The call is coming from inside the newsletter
Welcome to The Call Up, The GIST’s new platform giving you the resources, connections, and opportunities to break into sports, grow your career, and shape what’s next for the industry.
If you’re reading this, it means you’re already subscribed to our revamped twice-weekly newsletter. Great job. This Tuesday edition will still feature relevant sports business happenings, upcoming conferences, job openings, industry career moves, and an early preview of our brand-new podcast, How I Got the Call Up.
- Hosted by The GIST founders Ellen Hyslop and Jacie DeHoop, you can expect candid conversations and practical advice from women building careers across the industry. Our first episode features Unrivaled’s chief brand officer, Kirby Porter, on how being entrepreneurial has helped her get to where she is now.
Thursday’s newsletter will provide a deeper, behind-the-scenes look at the podcast, including recommended content, books, and resources that put career growth front and center. We know that it’s hard to make the right move when you’re following the wrong playbook — that’s why we started The Call Up.
- Together, we’ll uncover the strategies that have worked for real women in sports and learn how they can apply to your career. We’re bringing more women into the industry, and we’re starting with you.
But the conversation doesn’t stop at your inbox. We also launched social channels (@thecallupsports on Instagram and TikTok) to cover the people, opportunities, and conversations shaping the industry in real time.
They say sports is all about who you know, and we’re here to spread the good news that you know us. We experienced first-hand what it takes to break into the industry and we can’t wait to introduce you to women succeeding in every level of the game. Ready to answer the call?
Women’s sports
💜 Protecting the pipeline
The GIST: The Women’s Sports Foundation (WSF) dropped its inaugural WSF Sport Report™ 2026 to provide an in-depth look at whether the current pipeline can sustain the women’s sports boom. The answer was not ideal.
- On one hand, 93% of industry experts surveyed said they saw progress toward gender equality in professional women’s sports but only 35% agreed those improvements carried over to collegiate athletics and 37% noted a decline at the college level.
- Pro women’s leagues rely on the NCAA as its primary system for scouting and drafting talent, so disruptions and decreased participation have potentially far-reaching consequences.
Nearly half of those experts cited Title IX enforcement and regulatory rollbacks as the single greatest threat to future gender equity progress in sports. Still, when asked who held the most power to affect growth, policymakers and legislators only received 2% of the vote, athletes held 7%, governing bodies like the NCAA had 8%, but sponsors and corporate brands received a whopping 30%.
What does this mean for college athletics and the future of women’s sports? It shows that brands have the greatest power to shape the next phase of the industry since they control the capital driving the current growth. Brands and sponsors are uniquely positioned to demand equitable conditions at the collegiate level and fund grassroots initiatives that protect the pipeline.
That’s why these types of reports are funded. Yes, they provide scroll-stopping, number-forward social media posts, but the purpose goes far beyond likes. Data from this report or giants like Nielsen and Stats Perform provide the backbone for legal and policy updates, economic planning, grant applications, and more.
- Expect to see the WSF’s findings addressed in future initiatives to increase equity and strengthen the pipeline. If girls continue to drop out of sports by age 14, whether it’s from rising costs, body insecurity, or lack of opportunities, the women’s sports boom will become a bust.
The best way to reverse that trend is to bring more women into the sports industry's workforce. When women hold positions of power at brands and in leagues, agencies, and athletic departments, they bring the experience necessary to build a stronger foundation that keeps the next generation of girls in the game. There’s never been a better time to get more women in the sports industry.
TOGETHER WITH Columbia SPS
💼 You mean business
🏀 Want to unapologetically nerd out about the business of sports?
Columbia University's Sports Management Conference is the spot to share your passion with people who love the biz as much as you do. It's hosted by Columbia's Sports Management program, the only Ivy League curriculum of its kind with unparalleled access to industry leaders and experts.
- Mark your calendar for Thursday, October 15th at Columbia's New York campus. You'll get a full day of sports talk, networking, and sharing ideas about the future of the biz, plus keynotes from:
- Chad Deweese, Principal, Deloitte Sports
- Sarah Hirshland, Chief Executive Officer, United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee
- Seth Ladetsky, Global Head of Sports, Nielsen
- Mike Richter, President, Brightcore Energy
- The Gist subscribers get $100 off general admission with code [THEGIST].
🚨 You won't want to be on the sidelines for this one. Snag your tickets now and get in on the action with Columbia University.
📢 The Alex Morgan Foundation teamed up with WeCoach to surprise eight working moms with childcare grants to help them stay in the game.
⛳ Titleist debuted a new episode of its Women of Titleist series featuring Chloe Robinson, a technical player relations representative on the LPGA Tour and a field hockey Olympian.
🎧 Initial Spotify ratings for the NHL’s Hot for Hockey series averaged around 2.4 stars before the short audio stories using NHL players’ names and likenesses was removed from the streaming platform and new episodes were canceled. Can’t say we’ll miss it.
👑 Gotham FC introduced the Queens Coaching Council, a unique initiative aimed at advancing women soccer coaches.
⚾ MLB regular-season attendance set a new record for the fourth consecutive year despite fewer teams reaching the 3M milestone.
🏀 The WNBA had its most-viewed season since 2000 with games averaging 771K viewers in the first year of its new media rights agreement.
⛳ Roughly a month after its controversial ad, Front Office Sports reported that Good Good Golf is back to business as usual, averaging 1M views per video. Super.
▶️ Shelby Hall is the newest director, corporate strategy at Nike. She was formerly the director, global digital strategy and business development with the NBA.
▶️ Kristen Simmons is now the brand operations manager at Cadillac Formula 1. She was previously a brand marketing manager for the 2026 FIFA men’s World Cup.
🔓 Unrivaled is hiring a junior software engineer for remote work. Check out the job, then listen to our interview with CBO Kirby Porter so you can nail any questions about the entrepreneurial mindset.
🔓 The Golden State Valkyries are hiring a director, partnership sales in Oakland, California.
👀 Need more Kirby Porter in your life? Same. Lucky for us, the Unrivaled CBO is moderating a panel on The Business of Building Communities at Advertising Week NYC and the Female Quotient is going live on LinkedIn throughout the conference. Catch the panel at 12:30 p.m. ET tomorrow.
Today’s email was brought to you by Rachel Fuenzalida. Fact-checking by Bonnie Lee. Ops by Elisha Gunaratnam. Managing edits by Molly Potter. Head of content Ellen Hyslop.