Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation’s Post

⭐️Elevating Women's Sports⭐️ 🏈 Introducing Connecticut's First High School Flag Football League: In a groundbreaking move, we've set up the state's first-ever league where high school girls can compete in flag football. This is more than just a game; it's a celebration of talent, determination, and dreams coming true. The league is an NFL Flag League. Thanks to the incredible leadership at RCX dreams are coming true! 🌍 Nationwide Impact: Recognizing the power of opportunity, we've brought in college coaches from across the country to Connecticut. Our aim? To open doors to scholarships and higher education for these aspiring athletes. It's about building futures, on and off the field. 💪 Let's Kick Glass: 32 sports is on a mission to create a world where girls and women see no limits to what they can achieve. This is more than a comeback; it's a revolution in women's sports .

The impact!! I originally created this map to see which states students who engage with The Sports Connect are located in and noticed that other countries were also being represented. When I first started this page the goal was to connect with HBCU students, but this has grown bigger and better than I imagined. Check out the photo below to see the states and other countries that have students engaging with The Sports Connect ☺️ Top 5 Cities: New York City, Atlanta, Chicago, Washington, and Los Angeles.

Lots of possibilties in this incredibly powerful ecosystem. We at Elevate are big believers in the combination of data science and storytelling to unlock maximum value.

The dramatic financial shifts in college athletics, largely driven by lucrative television rights deals and conference realignment, have significantly altered the landscape of collegiate sports governance. This article provides an in-depth analysis of the complex interactions between major media companies, such as ESPN and CBS, and the NCAA, examining how multi-billion dollar contracts and conference realignments have reshaped control and decision-making processes within college sports. Through a detailed exploration of the financial stakes, the impact on governance, and the strategic maneuvers of conferences, this study aims to uncover the true balance of power in contemporary collegiate athletics.

As private capital investment firms assess the potential opportunities related to the new financial realities surrounding college athletics, it is critical that they understand the risks and sensitivities inherent in investing in these programs. This new proprietary data from Brunswick Group offers fresh insights into how college sports fans perceive these changing dynamics and identifies specific areas where opposition may arise. Our research also shows that clear messaging based on an informed understanding of stakeholders' perceptions can help build support for this necessary evolution of college athletics.

College sports season always sparks lively debate, and this year, a new topic is heating up the conversation: the potential impact of private equity and private credit in college sports. Rather than rely on assumptions about how fans are reacting to the concept, we conducted a study to understand their views. The results reveal that fans are ultimately supportive of the idea and excited about the potential benefits for athletes and athletic programs. However, there are significant concerns, particularly about preserving the educational mission of colleges, maintaining the fan viewing experience, and preventing a wider gap between powerhouse programs and smaller colleges. Winning over loyal fans will require clear communication about how a deal will benefit the whole school and community - not just the players, programs and investors. Read more about Brunswick's new research here: https://lnkd.in/eQ6ia_xj

https://lnkd.in/gRQBKJkm I actually saw proposed renovated pictures of the Dean Smith Center five or six years ago, but those renovations never happened..The Dean Smith Center opened up in 1986 and is one the of the biggest college basketball arenas for seating capacity with a little over 20,000..North Carolina has also been successful since 1986 with trips to the Final Four in 92, 93, 97, 98, 2000, 2005, 2008, 2009, 2016, 2017, and 2022 and national championships won in 2005, 2009, and 2017..Despite it's massive seating bowl, the problem is the Dean Smith Center is outdated compared to other college basketball arenas..It doesn't have luxury suites or as big of concourse space as other arenas..Dayton, Purdue, Indiana, Clemson, Maryland, Indiana State, Nebraska, Missouri, and Florida renovated or built new college basketball arenas at some point in the 21st century..UNC is looking at possible renovations or building a new basketball arena..#facilitymanagement #eventmanagement #hospitality #fundraising #marketing #sportbusiness 💠 🏀 🗑 🏟 🆚 💺 🚧

Significant Changes in College Sports Governance The NCAA aggressively pursues a new governance structure that could dramatically alter the college sports landscape. Under this proposal, the Power Four conferences—Big Ten, SEC, ACC, and Big 12—would form their own governing body, leading to a significant shift in power. This move is one of the most substantial changes since the Power Five conferences gained legislative leverage following the 2014 NCAA Convention. The new structure addresses the frustrations of these power conferences, who feel their current influence is insufficient. This proposal could form two subdivisions within FBS, echoing the historic 1978 split. #NCAA #CollegeSports #GovernanceChange

This college football team just demolished their stadium without a plan for where they’re going to play their next game. But one idea could end up giving them the coolest stadium in all of sports. ⬇️ In February, Northwestern demolished the 100-year-old Ryan Field to make space for their new, $800 million stadium that is set to be complete by the start of the 2026 season. However, when the school started demolition they still had no place for their football team to play starting this year. They considered playing at: ∙ SeatGeek Stadium (NWSL) ∙ Soldier Field (NFL) ∙ Wrigley Field (MLB) The only issue is that each of those stadiums already has several tenants that get first dibs, so there’s no guarantee that the Wildcats would even have a place to play every home game for the next two years. That was until the university proposed playing their home games at Martin Stadium, where the school’s men’s and women’s soccer teams and women’s lacrosse team currently play. ∙ Directly next to the team's practice field ∙ ~100 feet off Lake Michigan Now, upon first glance, this plan seems ridiculous… I mean, the stadium only holds about 3,000 fans yet somehow expects to host schools like Utah, Wisconsin, and Ohio State for football games? Well, the university realized this and submitted an application to the city to determine whether or not they could modify Martin Stadium and increase its capacity for up to 15,000 spectators for the next two years while Ryan Field gets rebuilt. ∙ Golf-like, temporary grandstand around the existing field ∙ Hold a similar amount of people as the 16th hole at the WM Open The university argues that this plan is a great way to keep games on-campus and tax revenues in the city of Evanston, however, it’s unclear if the city will approve this out-of-the-box solution. But if they do, Northwestern might have an argument for one of the coolest venues in sports… at least for the next few years. #linkedinsports #sportsbusiness #collegefootball

Certainly one of our "biggest" local and state discussions over the next year for Chicago sports fans, planners, and economic development practitioners, here's an edited conversation between Joe Engleman at The Reader and historian Sean Dinces on how the current Sox stadium and United Center developments impacted local development and economics. There are many hidden costs beyond potential public incentives... there are also hidden and intangible benefits. The Sox need to stay in Chicago, and if they do move to the 78, time to roll out significant community benefits agreements for Chicagoans and negotiate a suitable replacement tenant for the existing stadium. https://lnkd.in/gnS38FUh