Last week, the 2026 Sports Business Journal (SBJ) Game Changers conference brought women who work in sports together at the Marriott Marquis in Manhattan with expertise and experience in a wide range of areas, from analytics to ownership, sharing their paths, innovative approaches, and advice about how to persevere and succeed.
On the panel “The New Playbook for College Athletics—and Why It Matters to Everyone,” three leaders spoke about the ever-changing landscape of college sports. In the wake of name, image, and likeness (NIL) and revenue sharing, “we see a huge change in the way that schools are wanting to commercialize their venues and facilities,” said Kim Damron, president of Learfield’s sports properties division.
While it is important to remain clear about values, said Candice Storey Lee, vice chancellor, athletics and university affairs and athletic director at Vanderbilt University, it is also essential to be thoughtful about how those values are executed. “Even as you’re building new buildings … it has to be something we use for multi-purpose reasons and we also make money off of,” she said.
Vanderbilt Athletics has created a roster and finance division, with staff including a capologist (a sports-business specialist who manages and analyzes a professional team’s salary cap), an executive general manager, and a data analyst. Lee said there has to be a separation between coaches and those who negotiate deals for a “structure so that people can operate in spaces where they can be their best.”
Colleen Garrity of Excel Sports Management said the relationship between student-athletes and an athletic department has definitely become more transactional. “There is more of a focus on the revenue that student-athletes can make versus …‘This is the system I can play in,’” Garrity said.
Candice Storey Lee, athletic director at Vanderbilt University, was featured speaker at last week’s Sports Business Journal’s Game Changers conference at Marriott Marquis in Manhattan. (Credit: Vanderbilt Athletics)
Lee said athletic directors cannot lose sight of the complexities involved with serving the sports that generate the most revenue while ensuring all student-athletes are served. “If we’re not careful, people will lose opportunities, and those will be Olympic sports and women’s sports,” she said.
Garrity noted that while brands are spending more on women athletes, gender disparity remains. “Women have better engagement on social media, they are better content creators than the men, they tend to get more deals than the men do…but the dollars are not always apples to apples,” she said.
The panel about “Creating Opportunity, Inspiring Change: Leadership Lessons from a Trailblazer” involved Kim Ng, commissioner of the Athletes Unlimited Softball League, speaking about being the first woman to serve as general manager of a Major League Baseball team (Miami Marlins) and her recent shift to women’s sports. “The whole movement of women’s sports was just so intriguing,” said Ng, who played softball in college. “What an exciting time.”
