GW Business Professor Lisa Delpy Neirotti has researched and taught the business side of sports for more than 30 years. In a Q & A with GW Today, Neirotti offers her insights into the ever-evolving collegiate athletics environment, the growing popularity of women’s sports at all levels and the impact of technology such as AI on Olympic sports.
Q. The University of Kentucky Board of Trustees recently moved its athletic department to a subsidiary company, distancing athletics from the university. What collegiate athletics developments are you watching?
A. There are many issues and challenges under discussion right now. One is how universities will handle the financial side of the new rules for paying players. You may end up paying a student athlete $4 million and then not have funds to hire faculty. That’s when things are going to get a little confrontational.
I think that at some point universities are going to license out their names to venture capital or private equity firms, wealthy individuals or others interested in owning and running sports teams, specifically football and basketball. That private owner will pay the university for the right to use the school’s name, and that licensee will be responsible for revenue and expenses including recruiting, training and paying the athletes. The licenses could run from five to 20 years, and the universities could use the license fees to pay for non-revenue sports, like tennis and swimming.
Q. The Olympics are one of the global sports business segments you study. Will collegiate pay-for-play disrupt U.S. Olympic opportunities?
A. Over 70 percent of the U.S. Olympic teams have competed in collegiate sports at some point. Right now, many receive scholarships to train and compete at the collegiate level, including track and field, swimming, diving, fencing, rowing, water polo, volleyball and wrestling. If universities stop offering Olympic sport programs to focus resources on revenue sports, it will limit the options for talented athletes who cannot afford to pay for training on their own. Privatized sport clubs may absorb some but not all athletes will continue competing.
Also, approximately 13 percent of NCAA I student-athletes are international. A reduction in Olympic sport programs may also eliminate opportunities for international students seeking scholarships.
Q. In what significant ways are AI and technology changing sports?
A. Technology is integrated both on and off the field. Wearables generate vast amounts of data on players’ biometrics, movement and positioning during practice and competition. The data is used to reduce injuries and extend player careers by identifying physical changes and adjusting workouts and playing time. Tracking movements during play helps to optimize formations, spacing and rosters.
On the business side, data analytics are used to maximize revenues in ticketing, concessions, merchandise, sponsors and media. What food items are selling and how much could prices increase before seeing a decline in purchases? Is touchless technology increasing concessions sales? What time do fans enter venues? Do promotions change behavior?
Q. Women’s sports are on the rise. What are the business repercussions?
For years, women’s sports were an afterthought—an “add on” to men’s media rights deals and corporate partnerships. NCAA and FIFA are now selling women’s rights as independent properties. The value of these rights is not yet proportional to the viewership but they are on the right trajectory. It will take time to change the mentality about the true value in women’s sports. More brands like Ally Bank need to step up and invest.
Taking NCAA media rights as an example, women’s championships are valued at $65 million, while men’s are about $870 million per year. In 2025, women’s games average 8.5 million viewers and men’s average 10.2 million. That means women’s viewership is 83 percent of the men’s viewership yet the women’s TV rights are valued at just 7 percent of the men’s contract. That will shift when companies realize women shop more than men. We’re in the process of educating advertisers on the benefits of advertising with women’s sports.
One of the misconceptions in women’s sports is that only women watch. For the 2023 Women’s World Cup, 54 percent of the fans were male. And men represent over 55 percent of the WNBA fan base. Furthermore, research shows that women are the economy’s power players—outpacing men in income and spending growth.
The other big thing is that there is finally some research on women athletes. There is interesting initial research, for example, that suggests women playing during their menstrual cycle may have a greater risk of injury. Although no causal relationship has been established, the idea that someone is conducting research on female athletes is an important development.