Sports Business | The GIST

Tour de France sponsor Zwift illustrates how a brand can transform a sport

Last week, the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift confirmed its 2026 route, which will be the race’s longest course in its four-year history. And rather than beginning immediately after the men’s Tour de France, the women’s race will now begin one week later, with the push for a longer course and a separate schedule fueled by explosive interest in the women’s race.

October 27, 2025

Ally shares survey data on spending habits among sports fans across genders, generations

This week, prominent sports sponsor Ally released survey data on 3K Gen Z, millennial, Gen X, and Boomer sports fans to understand how and where sports fans spend their money. The study illustrates spending differences by generation and gender, including details on the spending profile of women sports fans.

October 24, 2025

Mikaela Shiffrin launches personal brand, podcast to capitalize on upcoming Winter Olympics and beyond

Yesterday, legendary Olympic alpine skier Mikaela Shiffrin announced her new personal brand and logo as she prepares to win over fans with her persona. And the timing couldn’t be better: The FIS Alpine Ski World Cup and Milano Cortina 2026 are just around the corner.

October 24, 2025

Athlos CMO Kayla Green discusses brand wins from Athlos NYC 2025

On Saturday, the aforementioned Ohanian’s Athlos held Athlos NYC, its second annual track tournament in the iconic culture capital. The event welcomed several key wins that helped build the case for sustainable growth ahead of its 2026 expansion, from viewership increases to creative partner activations.

October 15, 2025

New Balance announces nine NIL partnerships as brand shares strategy in signing Gen Z athletes early

Today, New Balance (NB) announced NIL deals for several women athletes, namely from developing spaces in basketball and soccer and emerging sports like softball. The sponsorships are a response to how high school and collegiate pipelines are building across all women’s sports — and so are the marketing opportunities.

October 15, 2025

USC Annenberg report illustrates how athlete media economy has ample room for women

Yesterday, USC Annenberg published a first-of-its-kind report on the athlete-owned media economy. It identifies movers and shakers in the space, but also notes the gap between men and women athletes — women were featured in only 22% of the athlete-owned podcasts analyzed.

October 10, 2025

New Snapchat data confirms the power and influence of women athletes on social media

Last week, Snapchat teamed up with marketing agency Dentsu and research firm Ipsos to publish insights on the consumption of women’s sports, especially among frequent Snapchat users. The app surveyed over 13K sports fans across seven countries, including India and Australia, and uncovered what daily Snapchat users had to say about women’s sports.

October 10, 2025

Sports Business

Rebel Girls announces new family-friendly sports program with Swerve Sports

October 08, 2025

Today, girls empowerment platform Rebel Girls (RG) announced a new partnership with Swerve Sports, a FAST channel dedicated to women’s sports that’s available in 80% of U.S. and Canadian households. Together, the partnership will create Rebel Girl Sports Hour, a first-of-its-kind kids and family program for women’s sports that will air under its Rebel Girls Sport vertical.

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The GIST of It Podcast

Ep #504

Being paid not to work: A college football story

October 30, 2025

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Being paid not to work: A college football story

Buyouts, buyouts, buyouts.

The NCAA football landscape looks a bit different than it did when the season kicked off in August, especially after three head coaches of AP Preseason Top 25 teams were fired for underperformance. But they aren’t walking away empty-handed: All three are owed tens of millions of dollars from their respective schools.

On today’s episode of The GIST of It, co-hosts Ellen Hyslop and Steph Rotz set the scene for the college football coaching carousel before examining the ripple effects of letting a good-but-not-great coach go. Hut hut, here they go.

A big thank you to BMO for sponsoring today’s pod! BMO has been committed to growing the beautiful game in North America for two decades. Today, BMO supports the NWSL’s Angel City FC and is the official bank of the Northern Super League. Learn more by visiting our Soccer Help Desk today.