Jerry Moyes is the Founder, and former Chairman and CEO of Phoenix-based
Swift Transportation, one of the largest trucking companies in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
. Moyes is also owner of charter airline
Swift Air
iAero Airways, previously Swift Air, is an American airline based in Miami, Florida, United States. It operates charter flights for nationally known fractional aircraft operators, financial institutions, construction, transportation, many colle ...
and FBO Swift Aviation at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport. Moyes is the controlling owner of SME Steel Contractors Inc., a steel erector company based in Utah, and Texas-based
LTL freight carrier
Central Freight Lines
Central Freight Lines Inc. (CFL) is an American regional less-than-truckload (LTL) company headquartered in Waco, Texas and serving the Southeastern and Southwestern United States. For much of its history it was the largest and longest tenured f ...
. He was a majority owner of the
Phoenix Coyotes of the
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...
before the Coyotes filed bankruptcy and were sold to the NHL in 2009, and the
Arizona Sting
The Arizona Sting was a member of the National Lacrosse League from 2004 to 2007. They played at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio, from 2001 to 2003 as the Columbus Landsharks. On August 28, 2003, it was announced that the team was relocating to ...
of the
National Lacrosse League
The National Lacrosse League (NLL) is a men's professional box lacrosse league in North America. The league is headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
The NLL currently has fifteen teams: ten in the United States and five in Canada. The N ...
. Moyes is also a limited partner in the
Arizona Diamondbacks
The Arizona Diamondbacks (colloquially known as the D-backs) are an American professional baseball team based in Phoenix. The Diamondbacks compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The ...
, and was once a minority owner of the
Phoenix Suns.
A graduate of
Weber State College
Weber State University (pronounced ) is a public university in Ogden, Utah. It was founded in 1889 as Weber Stake Academy. It is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities.
History
Weber State University was founde ...
, Moyes previously served as president of the Arizona Motor Transport Association.
Near the end of 2016, Moyes announced he would retire at the end of the year.
Moyes and his wife Vickie have been married for over 39 years and have 10 children and 10 grandchildren.
Phoenix Coyotes
Moyes was originally a minority partner in Steve Ellman's ownership group, which bought the Coyotes from Richard Burke in 2001. On Sept. 26, 2006, Ellman sold controlling interest in the Coyotes,
Arizona Sting
The Arizona Sting was a member of the National Lacrosse League from 2004 to 2007. They played at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio, from 2001 to 2003 as the Columbus Landsharks. On August 28, 2003, it was announced that the team was relocating to ...
, and the lease to
Jobing.com Arena to Moyes, who retained
Wayne Gretzky
Wayne Douglas Gretzky ( ; born January 26, 1961) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and former head coach. He played 20 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for four teams from 1979 to 1999. Nicknamed "the Great One ...
as part-owner and head of hockey operations.
Court filings showed Moyes was never keen to own the Coyotes and had no interest in hockey. He acquired control of the club in 2006 after a falling out over a real estate development with former business partner Steve Ellman. Afterwards, Moyes tried to find a buyer for the Coyotes, and he chafed at the league's interference in his attempts. In 2008, Moyes told
Gary Bettman and other league officials that he would stop funding the club. The league agreed to provide emergency funding in return for Moyes ceding his voting control. The acrimony was made public in May 2009 when Bettman and Daly came close to selling the Coyotes to
Jerry Reinsdorf
Jerry Michael Reinsdorf (born February 25, 1936) is the owner of the NBA's Chicago Bulls and MLB's Chicago White Sox. He started his professional life as a tax attorney with the Internal Revenue Service. He has been the owner of the White So ...
, owner of the
Chicago Bulls
The Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago. The Bulls compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded on January ...
and
Chicago White Sox
The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and ...
, a move that would have seen Moyes receive almost nothing from the sale. On May 5, 2009, Moyes put the Coyotes into
Chapter 11
Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code (Title 11 of the United States Code) permits reorganization under the bankruptcy laws of the United States. Such reorganization, known as Chapter 11 bankruptcy, is available to every business, wheth ...
bankruptcy protection and announced a plan to sell the club to
Jim Balsillie
James Laurence Balsillie (born February 3, 1961) is a Canadian businessman and philanthropist. He is the former Chair and co- CEO of the Canadian technology company Research In Motion (Blackberry), which at its prime made over $20B in sales annu ...
. Moyes also filed a lawsuit against the NHL, alleging the league was an "illegal cartel." Bettman was furious, arguing the league had been blindsided and that Moyes had no authority to put the club into bankruptcy protection.
Moyes was saddled with massive financial losses dating to the time the former
Winnipeg Jets
The Winnipeg Jets are a professional ice hockey team based in Winnipeg. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference, and is owned by True North Sports & Entertainment, p ...
moved to Phoenix. Unable to turn around the team's fiscal picture, he agreed in principle to sell the Coyotes to a group headed by
Research in Motion
BlackBerry Limited is a Canadian software company specializing in cybersecurity. Founded in 1984, it was originally known as Research In Motion (RIM). As RIM, it developed the BlackBerry brand of interactive pagers, smartphones, and tablet ...
co-CEO
Jim Balsillie
James Laurence Balsillie (born February 3, 1961) is a Canadian businessman and philanthropist. He is the former Chair and co- CEO of the Canadian technology company Research In Motion (Blackberry), which at its prime made over $20B in sales annu ...
, who intended to move the team to
Hamilton, Ontario
Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario. Hamilton has a Canada 2016 Census, population of 569,353, and its Census Metropolitan Area, census metropolitan area, which includes Burlington, ...
. The league responded by stripping Moyes of virtually all of his ownership authority, though he was still nominally the team's owner. The NHL argued that Moyes had no right to file because numerous agreements he'd signed with the league in return for financial assistance specifically barred him from filing for bankruptcy. It also claimed that Moyes effectively surrendered control of the team by signing the agreements. Bankruptcy judge Redfield Baum scheduled a hearing for May 19, 2009 to determine who actually controlled the team. In October 2009, Baum rejected the NHLs bid, as well as Balsillie's $242.5-million offer. The judge ruled that Balsillie's bid faced too many legal obstacles, however, he said the NHL could revise its bid to include concessions to Moyes and Gretzky. The NHL had originally taken the position that neither Moyes nor Gretzky were legitimate creditors because they were owners. Under Chapter 11 proceedings, owners usually rank below other creditors and rarely receive any of the proceeds from asset sales. On November 2, 2009, Moyes sold the Coyotes to the NHL for $140 million.
References
External links
Jerry Moyes on Phoenix Coyotes website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Moyes, Jerry
American sports businesspeople
American trucking industry businesspeople
Arizona Coyotes owners
National Hockey League executives
National Hockey League owners
Living people
Weber State University alumni
Year of birth missing (living people)