In a very interesting piece of news this morning, Florida Panthers owner Vincent Viola has been nominated by President-elect Donald Trump to serve as Secretary of the Army, pending approval of the United States Senate.
Here’s the press release from the Panthers on Viola’s nomination pic.twitter.com/AKbYgk4m8x
— Travis Hughes (@TravisSBN) December 19, 2016
Ownership of the team will remain in the Viola family, and minority owner Doug Cifu will step into Viola’s role as Chairman and Governor of Sunrise Sports and Entertainment.
Viola, a graduate of West Point and a veteran in the U.S. Army, purchased the Panthers in 2013 and has overseen a transformation of the franchise resulting in a division title last season.
A controversial offseason followed by an inconsistent start to the season has taken some of the bloom off the rose, but one thing is for certain, the Panthers keep finding novel ways of staying in the news.