The GIST

Sixth Street launches Bay Collective to invest in women’s soccer teams globally

Private equity (PE) giant and Bay FC majority owner Sixth Street is launching a new multi-club women’s soccer organization called Bay Collective. Similar to trailblazer Michele Kang’s Kynisca, the collective aims to foster growth in women’s soccer by investing in clubs worldwide while also creating opportunities to further capitalize on the women’s game.

January 22, 2025

European leagues lead the way in latest Deloitte report on women’s soccer revenue

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On Friday, Deloitte released its third annual Deloitte Football Money League report profiling 15 top revenue-generating women’s soccer clubs during the 2023–2024 season. Deloitte’s data included leagues throughout most of Europe, Brazil, and Japan, but didn’t include data from the U.S. or Australia.

January 22, 2025

Denver wins bid for 16th NWSL team thanks to historic $110M expansion fee

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Per Sportico, Denver beat out competing NWSL cities Cincinnati and Cleveland to secure the league’s 16th franchise yesterday. Investors reportedly paid an expansion fee of $110M, which more than doubles the previous NWSL record and marks the biggest expansion fee in U.S. women’s sports history.

January 03, 2025

Netflix bags U.S. media rights for the 2027 and 2031 FIFA Women’s World Cup tournaments

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Netflix pulled off quite the heist on Friday by acquiring the U.S. media rights for the 2027 and 2031 editions of the FIFA Women’s World Cup (WWC). It will be Netflix’s first time covering an entire sports tournament and marks FIFA’s biggest deal with a streamer, not to mention it’s the first time the WWC’s U.S. rights were sold separately from the men’s FIFA World Cup.

December 23, 2024

USWNT veteran Becky Sauerbrunn retires from professional soccer

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USWNT veteran defender and former captain Becky Sauerbrunn is retiring from pro soccer, effective immediately, she announced yesterday. To celebrate the queen of consistent defense, here’s a look at her legendary career by the numbers. Not not crying.

December 18, 2024

UEFA establishes second-tier club tournament as investment in women’s soccer deepens

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In addition to sweetening the pot for Europe’s national teams, UEFA has been committed to creating a holistic ecosystem for women’s soccer at the club level. On Monday, the organization shared details around the Women’s Europa Cup, a second-tier club competition hoping to drive domestic investment in the women’s game across Europe.

December 18, 2024

Vermont men’s soccer wins its first national championship in epic comeback victory

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History made. Vermont men’s soccer defeated No. 13 Marshall 2–1 in overtime (OT) on Monday to claim its first national title in program history — and the school’s first championship in any team sport.

December 18, 2024

College

Marshall and Vermont, two unexpected teams, earn spots in the men’s college soccer championship game

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December 16, 2024

If you like an underdog, you’re gonna love this: No. 13 Marshall and unranked Vermont will play tonight for a National Title after both programs upset their way to the ‘ship. Marshall has one previous title, earned against Indiana in 2020, while Vermont is hoping to take home the trophy for the very first time.

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The GIST of It Podcast

Ep #427

Unrivaled’s superstars, the NFL Divisional Round, and previewing the CFP Championship

January 16, 2025

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Unrivaled’s superstars, the NFL Divisional Round, and previewing the CFP Championship

Go long!

On today’s three-part episode of The GIST of It, co-hosts Ellen Hyslop and Steph Rotz go long as they preview three major sporting events this weekend. First up, the gals continue their deep dive into new pro women’s basketball 3v3 league Unrivaled ahead of its inaugural tipoff on Friday, previewing the teams, players, and coaches that will make this league a thrilling watch.

Then in part two, El and Steph head to the gridiron to chat through the NFL Divisional Round taking place this weekend. This quarter-final round features eight teams and four marquee matchups, including an AFC showdown between the Buffalo Bills and Baltimore Ravens.

Finally, the gals wrap up with a preview of the College Football Playoff (CFP) National Championship game between No. 7 seed Notre Dame and No. 8 Ohio State. It’ll be the first title game in the 12-team CFP era, which paved the way for two low-seeded underdogs to advance all the way. May the best team win.