallas Business Journal “40 Under Forty” and was named Texas League Executive of the Year in 2014. Residing in North Texas, Sonju and his wife Amy have four children: Autumn (20), Mason (18), Whitney (15) and Austin (11). The biggest impact on his life is his father Norm, the founding President & GM of the Dallas Mavericks. 

We are happy to welcome Scott Sonju and his family to the pack! 

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About Dallas Jackals —

The Dallas Jackals are a professional rugby team of Major League Rugby (MLR), the highest level of rugby competition in North America. The Jackals were named as an expansion team in 2020 and will play their inaugural season in 2022 at Globe Life Park in Arlington. The team’s central mission is to develop domestic talent to a world-class level of play and professionalism while strengthening the high performance pathway in DFW by supporting the local clubs. Through proactive Community Outreach, the Jackals will exemplify and spread the passion of rugby by inspiring tradition, respect, family, and character on and off the pitch.

About MLR —

Major League Rugby is a professional sports league entering its fourth season and represents the highest level of competition in North America. The League evolved from seven teams in 2018, to 12 teams in 2021, featuring 11 from the United States and one from Canada. The competition follows an 18-week regular schedule for a chance to advance to the playoffs. Matches are televised on CBS Sports Network, Fox Sports 2, ESPN+, Facebook Live (for international viewers) and on different platforms in each local market. MLR prides itself on its incredible athletes, the passionate community behind them, and its strong values of Respect, Inclusivity, and Tradition.