Kevin Clifford, MBA

#CUSPShow Drop 🎙️ Joe and Tom sit down with Fred Quartlebaum, Director of Basketball Operations at the The University of Kansas and a key figure behind the team's National Championship success. Coach Q is recognized not only for his leadership and culture-building expertise but also for being one of the fittest coaches in college sports. In this episode, Coach Q shares powerful insights on what it truly means to lead, the daily discipline of ‘showing up’, and how consistency shapes winners, on and off the court. 🎧 Listen here: 📎Substack: https://loom.ly/ZsUR8GE 📎Apple: https://loom.ly/Ic672iQ 📎Spotify: https://loom.ly/Jt-KC0I #SportsBusiness #TheCUSPShow

71

6 Comments

Former Chicago Bears front office executive Cliff Stein breaks down NIL, roster strategy, negotiation, and why college programs need smarter systems like Front Office 360 to manage athlete compensation. 🎙️ Full episode👉 https://lnkd.in/e3m_h8ak Search @RockDaisyAMS on 📺 YouTube 🎵 Spotify 🍏 Apple podcast #InsideTheNumbers #CollegeAthletics #NIL #FrontOffice360 #RockDaisyAMS

1

📰 ANNOUNCEMENT: Indiana University East Partners with Motion to Elevate Athletic Operations and NIL Opportunities RICHMOND, Indiana — Motion and Indiana University East are excited to announce a new partnership. IU East will be implementing both Motion Team and Motion Money across all of their athletic programs. With Motion Team, IU East coaches and student-athletes will have access to a modern, mobile-first platform that unifies scheduling, messaging, film distribution, nutrition, and mental health resources. This all-in-one system will streamline communication and organization, making it easier for coaches and players to stay connected and focused on performance. Motion Money adds another layer of innovation by providing an NIL-native solution for student-athletes to manage payments, compliance, and brand partnerships. Built with simplicity and transparency in mind, the platform ensures that athletes can fully participate in the NIL era while staying compliant with institutional and conference requirements. Joe Griffin, IU East Athletic Director, shared the importance of this step forward: “At IU East, we’re committed to giving our student-athletes the very best support on and off the field. Partnering with Motion allows us to not only simplify our day-to-day operations but also provide our student-athletes with the tools they need to succeed in the rapidly evolving NIL landscape.” Motion co-founder and CEO, Jay Townsend, echoed that excitement: “We built Motion to give programs like IU East an affordable, modern, and easy-to-use alternative to the bloated systems dominating the industry. By combining Motion Team and Motion Money, IU East is taking a forward-thinking approach to both operational efficiency and student-athlete empowerment.” This partnership highlights IU East’s commitment to innovation and Motion’s mission of helping athletic departments at every level provide first-class experiences for their coaches and student-athletes. 🔗 Article: https://lnkd.in/g-q3UYPB

33

1 Comment

📢 Exciting news for collegiate esports: The BIG EAST Conference is extending its partnership with PlayVS through the 2025–26 academic year! This collaboration ensures 17 structured, high-level esports competitions for schools like Butler, Creighton, DePaul, Marquette, Seton Hall, St. John’s, UConn, and Villanova. From Fall to Spring, students will compete in the PlayVS College League (PCL), with the season culminating in BIG EAST esports championships in Spring 2026. Read more: https://lnkd.in/gV5tYWsx

18

1 Comment

Will organizations specializing in one sport or offering multiple options become a major youth sports trend heading into 2026? Baseball companies Prep Baseball and Bullpen Tournaments are merging to form Capacity Sports Group and CEO Ken Kocher said in a release that CSG expects to eventually expand into other sports and "thoughtfully add complementary organizations." Kyle Scott Laskowski and Kyle Pagan discuss as money comes into the space and consolidation happens how it could shape the future of organizations, facilities, brands, and even cities.

5

1 Comment

Great insight from Max Ade. Having worked across the industry, I've seen firsthand how open ecosystems empower clubs by giving them the freedom to choose the best tools for their specific needs. It’s all about creating a better, more flexible experience for the facilities and players we serve.

4

Rock Entertainment Group, Bedrock Detroit, and Live Nation Entertainment are partnering on a new 6200-seat amphitheater on the banks of the Cuyahoga River next to the Cleveland Cavaliers' under-construction Performance Center and part of Bedrock's larger $3.5B development plan for the riverfront. Story: https://lnkd.in/e3Qcdbaw Additionally, here is the story I wrote last year about Live Nation's mixed-use music venue goals: https://lnkd.in/evQ-AWQx

165

3 Comments

This week's Northwestern University School of Professional Studies Revenue Above Replacement podcast guest is Keith Friedenberg. He is currently a partner at Continuity Partners where he is focused on helping drive intelligent transformation for generational leaders by leveraging data-driven solutions. Keith previously built the #sportsbiz analytics team at Endeavor and had leadership roles at Warner Bros. Discovery and The Walt Disney Company. We cover many topics in this conversation, including the evolving and growing impact of analytics on sports, media, entertainment, and #partnershipmarketing. He also provides great insights on how he builds and leads analytics teams.

13

The lines continue to blur. While the CME Group & FanDuel deal was announced in August, the details confirm my initial take: This a calculated move to redefine market boundaries. Here's the deal: A betting company, FanDuel, now offers financial market contracts like the S&P 500, the price of Oil, & Gold. Simultaneously, a financial behemoth, CME Group, is offering "Pro Basketball" & "Pro Football" event contracts with ticker symbols associated with each team. What we are witnessing is the financialisation of the sports betting world & the sportification of the financial world. This collision course has been inevitable, but the speed of adoption is breathtaking. 💰 The Double-Sided Play For CME Group: This is a democratisation gateway. They get a massive boost in retail user acquisition & distribution via FanDuel's colossal customer base. They are creating an accessible, low-cost (contracts from $0.01 to $0.99!) product for new audiences who might later graduate to their core, high-margin derivatives platform. It’s a $0.99 futures training program. For FanDuel: It's a way to unlock revenue in non-legalised sports betting states by cleverly classifying wagers as financial products. It's a massive new product offering that ties them to one of the biggest, most reputable trading platforms in the world. ⚖️ The Regulatory Arbitrage They call them "Pro Football" and "Pro Basketball" contracts, not NFL or NBA contracts. This is not a coincidence. It shows the incredible legal belief that CFTC regulation of event contracts will endure, and they don't want to poke the intellectual property bear by using the leagues' names. The $100 Billion Question: Does the CFTC have free reign to regulate the entire prediction market? Lawsuits are coming, but the size & weight of the companies now on the side of prediction markets is not just scrappy startups. It is companies that define Americana & capitalism: The New York Stock Exchange & the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. This is the core conflict to watch into 2026 & beyond. Will regulators in Europe, Asia or the Middle East wake up to this inevitable future & react? 🔮 Prediction Markets: The Future of Trading This move, for me, just confirms the power and scale potential for prediction markets. This isn't just about taking over sports; it's about taking over all trading. The future is a 24/7, 365 trading paradigm enabled by a modern technology stack. Why else did ICE (the parent company of the NYSE) invest $2 billion into Polymarket? It wasn't just for the platform; the bigger opportunity is in owning the trading stack of the future, built from the ground up in the 2020s, not reliant on legacy technology built over decades. My belief remains that the future lies in a more decentralised technology stack than Polymarket, which, at its core like Kalshi, still runs on the same fundamentally flawed technology: the Limit Order Book. #PredictionMarkets #CME #FanDuel #Polymarket #Kalshi

30

5 Comments

RCX Sports is quietly building one of the most scalable access models in youth sports. Inspired by Buying Sandlot The official youth sports operator for the major U.S. professional leagues has announced new partnerships with Michigan Parks, the Missouri State Alliance of YMCAs, and the Pennsylvania Recreation & Park Society. The goal is simple and powerful. Meet kids where they already are. By working directly with state-level recreation and community organizations, RCX expands access to league-affiliated programs like NFL FLAG, NHL Street, Jr. NBA, Jr. @WNBA, and MLS GO DFW without forcing families into expensive club pathways. What stands out is the infrastructure-first approach. This isn’t just about adding programs. It includes coach and staff training, education resources, and frameworks designed to create safe, inclusive, and engaging environments at scale. This model matters. When national leagues pair their brands with local delivery partners, participation grows, quality improves, and barriers to entry drop. It’s a reminder that the next phase of youth sports growth won’t come only from new platforms or facilities, but from smarter distribution and partnerships. #YouthSports #SportsDevelopment #CommunitySports #NFLFLAG #JrNBA #JrWNBA #MLSGO #AccessAndEquity #SportsBusiness #GrassrootsSports

137

12 Comments

Chicago Fire FC is excited to expand our partnership with the American Youth Soccer Organization - AYSO to bring coach licensing opportunities to AYSO volunteer coaches throughout Chicagoland and the Midwest. Coaches play a vital role in shaping the youth soccer experience and this initiative will increase access to local courses, to ensure AYSO volunteers are equipped with the education and resources they need to create a safe, fun, and positive environment for kids to develop and thrive. 🔗 https://lnkd.in/gQTauPTW

69

1 Comment

ESPN’s move to end its PENN partnership highlights how results guide strategy in today’s sports-betting landscape. Companies are acting quickly and using data to align with partners that provide stronger reach, reliability, and long-term value. #SMUSportsbiz #SportsBetting #BusinessStrategy #SportsMedia #ESPN #DraftKings https://lnkd.in/ghw-SkhV

9

1 Comment

#SportsBiz - How To Start Conversations With Fans When Working Games #RelationshipBuilding #Sales #Selling #Career Playfly Aspire Playfly Sports Chad Cardinal Dr. Bernie Mullin Tony Garrett Joe Kronander Michael Neis Brian Sherman Kyle Pappas-Adamson Danny Bieshaar Drew Dillon Dylan Petersen Wyatt Villarmia Louis Bernard Joe Spotanski

8

Scripps Sports is teaming up with Professional Bull Riders (PBR) to bring Premier Women’s Rodeo (PWR) to ION Television and Grit – the exclusive U.S. television home for PWR championship events. The action starts Sunday, May 17 at 1 p.m. ET with the 2026 PWR Championship from Fort Worth, Texas. “Premier Women’s Rodeo further strengthens our leading portfolio of women’s sports and fits in perfectly with the evolution of Grit into a more contemporary Western network,” said Keisha Taylor Starr, general manager of Scripps Networks and Scripps’ chief marketing officer. “Grit is where the spirit of adventure and Western values come alive, and the amazing athletes of PWR are modern trailblazers whose stories, in and out of the arena, will engage a new generation of fans.” Read more from Sports Illustrated: https://lnkd.in/eMScuAY9

7