Gen Z is taking over. Slay.
From The GIST Sports Biz (hi@thegistsports.com)

It’s March Madness!
While the women’s college basketball tournament still boasts plenty of stars, viewership is down 22% YoY without Caitlin Clark. Tournament ratings could fall even more without her successor, USC standout JuJu Watkins, who unfortunately suffered a season-ending ACL injury during the Trojans' win on Monday.
AUSL
🥎 Coming to a ballpark near you

The GIST: Yesterday, the Athletes Unlimited Softball League (AUSL) officially debuted its "This is Legendary" campaign ad, which the league describes as the largest marketing initiative for pro softball in the U.S. The star-studded spot will air across ESPN networks to promote the new league, which tips off June 7th.
- This investment in advertising illustrates how emerging sports are rapidly overcoming barriers to growth by reaching potential audiences, especially young Gen Alpha fans and their parents. Grand slam.
The campaign: AUSL partnered with Chicago-based Dame Creative for an ad featuring eight of the league’s most popular players, including Maya Brady (yes, Tom Brady’s niece) and Odicci Alexander. The spot will play through spring and summer across ESPN networks and national digital media.
- AUSL is also launching an IRL campaign across select markets where athletes will attend local sporting events to drum up affinity and awareness for the league. The tour starts in softball capitals Tuscaloosa and Omaha and is presented by league partner U.S. Air Force.
The network: ESPN has recently become a softball haven through two extensive media rights deals. Last January, the network inked an eight-year extension to air 40 NCAA championship tournaments, including the Women’s College World Series (WCWS). A month later, ESPN signed a multiyear media rights agreement with AU to broadcast its softball competitions.
- When AU announced AUSL (a city and team-based league) last June, ESPN signed on as a founding broadcast partner. ESPN will exclusively carry 33 games, with 30 of them airing on linear television.
The opportunity: ESPN has been cashing in on softball’s rising viewership. In 2024, the network enjoyed its most-watched NCAA regular season since 2015 and the most-viewed WCWS Finals ever with 2M viewers. The Finals, which saw a 24% YoY viewership boost, also saw its female viewership rise to 44% (up from 40% in 2023).
- AU, for its part, enjoyed a 38% YoY viewership boost for its Pro Softball Championship on ESPNU, a platform that has a built-in softball audience thanks to its NCAA broadcasts.
Zooming out: As Pixar’s Win Or Lose original series illustrates, softball is becoming an increasingly popular sport among younger generations. Viewership among women and young men has been on the rise, the latter of which helped to propel the WCWS to its record-breaking numbers in recent years.
- The interesting thing about engaging younger Gen Alpha audiences is that brands are also reaching Gen Alpha’s engaged Millennial (and Gen Z) parents, who listen to the shopping and viewership requests of these “little adults.” Consider softball to play ball.
Together With Margo Paige
👜 Say goodbye to the bag check blues

Strict venue rules mean clear bags are in — but that doesn’t mean you have to sacrifice style to be compliant. Whatever your gameday look, Margo Paige combines the practicality of transparency with high-fashion details. That’s right, clear proof that functionality can be cute.
✨ Love a fringe? This boho chic crossbody is the perfect accessory.
🎨 A pop of color elevates every 'fit, meaning this semi-circle crossbody is a go-to.
🖤 Banking on a bag as bold as you are? Check out this edgy cut-out crossbody.
The best part? Margo Paige bags are as sustainable as they are trendy, so you can feel good about every part of your purchase. Snag 15% off your first order, and enjoy a hassle-free game day.
💸 New Bank of America report illustrates Gen Z’s historic spending power
According to Bank of America’s Monday report, Gen Z is set to become the largest and richest generation by 2035 with a projected $36T income globally, which is set to double by 2040. What’s great for banks (and brands) is that Gen Z loves spending green, both on necessary and discretionary items.
- Previous data also illustrates this generation’s engagement with entertainment, social media, merch, and live events, all of which provide ample opportunity for sports marketers. Slay.
📈 Unrivaled spotlight amplifies personal brands of WNBA players on eBay
According to the resale platform, the 3v3 women’s basketball league’s inaugural 1v1 tournament specifically drove interest in player-branded merch. Searches for Napheesa Collier’s items rose nearly 150% after she won the tournament compared to the week prior, while searches for runner-up Aaliyah Edwards jumped 290% within a week of her deep tourney run.
🎟️ StubHub finally goes public as IPO expects boon ahead of FIFA 2026
After delaying its market debut last summer, ticket resale platform StubHub — which supports the WNBA, USWNT, and NCAA basketball’s Final Four — officially filed for an initial public offering (IPO) this week after a record year for the books. Last year, StubHub earned $1.77B in revenue, a 29% YoY boost from its $1.37B earnings in 2023.
- That comes from the more than 40M tickets sold on the platform in 2024, which positions the IPO as one to watch ahead of the 2026 men’s FIFA World Cup.
✨ Caitlin Clark will be featured by legendary host David Letterman on his Netflix show, “My Next Guest Needs No Introduction.” Well said.
📺 Numbers for Unrivaled’s inaugural season came in this week as the league averaged an impressive 221K viewers across linear broadcasts and reached 11.9M total viewers.
💼 Agency giant Endeavor went private this week following a $25B takeover deal with global private equity firm Silver Lake Partners.
🐂 Women CEOs are fighting back against C-suite broligarchy by founding companies that consider women, such as ones that offer flexible parental policies and maintain DEI practices. Grab that bull.
👀 UConn senior Azzi Fudd confirmed she’ll remain with the Huskies for her senior year instead of entering the 2025 WNBA Draft, thus extending her NIL deals with Chipotle, BioSteel, Steph Curry’s SC30 Inc. brand, and Bose, among others.
🏐 Knighthead Capital Management — owners of Birmingham City Football Club and minority shareholders in cricket’s Birmingham Phoenix — landed a significant ownership stake in local Netball Super League team, the Birmingham Panthers. Nothing but net(ball).
Together With Intuit QuickBooks

⛅ The worst part of a dreary day? Spending hours on the administrative tasks that are keeping you from your actual job. Intuit QuickBooks understands — that’s why The GIST’s co-founders Ellen and Jacie use its intuitive, all-in-one financial platform so they can spend their time leveling the playing field.
- QuickBooks takes all the guesswork out of managing your business and partners with small businesses everywhere to power their growth. Click here to learn one unexpected way QuickBooks is helping Ellen and Jacie work smarter, not harder.
Peep our squad ’s MVPs (Most Valuable Picks):
⛳ What to watch
"Happy Gilmore 2." The long-awaited golf comedy sequel tees off on Netflix this summer. Fore!
💪 What to read
This op-ed about how women’s sports can transform society. Track and field athletes Scout Bassett and Gabby Thomas weigh in on why investing in young athletes isn’t just about sports, it’s about shaping the future.
🎧 What to listen to
House of Maher. Olympic rugby star Ilona Maher is launching a podcast with her sisters — expect chaos, laughs, and unfiltered fun.
Today's email was brought to you by Aryanna Prasad and Briana Ekanem. Fact checking by Bonnie Lee. Editing by Dee Lab. Operations by Elisha Gunaratnam and Marga Sison. Ads by Katie Kehoe Foster, Alessandra Puccio, and Lisa Minutillo. Managing edits by Ellen Hyslop. Head of content Ellen Hyslop.