Hall of Fame
Garber graduated with a degree in business and journalism from Oneonta where he was president of his senior class. He was named Commissioner of Major League Soccer in August of 1999, after spending 16 years in a variety of positions with the National Football League.
Since assuming Major League Soccer's top position, Garber's vision and leadership have enabled MLS to build a strong foundation for professional soccer in the United States and generate unprecedented momentum for the future of the sport. With one eye on making MLS one of the world's best soccer leagues and another on developing one of America's premier sports and entertainment properties, Garber has guided the League through landmark decisions which have solidified MLS' core business, positioned it for growth and guaranteed the League's long-term viability.
Prior to becoming Commissioner of MLS, Garber was the senior vice president/managing director of NFL International, where he oversaw all aspects of the NFL outside the United States, including the NFL Europe League.
Garber, who guided NFL International since its creation in 1996, managed a group that grew from five employees based in the NFL offices in New York, to a global organization of more than 130 people, with offices in six countries (Canada, Mexico, England, Germany and Japan). Revenues and profits increased significantly during his tenure.
Before being appointed as the head of NFL International, Garber was vice president of business development and special events for NFL Properties (NFLP), the marketing arm of the National Football League. This group, which he created in 1990, was responsible for all non-game NFL television programming and production, event marketing, grass roots activities and entertainment programming and was responsible for creating the sports event industry standard, the "NFL Experience."
Garber began his career at NFL Properties in 1984 as a marketing manager and became the League's Director of Marketing in 1988, with responsibilities for managing all national NFL corporate sponsorship sales and marketing.
Garber is a member of the United States Soccer Federation Executive Committee, and also serves on the Board of Directors of the United States Soccer Foundation and the National Soccer Hall of Fame Board of Trustees. Outside of soccer, Garber is on the Advisory Board of the Hope & Hero's Pediatric Cancer Foundation at New York's Columbia Presbyterian Hospital, the Board of Directors of the National Campaign Against Youth Violence, a national anti-violence program, and the Board of Directors of Princeton Video Image, a high-tech broadcast company.
This past spring received an honorary doctorate degree from his alma mater during commencement.
