Jackpot
From The GIST Sports Biz (hi@thegistsports.com)
Happy Friday!
Something for your TIL list: Poker has transferable skills that can help women executives flourish in the C-suite, according to fintech founder Jenny Just. Her company, Poker Power, teamed up with Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management to show women how poker can level up their leadership skills. All in.
LPGA
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The GIST: The LPGA season teed off this month, and the golfers aren’t the only ones winning. Three major announcements from big-name sponsors this week reflect growing LPGA interest as men’s and women’s sports leagues continue to team up. Women’s golf is finally getting attention on par with what it deserves.
⛳ Capital One’s The Match is including women golfers for the first time. It took nine editions, but the popular golf competition is finally turning to the LPGA roster. The Match will feature Lexi Thompson and Rose Zhang alongside PGA golfers Rory McIlroy and Max Homa.
- Plus, golf-obsessed DJ Khaled will serve as a “cart commentator” for the event. Don’t let nothin’ stop you.
🧳 On Tuesday, TUMI bagged a multiyear deal as official luggage of the PGA Tour and LPGA. This adds to the travel brand’s extensive list of global sports partnerships, which includes Tottenham Hotspur, McLaren Racing, and the PTPA. TUMI’s foray into golf sponsorship also coincides with the launch of its first full-range golf collection.
👕 Rhone was named the on-course apparel partner for the LPGA Tour and Epson Tour this week. The traditionally male athleisure company isn’t new to golf, but they are new to tailoring products for women. The brand is set to launch its first women’s apparel line this spring, which dovetails with its role as the official staff uniform provider for both tours.
- Rhone will also host fan expo events at four LPGA Tour events this year, as well as kickstarting programs for athlete development and brand ambassadors. Dressed to the nines.
🚫 Pernille Harder challenges FIFA’s women’s Club World Cup proposals
Danish national team captain Pernille Harder spoke out against FIFA’s proposals to create a new Club World Cup for women’s teams, saying players’ concerns are not being considered. She argued that fundamental issues with rosters and resources must be addressed first before women’s football adds more tournaments.
- Harder mentioned the need for more players to allow for further rotation, an issue as women’s soccer players consistently battle fatigue and major injuries like ACL tears. She also called for improved facilities across the board — it’s gotta make dollars and sense.
📺 Women’s FA Cup secures historic live broadcasts
The top annual tournament for English women’s football will broadcast all eight of its fifth-round matches for the first time ever. Manchester City’s match against Arsenal — the WSL attendance record-holder — will air on BBC2, while the remaining seven will stream on FA Player or the FA Cup ’s social media channels.
- Notably, this is the first season of Adobe’s title sponsorship, which identified fan engagement as a key focus. The software company hopes its tech access will improve digital content to boost engagement and in-person attendance.
👟 Key argument in NCAA amateurism case centers on NIL shoe deals
This week, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) continued hearing a case on if USC football and basketball athletes should be considered employees. During arguments, USC assistant WBB athletic director Ryan Cohan claimed ignorance on whether NIL athletes could wear Adidas shoes during games. The answer is no: it violates the school’s exclusive contract with Nike.
- The restriction on game apparel is a well-known practice throughout the NCAA. Cohan likely failed to provide an answer because it would affirm that USC exercises enough control over athletes to constitute an employer-employee relationship, weakening the NCAA’s amateurism argument.
🏐 Front Office Sports suggested a potentially saturated pro volleyball market could result in a merger similar to pro women’s hockey. Don’t knock it ’til they try it.
👀 The NWSL announced its 2024 schedule and NWSL+, its free streaming platform that will air 69 of 113 regular season matches. Beyond that, Amazon Prime will feature 25 Friday games, ION nabbed 50 on Saturdays, CBS will air 21, ESPN has 16, while ABC gets a single match.
⚽ Expansion NWSL club Bay FC debuted its kit design and explained the design concept behind its new logo. Exceeding expectations.
🏎️ Visa became a global partner for both Red Bull F1 teams and its Visa Cash App RB team in F1 Academy, which will have drivers and liveries from all 10 F1 teams in the 2024 season.
🏀 During the most-watched regular season WBB game since 2010, Monday’s Ohio State–Iowa viewership peaked at 3.9M and its 18.6K crowd broke the program’s attendance record.
🗽 Amazon could acquire near-parity ownership of YES Network — home to NY Liberty games — thanks to its proposed restructuring of Diamond Sports.
🏨 While Sports Illustrated’s (SI) newsroom faces uncertainty, Authentic Brands Group’s other SI–branded properties are doing just fine — SI parties and hotel projects continue to move forward.
Recs from our roster!
⚽ What to read
About the soccer legacies of Ghana and Nigeria. As the Africa Cup of Nations unfolds, these two nations are sparking conversations due to an unusual string of losses.
🤳 What to get rid of
Notifications. Aside from sports updates, of course, most go unread, creating that crazy-high red number. Ease your mind and clear those notifications with tips from The Washington Post.
🚺 What to snag tix for
Everything in Sport, Women’s Edition. Taking place on March 7th and 8th, there's no better way to celebrate International Women’s Day and hear from our very own co-founder and head of content, Ellen Hyslop.
Today's email was brought to you by Aryanna Prasad and Briana Ekanem. Fact checking by Bonnie Lee. Editing by Lindsay Jost. Operations by Elisha Gunaratnam and Lisa Minutillo. Ads by Lauren Tuiskula, Dee Lab and Alexis Allison. Managing edits by Molly Potter and Ellen Hyslop.