Rachel Axon

2 weeks ago | sportsbusinessjournal.com | Rachel Axon

Athletes Unlimited has announced new locations and branding for its fifth season of volleyball. The Athletes Unlimited Pro Volleyball Championship is headed Omaha, Neb., and Madison, Wis., which are hotbeds for the sport, after playing the last two seasons in Mesa, Ariz. The five-week season runs Oct. 1-15 at the Liberty First Credit Union Arena in Omaha before turning to the Alliant Energy Center on Oct. 22 to Nov. 3.

2 weeks ago | sportsbusinessjournal.com | Rachel Axon

NBC Sports is again looking to celebrities to promote the Olympics and Paralympics, now with a 30-second spot featuring Ray Romano and Sebastian Maniscalco to debut during the Kentucky Derby on Saturday. The promo features the Italian actors and comedians atop the Italian Alps contemplating events in the Milan Cortina Games as they get interrupted by thoughts of Italian food.

2 weeks ago | sportsbusinessjournal.com | Rachel Axon

Nike and Rebel Girls have partnered to launch a content series aimed at Gen Alpha girls featuring top female athletes. With the goal of inspiring girls to be confident through sports, the series launches with a new original book on three-time WNBA MVP A’ja Wilson. Research shows girls are twice as likely as boys to drop out of sports by the age of 14, with low body confidence as the top reason.

2 weeks ago | sportsbusinessjournal.com | Rachel Axon

Matt Farrell hadn’t been looking for a new role, content with running his own business when Elevate Talent called two months ago. But the veteran of the Olympic movement knew a good opportunity when he saw one. Farrell will take over as CEO of U.S. Figure Skating, giving one of the larger national governing bodies in the Winter Games a new leader with nine months to go until the Milan Cortina Olympics. “A marquee sport in the Olympic world,” Farrell said of his figure skating.

3 weeks ago | sportsbusinessjournal.com | Rachel Axon

Economic challenges and changes to the sports landscape led the discussion to kick off the CAA World Congress of Sports in Nashville on Tuesday. The diverse panel from across the industry looked at what tariffs, a potential recession, the House settlement and changes to college sports mean for sports business. “We’ve got a front-row seat to the consumer,” said Jamie Obletz, group president, Delaware North Sportservice and Patina Restaurant Group. “No question, things have slowed.