USOPC College Sports Sustainability Think Tank

Overview: The vertical partnerships concept engages youth, college and elite participants and audiences on a sport-by-sport basis. To date, there has been little exploration of sport-specific partnerships in terms of content sharing, revenue generation and commercial broadcasting. Oftentimes, collegiate Olympic and Paralympic rights are tied to football and basketball commercial agreements. The USOPC Think Tank believes creative vertical partnerships across the NCAA, schools, conferences, the USOPC and NGBs may increase awareness, expand sport exposure and test commercial opportunities.

2021 focus: The USOPC Think Tank is exploring an NCAA/NGB shared championship event to pilot a vertical partnership. National governing bodies have vast experience hosting youth and elite events, which if partnered with an NCAA championship may expand attendance, viewership, exposure and revenue opportunities. Increased awareness can help unify each sport community in an effort to sustain the broad-based sport championship structure. 

Horizon: The USOPC Think Tank will further explore the current commercial rights structure and the opportunity for increased collaboration across media/commercial partners to promote the value of Olympic and Paralympic sports. There is a need to increase national-level storytelling, which will require pilots to share content, test cross-promotion and build marketing interest for Olympic and Paralympic sports. The USOPC Think Tank also will explore opportunities to celebrate college contributions to Team USA at the national and campus levels.