This is the way
From The GIST Sports Biz (hi@thegistsports.com)
Hey hey!
It’s been a sweltering summer for the Savannah Bananas, the exhibition baseball team that knows how to put on a show. After selling out Fenway Park and Busch Stadium, the Bananas recently signed U.S. women’s national baseball team pitcher Kelsie Whitmore through September.
- While Whitmore isn’t the first woman to bat for the Bananas, the trendy team is putting her and her teammates on the map before huge crowds — a positive sign as the Women’s Professional Baseball League, the first pro women’s baseball league in over 70 years, holds tryouts later this month. An all-time high.
Volleyball
🏐 Way to rally
The GIST: According to reports, the Pro Volleyball Federation (PVF) is merging with Major League Volleyball (MLV), a separate professional women’s volleyball league that planned to launch in 2026. Through the merger, the combined leagues will rebrand as MLV, but will consider its forthcoming season as PVF’s third consecutive season.
- While the volleyball space has become crowded and the idea of a merger was floated around before MLV was even announced, AU and LOVB’s existing leagues operate differently and aren’t in direct competition the way PVF and MLV were on track to be. Seeing double.
The context: This January, MLV announced a 2026 launch after securing more than $100M in funding. The Omaha Supernovas — the popular PVF team that drew a third (!!!) of the league’s attendance last season — were slated to leave PVF to become a founding MLV franchise, along with at least nine other new teams.
- Though it makes sense that investors want to capitalize on volleyball’s surging popularity, these leagues are still start-ups and can be especially fragile in crowded markets. Having the PVF’s most popular team jump ship to MLV and its new crop of investors with over $100M in funding also could have made PVF backers wary.
- Even with MLV looming, the PVF saw impressive returns through its first two seasons. The league notched over 80M social impressions, saw nearly 1M engagements, and added over 250K social followers. Since its 2024 launch, overall attendance has topped 750K with 45 national broadcasts, including an All-Star Match on CBS that peaked at 445K.
The details: The new-look league — which is now valued at over $325M — is anticipated to start with eight confirmed teams in January 2026 and is kicking off free agency tomorrow. While the Vegas Thrill are sitting out this season, all other existing PVF teams will remain, along with a new Dallas club and two previously announced MLV franchises in California and D.C. that will join in 2027.
Lingering thoughts: A merger between these leagues seems to be a shrewd play, similar to what we’ve seen in women’s hockey and pickleball. Combining start-up leagues eliminates competition that could have threatened both entities, especially with these direct competitors vying for the same players, fans, and investors.
- While everyone is jousting for an opportunity, those in the space seem to be mindful of what’s best for the growth of the game. For MLV and the PVF, pooling resources seems to be the financially strongest move, one that signals to potential partners that this is the way.
🚲 2025 Tour de France Femmes enjoys record viewership after 2022 revamp
The numbers are in for the world-famous cycling tour, which wrapped up last Sunday. The nine-day competition drew an event record 25.7M viewers across public service broadcaster France Télévisions, up from 18.3M last year. The final stage notched a 4.4M television audience and a 1.1M digital audience, which is 6x higher YoY.
- And although the event is attracting the biggest audience for the sport, it’s still difficult to watch the entire race in many countries. A wheel shame.
📈 New Hudl data highlights women’s sports growth at the high school level
The sports analytics video platform used by 99% of U.S. high schools shared data chronicling the growing interest in women’s sports at the pre-college level. Per Hudl, there’s been 8,083% growth in livestreamed women’s events in the past eight years, while 51% of Hudl’s livestreams (over 520K games annually) captured women’s sports.
- Additionally, 26% of streams on Hudl were of women’s volleyball, handedly beating out high school football (10%).
⛳ AIG Women’s Open draws Wales’ biggest women’s sports crowd
Over 47K fans attended the dual LPGA and LET major, which was held in Wales for the first time this year. Its Welsh arrival made it the largest women’s sporting event ever in the country, more than doubling the 21.1K record set at a women’s rugby match in March.
- Those who couldn’t attend IRL still showed up for the tourney. It enjoyed record domestic viewership and skyrocketing digital growth, including a 144% YoY boost in YouTube views, a 93% YoY jump in hours watched online, and a 133% YoY increase in engagements. Par for the course.
🏐 LOVB Omaha is rebranding as LOVB Nebraska amid structural changes, including founding athlete Jordan Larson joining its ownership group and legendary coach Kirsten Berenthal Booth becoming business operations president.
💅 Fanatics collaborated with Glamnetic to launch the first licensed press-on nails for 49 teams across the NFL, MLB, and NCAA. Sharp.
⚽ E.l.f. Cosmetics signed four NWSL athletes to its roster following its multiyear sponsorship as the soccer league’s first official makeup and skincare partner.
🏀 The committees for NCAA Division I women’s and men’s basketball voted against expanding March Madness beyond 68 teams in 2026.
🏈 Youth football program Pop Warner secured a deal with NFL Flag that allows girls and boys to participate in new divisions that will culminate in a national championship.
🎾 The Tennis Channel and the International Tennis Federation extended their partnership with the Billie Jean King Cup by Gainbridge and the Davis Cup to continue exclusive coverage through 2027 and 2028, respectively.
🏆 Las Vegas Aces star A’ja Wilson will be inducted into the South Carolina Athletics Hall of Fame in October thanks to her impact in the WNBA and at her alma mater. A’mazing.
Peep our squad’s MVPs (Most Valuable Picks):
💰 What to read
This piece in The Atlantic. Jemele Hill breaks down how the WNBA’s record growth is bumping up against outdated pay structures.
📊 What to check out
These findings from Ogilvy digging into how brands can keep up with a new generation of sports fans and why simply slapping on a logo won't cut it anymore.
🏀 Who to know
Seattle Storm head coach Noelle Quinn. This profile on her calm and steady leadership is a must read.
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