Sports Business | The GIST

Kim DeCarolis and Terése Whitehead explain the power of women athletes in NIL marketing

With March Madness finally here, we spoke with Terése Whitehead and Kim DeCarolis, who lead NIL and commercial strategy at Michigan and Georgia, respectively. Both are embedded on campus through their work with Altius Sports Partners, which launched in 2020 and has quickly become a leading strategic NIL advisor for college athletic departments.

March 24, 2026

Bank of America Institute shares new data insights on women’s sports fans

This week, the Bank of America Institute — the bank’s internal think tank that analyzes consumer behaviors and trends from customer data — shared insights into how customers are engaging around women’s sports. The data supports trends we’ve seen, with these new numbers further strengthening the business case for women’s sports. Let’s dive in.

March 19, 2026

Data from Nielsen, SponsorUnited highlight brand opportunity among women’s sports audiences

Last week, Nielsen shared impressive statistics illustrating the growth of women’s sports U.S. viewership in 2025 across many disciplines and audiences. SponsorUnited also shared its own YoY data on trends in women’s sports investment, spanning leagues and industries.

March 10, 2026

What men’s sports can learn from Heated Rivalry

ICYMI, the queer love story framed through a hockey rivalry has become a massive phenomenon averaging 10.6M U.S. viewers per episode, with millions of Canadian viewers returning to rewatch Shane Hollander and Ilya Rozanov’s love story. It’s HBO’s most-watched acquired series ever, and the book that inspired it is currently Canada’s top-selling novel.

March 07, 2026

Parity sheds light on the power of Paralympic athletes and fans in latest research

Yesterday, Parity followed up its recent report on the Olympics with one about fan interest in the Paralympics, which officially kick off tomorrow. Parity’s data illustrates how those who are fans of the Paralympics and women’s sports — spaces where equity is front and center — are excited about Para women athletes and are very aware of brands in the space.

March 05, 2026

StubHub creates dedicated platform for women’s sports tickets in response to surging demand

This week, StubHub launched HerSportsHub, the first dedicated place for reselling tickets to women’s sports events. The platform will include access to WNBA, NWSL, PWHL, and NCAA women’s basketball games, aligning with StubHub’s latest data-driven insights on how fandom is surging across these sectors.

March 05, 2026

Portland’s NWSL, WNBA teams launch local women’s sports channel as joint ownership unlocks powerful opportunities

Last week, the NWSL’s Portland Thorns and the WNBA’s Portland Fire announced that the organizations — both owned by the Bhathal family — will create a local women’s sports channel in Portland, OR, to showcase content from both teams on Fox 12 Plus. The Fire are also partnering with streaming platform Kiswe to create a dedicated team app.

March 03, 2026

Why Rebel Girls resonates with Gen Alpha sports fans

Sports Business

Why Rebel Girls resonates with Gen Alpha sports fans

February 28, 2026

In December 2024, girls empowerment brand Rebel Girls entered the sports chat for the first time, making a splash through partnerships with two emerging women’s sports leagues: LOVB and AUSL. Rebel Girls saw its audience of Gen Alpha girls organically respond to its sports-centric content, so the brand leaned in. Over a year later, Rebel Girls is going even deeper into the sports world. Rebel Girls announced four new sports-inspired series this week, while also naming 14-year-old Pepper Persley as its first-ever brand ambassador and Emma May-Bradley as chief content and marketing officer.

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The GIST of It Podcast

Ep #541

Did NIL ruin March Madness?

March 24, 2026

Listen on Apple Music Listen on Spotify

No glass slippers here.

For the second straight year, there aren’t any true Cinderella squads in the men’s March Madness Sweet 16, as every team remaining hails from an NCAA power conference. What gives? On today’s episode of The GIST of It, co-hosts Steph Rotz and Lauren Tuiskula explore the 2024 rule change that changed March Madness forever — and maybe not for the better.