Since we’re all easing into things off the holiday weekend, I thought it’d be a good chance to look back at what resonated from the first half of the year.
Appreciate you all reading these already. And if you missed them the first time, feel free to add them to your summer reading list.
Women’s sports sponsorships: Changing the game
In an unexpected plot twist, the most read story in 2026 is actually from last year. In October, I wrote about the way women’s teams were bringing in new brands to sports and getting longtime sports sponsors to activate in new ways.
From Sephora to Sequel, some of those newer brands to sports have only furthered their investment since then. It’s a trend that continues to evolve, and I’m sure we’ll cover more in the future, but the data and graphics in this one are well worth your time.
Overtime pioneering content deal with UConn women’s basketball during March Madness
Making a splash on social media is kind of Overtime’s thing, and this definitely resonated there. We broke the news of the media company launching a content studio with the UConn women as they started their postseason run.
As we’ve seen over and over again in women’s sports, storytelling is key, and having a deal with some of the most compelling women’s basketball players moved the needle for Overtime. It’s one the company aims to use again and others would be wise to copy.
Updated study finds persistent participation gap, lagging opportunities for female college athletes
A perfect example of both things can be true — the Overtime story shows new and expanding opportunities for women, and research from The Collective shows that progress for women in collegiate sports has largely stagnated.
The report updated the long-running Acosta-Carpenter research that measured women’s participation, finding that while reaching a record 242,000 NCAA athletes today, women’s opportunities lag behind both their share of undergraduate enrollment and men’s opportunities.
Despite making up 55% of the undergraduate population, they’re 43% of participants. And women’s sports sponsorship has plateaued since the 1990s, with just under nine teams per school.
Boxed Out: Media apps lack data on emerging women’s sports, leaving gaps for leagues, fans to fill
Like a lot of good stories, this one started with a problem and then I went spelunking for data. The PWHL’s game at Madison Square Garden was happening the weekend I was at the Final Four, and I realized how much was missing when I went to check apps for the game time.
That led to this story, which showed the most popular sports apps largely don’t include scores for emerging women’s sports leagues. And with major media companies not building the infrastructure for it, the leagues themselves and even their fans are stepping into the void.
(Want to also plug the Bet On Her app, which I didn’t have in the story but that is filling this gap, too.)
Driven by road crowds, sponsor muscle and its athletes, Unrivaled plans more tour stops for 2027
My SBJ colleague Joe Lemire took a look at what made Unrivaled successful in season two. Sponsors raving about the value and engagement is nothing new in women’s sports, especially for the start-up, 3-on-3 league.
But this is especially intriguing going forward as the success of stops in Philadelphia and then putting the semifinals in Brooklyn showed a compelling business strategy we’ll see more of in season three. While the league’s Miami arena centralizes operations and, by all accounts, is a raucous if cozy experience, the plan is to tour more.
Consider this my unofficial petition for a Raleigh stop.
