Morning Buzz

UCLA’s drubbing of South Carolina still drew the third-best audience on record for an NCAA Women’s Basketball Championship, showing the halo effect still around the sport two years after Caitlin Clark last played college ball.

ABC and ESPN combined to draw 9.88 million viewers on Sunday in the 3:30pm ET window, up 15% from last year’s UConn-South Carolina title game. This year of course had the benefit of being the first title game with full out-of-home measurement and Big Data from Nielsen. UCLA-South Carolina is behind only the two championships featuring Clark (18.87 million in 2024 for South Carolina-Iowa and 9.91 million for LSU-Iowa in 2023). Prior to 2023, the NCAA Women’s Basketball Championship drew over 5 million viewers just once.

ESPN switched up its title game alt-cast this year, going with more “Courtside” and a new cast vs. an alt-cast featuring Diana Taurasi and Sue Bird in previous years. “Courtside” at the title game in 2026 drew 771,000 viewers on ESPN, up from 703,000 for the “Bird & Taurasi Show” in 2025. In 2024, that alt-cast was 1.4 million.

ESPN also drew its second-best semifinal round since acquiring NCAA Women’s Tournament rights in 1996, with an average of 5.2 million viewers across ESPN/ESPN2. South Carolina’s win over UConn led the way with 5.2 million viewers on Friday night in the early window, which marks the fourth-best Women’s Final Four game yet for ESPN. UCLA-Texas in the late window drew 5 million, which is the fifth-best audience. Both games had a “Courtside” simulcast on ESPN2.

The Dallas Wings are naming the nation’s largest pharmacy chain CVS as their marquee jersey patch sponsor, in what CEO and Managing Partner Greg Bibb calls the largest average annual value deal in franchise history. As part of the undisclosed multiyear arrangement, the CVS logo will be displayed on the College Park Center court and the company will be presenting partner of the Junior Wings youth basketball platform. “More importantly,” Bibb said, “this relationship is going to allow us to go out and expand our reach in terms of the community through camps and clinics … and making sure we’re getting basketballs into the hands of as many youth as possible.”

SBJ's Jersey and Helmet Sponsor Directory

Explore the landscape of uniform sponsorships across major U.S. sports leagues with SBJ’s comprehensive jersey and helmet sponsorship directory.

The Wings handled the negotiations in-house, brokered by Bibb and the team’s head of corporate partnerships Jason Bitsoff. Bibb said the franchise originally connected with CVS through an existing relationship from its investment group. Once a tentative agreement was reached, CVS brought in Octagon to finalize the sponsorship. “One of the things that is great about CVS is their reach,” Bibb said. “There are approximately 9,000 retail pharmacy locations in the United States. I think 70% of the U.S. population lives within three miles of a CVS retail pharmacy and 85% of the population lives within 10 miles of a CVS pharmacy.”

After drafting UConn’s Paige Bueckers No. 1 overall last season -- and pairing her with Arike Ogunbowale -- the Wings’ business metrics have been what Bibb described as “all green arrows up.” He said the franchise last season increased its total ticket revenue by 154% and its average ticket price by 79%. On the viewership side, the franchise averaged 1.2 million viewers per national broadcast last year, up 41% from their national viewership the season prior. Its local TV deal with Tegna reached 6.3 million homes across Texas, and its average local audience increased 411%. The Wings also played their first games at American Airlines Center, selling both out, and will play three more there in 2026.

CVS branding will be stitched into the marquee abdomen area of the jersey. Fintech company Albert, meanwhile, remains the Wings’ jersey badge sponsor, with its logo in the left chest area.

The Aces have secured an abdomen jersey patch sponsorship with subscription beauty service IPSY, with a multiyear deal that will incorporate glam-themed activations and giveaways at Michelob Ultra Arena. In addition to the jersey patch, IPSY branding will be featured throughout the venue. The company will host community group nights at home games, partake in a community corner partnership through Aces4Change and present youth basketball camps/clinics in collaboration with the Aces Care platform.

SBJ's Jersey and Helmet Sponsor Directory

Explore the landscape of uniform sponsorships across major U.S. sports leagues with SBJ’s comprehensive jersey and helmet sponsorship directory.

Klutch Sports identified IPSY and facilitated the deal.

“I think when you look at the audience of IPSY and the audience of the Aces, you’ve got folks who are culturally connected,” Aces President Nikki Fargas said. “This is a younger audience. I think when you look at what we’re able to do...in-arena experience, digital and social, this partnership allows us to bring all of these communities together.”

Ally Financial will continue as the team’s jersey badge partner -- with branding on the left shoulder area.

The PWHL’s Takeover Tour held its “16th and final installment of the season” at Edmonton’s Rogers Place Tuesday night, as the Vancouver Goldeneyes took on the Boston Fleet in front of an announced crowd of 10,794. The neutral-site regular-season stops were not “only about bringing the PWHL to the people outside of the league’s eight current markets,” but “testing the proverbial waters for expansion,” with as many as four teams being added as early as next season. This was the third time in two seasons worth of Takeover Tour that Rogers Place was targeted -- a possible sign of “how serious the league is about expanding to Edmonton” (EDMONTON JOURNAL, 4/7).

No other Canadian city has hosted as many Takeover Tour games as Edmonton. The first game last season drew 17,518 fans to Rogers Place, while attendance for the second was 10,264. This season’s 16 Takeover Tour games “were to build audience and test markets.” Halifax, with two games, Calgary, Winnipeg, Quebec City and Hamilton also hosted Takeover Tour games this season (TORONTO STAR, 4/7).

AT&T is in for what Fanatics is calling its most wide-ranging sponsorship yet, a deal making the venerable telecom brand Fanatics’ “Official Connectivity Provider.”

Under the five-year pact, AT&T becomes a lead sponsor at the Fanatics Fan Fest this July in N.Y. Other sponsors there will include Dick’s Sporting Goods, Raising Cane’s, and UPS. AT&T customers will also receive enhanced status within Fanatics’ frequency/loyalty program. Meanwhile, AT&T will get ad units across Fanatics platforms.

Fanatics and AT&T will also co-host watch parties during unspecified “premier sporting events.” The two companies also said that under the deal, they “will explore opportunities across retail integration, co-branded offerings, and enterprise collaboration.”

Fanatics is set to gain “future exclusive licensing rights to produce trading cards and sticker books” for the men’s and women’s national soccer teams for England, Brazil, Germany and Italy, according to sources cited by THE ATHLETIC. Sources said Topps -- which is owned by Fanatics -- “will acquire the Brazil license starting in 2027, the England and Germany licenses in 2031 and the Italy license in 2035.” Panini currently holds licenses for those four federations. These licenses “give Fanatics/Topps the rights to use the intellectual property of the respective soccer federations -- their names, logos, crests that appear on uniforms and uniform designs -- on trading cards and stickers.” The licenses “will not include rights for former players to appear in sets” (THE ATHLETIC, 4/8).

The city of Miami said that as of Tuesday it is “still working diligently to issue” a temporary certificate of occupancy ahead of Inter Miami’s second home game at Nu Stadium on Saturday. In last week’s “mad dash” to open Inter Miami’s new stadium for the home opener last Saturday, the city “issued a special permit so the inaugural match could proceed as planned -- albeit with fire inspectors and fire engines on standby.” Email records show the corporate counsel for Inter Miami emailed the city shortly after 11pm ET on Friday -- “less than 24 hours before kickoff -- with a letter of intent and an emergency operations plan as part of an official request for the limited event permit.” The limited event permit was issued in lieu of a TCO, which “grants permission to occupy a building before a final occupancy certificate is issued.” It is “not clear what exactly is holding up the temporary certificate of occupancy.” City spokesperson Helena Poleo said, “There is still pending work to be completed. Once that work is completed and TCO inspections are completed, then the TCO will be issued” (MIAMI HERALD, 4/7).

MLS has tapped research and insights firm Vision Insights for a multiyear collaboration that will see Vision Insights assist the league in providing brand exposure analysis to MLS’s roster of blue chip sponsors. Starting with the 2026 season, MLS will leverage Decoder Media, a proprietary platform developed by Vision Insights, to deploy an advanced machine-learning logo detection technology and a valuation methodology built to reflect the fair market value that sponsorship activation can drive. Vision Insights will also provide MLS and Soccer United Marketing with an enhanced visibility index that will enable the league to effectively counsel brand partners on how to optimize logo positioning and design (MLS).

LIV Golf’s Bryson DeChambeau and a group of investors have acquired smartphone biomechanics app Sportsbox AI in an eight-figure deal. Sportsbox AI requires only a single view to collect 3D motion capture data of a golfer’s swing. DeChambeau credited the technology with helping refine his swing during his 2024 US Open win and later invested in the company.

“Pushing the boundaries of data and technology has always been a huge part of how I approach the game, but this goes beyond performance,” DeChambeau said. “This is about making golf more accessible, especially premium coaching.

His investment group has acquired the entirety of Sportsbox, whose entire company will remain in place. Sportsbox was co-founded by engineer Samuel Menaker and former LPGA Tour player Jeehae Lee, who later became a business manager for Michelle Wie West and then a TopGolf executive. Renowned motion capture expert Phil Cheetham joined as chief science officer; David Leadbetter, Sean Foley, Mike Adams and DeChambeau’s coach, Dana Dahlquist, have all advised or promoted the product.

Lee said DeChambeau’s business consultant, Cabell Rosanelli, said the golfer had been working wanting “to create more of an impactful platform beyond just working with sponsors or investing here and there. He really wants to put his finger on the scale and be able to grow businesses together instead of just weighing in here or there or being an ambassador.”

Read More >>>

AUGUSTA, Ga. -- SoFi is adding its second PGA Tour ambassador ahead of the Masters this week, with Justin Thomas agreeing to a sponsorship that will see him wear the brand on his right sleeve. Thomas is the second tour ambassador for SoFi, as it also signed Wyndham Clark to a deal two years ago around Masters week. Thomas and Clark both compete in TGL, which SoFi has rights as presenting sponsor. Additionally, SoFi recently signed LPGA player Charley Hull, who has committed to the WTGL, as its first female golf ambassador.

Thomas’s introduction to SoFi came in 2023, when he and CEO Anthony Noto played in and won the pro-am at the Arnold Palmer Invitational.

“Justin is a major winner [and] he’s going to be at the top of leaderboards,” Noto told SBJ this week. “We want to be where our members are and future members are. They need a relationship bank to help them do more.”

Thomas has been an apparel free agent this year after his deal with Greyson Clothiers expired, saying at the Players Championship: “I’m just kind of enjoying what I’m most comfortable in and whatever it is at that specific time.” Thomas hasn’t had a sponsor on his right sleeve since last summer. Wear SPF was on that spot through the Memorial Tournament last May.

Read More >>>

Genie Bouchard, the former WTA star turned pro pickleball player, has signed a sponsorship with Cleveland-based IT firm Park Place Technologies. Terms were not disclosed. Assets in the deal include Park Place logo placements on the front of Bouchard’s kit and paddle bag, and Bouchard’s participation in promotional content, including a commercial the sides shot last week. Bouchard is repped by GSE Worldwide’s Chris McCormack; Park Place negotiated without agency involvement.

For Bouchard, Park Place joins a list of personal sponsors including New Balance (apparel), Proton (paddle), Rogers, Fanatics, Mejuri and Clos du Bois. The deal also continues a push by Park Place into pickleball, where it is a technology sponsor of the PPA Tour and its sister team-based league, Major League Pickleball.

“The number one thing is just how invested they are in pickleball,” Bouchard said of the appeal of the deal. “I appreciate a partner or a brand that is bought into something that I’ve obviously bought into.”

Bouchard, the PPA Tour’s ninth-ranked women’s singles player as of this writing, will make her first public appearance after signing the Park Place deal at Pickleball Slam 4 on April 15. That is the pickleball showcase set to be put on by Horizon Sports & Experiences and the events production division of GSE Worldwide at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Fla. The lineup also features Andre Agassi, James Blake and Anna Leigh Waters.

LAFC is looking for an Analyst/Business and Data Strategy. The L.A.-based position is responsible for executing projects that impact the business operations of Los Angeles Football Club, BMO Stadium and external consultancy engagements (LAFC).

ESPN is looking for a VP/ESPN News. The Bristol-based position is responsible for setting and executing editorial strategy for news coverage across all platforms making well‑reasoned decisions during breaking news situations, ensuring clarity and accuracy in real time (ESPN).

Elevate is looking for a Dir/International Insights. The London-based position is responsible for leading client engagements end-to-end, defining scope and objectives, mobilizing project teams, structuring deliverables and directing on-time, high-quality delivery of all work products (Elevate).

The Chargers are looking for a Manager/Member Services. The El Segundo-based position is responsible for overseeing membership experience, engagement, sales and retention initiatives, while building the departmental infrastructure needed to support scalable growth (Chargers).

Read More >>>

“A piece of mountaineering equipment at the International Spy Museum in D.C. was used to kill this man in 1940.”