Know What Is Next

The New York City Marathon is the largest marathon in the world, drawing more than 50,000 runners and millions of spectators annually. As the race approaches its 50th anniversary, it’s evolving into a year-round platform spanning digital engagement, community programming, and global scale.Juliette Morris, Chief Marketing and Digital Officer at New York Road Runners, talks with Dave about how the organization is aligning brand, technology, and content to support runners and spectators across the full lifecycle. She outlines the integration of digital products, the role of personalization and AI, and how media and storytelling are extending the reach of the marathon.In this episode, you’ll hear:Why the marathon’s charity engine has become a $700M fundraising platform and strategic leverHow oversubscription and capacity limits force new thinking on access, virtual participation, and growthHow brand identity and logo design reflect governance priorities around inclusion and communityWhat it takes to build an in-house content studio that functions as both media and mission infrastructureHow Gen Z behavior is reshaping participation models, with run clubs emerging as a new social layerResources and Links:Connect with Juliette Morris on LinkedIn and learn more about New York Road Runners on their website.Watch the 26.2 documentary on YouTube.Learn more about Next League on our website and LinkedIn. We are leading sports organizations into the digital future.

US Soccer is heading into a defining stretch, and David Wright is helping shape what comes next. As Chief Commercial Officer, he sits at the center of it all, from partnerships and media to events, marketing, and business ventures. In this conversation, he breaks down how US Soccer has grown its business more than 300% in a short period of time and why its nonprofit structure has become a real differentiator in the market.David also shares how they’re preparing for the 2026 World Cup, the commercial strategy behind US Soccer’s partner roster, the evolving media landscape, and the kind of leadership and risk-taking that has defined his own career path.In this episode, you’ll hear:Why the 2026 World Cup represents a structural inflection point for fan growth and market expansionHow US Soccer built a partner portfolio of 23 major brands by thinking long term and saying no more oftenWhy David believes the future of sports leadership belongs to people who can embrace risk and develop intangible skills AI can’t replaceHow one national training center could change the way players, coaches, and referees are developed in the USResources and Links:Connect with David Wright on LinkedIn.Learn more about Next League on our website and LinkedIn. We are leading sports organizations into the digital future.

Scott Rosner, Program Director and Columbia sports management professor with a background in sports law and research, discusses how the industry is reshaping talent pipelines. He talks about practitioner-led teaching with 40+ adjuncts. He covers why careers are shifting to agencies, media, and betting. He explains Columbia’s 60-second video essay and how curriculum must adapt for AI and college athletics disruption.

San Diego FC is only a few years old, but COO Bill Miles and his team are already taking an ambitious approach to building a modern soccer club. In this episode, Bill shares why San Diego FC is betting on a long-term, academy-first model, what makes the club’s ownership structure so distinctive, and why San Diego is uniquely positioned to become one of the most important soccer markets in the United States.You’ll also hear what it takes to build a fan base from scratch, how technology and AI can help clubs create a stronger view of the customer, and why the future of ticketing is going to look a lot more personalized.In this episode, you’ll hear:How a Native American tribe and global private equity ownership is shaping the club's long-term visionWhy San Diego FC believes removing pay-to-play is critical to developing elite talentHow Bill is building an academy-first development pipeline instead of relying on expensive star signingsWhat it takes to launch an MLS club from scratch and turn it into a civic brand How AI and experience-based ticketing are redefining fan engagement and revenue strategyResources and Links:Connect with Bill Miles on LinkedIn.Learn more about Next League on our website and LinkedIn. We are leading sports organizations into the digital future.

Live sports is evolving beyond the traditional broadcast model. New venue formats, new production workflows, and new distribution strategies are reshaping how fans experience games outside the home.The question is no longer how to enhance the fan experience, but how do we redesign the operating model behind it?Jeb Terry, CEO of Cosm, joins Dave to explain how Cosm is combining dome-scale LED immersion, hospitality, and a purpose-built production approach that produces hundreds of live events a year.They also zoom out to the broader industry shifts shaping the opportunity, while also reflecting on leadership, team building, and the conviction required to build through uncertainty.In this episode, you’ll hear:Why producing 425+ live events per year gives Cosm negotiating power in a fragmented rights landscapeHow a “traveling kit” production model creates new optionality for leagues What the NFL’s org design reveals about scaling teams and driving accountabilityWhy Jeb thinks the speed of money will shape ticketing and new monetization mechanics in sportsHow prediction markets (beyond sports betting) are pressuring league governance and oversightResources and Links:Connect with Jeb Terry on LinkedIn and learn more about Cosm on their website.Learn more about Next League on our website and LinkedIn. We are leading sports organizations into the digital future.

If you’re going to talk about generative AI in sports, don’t start with the tools. Start with the operating model. Are you structured to deploy it at scale?Scott Gutterman is back, drawing on two decades of experience inside one of the most complex sports in the world. His lens is operational. How do you prioritize? How do you govern? How do you create space for innovation without introducing chaos?From there, Scott and Dave get tactical on AI — including what sports leaders often misunderstand, why most organizations stall after early pilots, and what it actually takes to move from POC to a durable, production-grade system. Scott also shares what he believes is overhyped vs. underhyped right now, and how operators should evaluate emerging technology without chasing noise.In this episode, you’ll hear:How automation is reshaping the cost structure and scalability of content production in sports organizationsWhat it takes to connect internal data systems so AI outputs are accurate, secure, and usableWhy AI governance, monitoring, and security matters as much as model selectionHow headless architecture supports multi-platform fan distribution without rebuilding your stack every cycleThe gap between AI demos that impress executives and systems that actually integrate into daily workflowsResources and Links:Connect with Scott Gutterman on LinkedIn and connect with Shripal Shah on LinkedIn.Learn more about Next League on our website and LinkedIn. We are leading sports organizations into the digital future.

Digital transformation in sports only works when the fan journey is treated as a SYSTEM. And what does it actually look like inside a multi-team, multi-venue sports organization?In this episode, Keia Cole shares how Brooklyn Sports + Entertainment operates when one leader owns cybersecurity, data and insights, web and mobile, AND venue systems across the Brooklyn Nets, New York Liberty, and Barclays Center.We also dive into how they adopted Wicket facial recognition technology and why embedding AI into their daily workflows is reshaping roles faster than ever.In this episode, you’ll hear:How shifts in consumer behavior, from Waymo to biometric payments, are redefining what fans expect inside arenasWhat responsible AI governance looks like inside Brooklyn Sports + EntertainmentHow Keia’s career across cybersecurity, data, and digital shaped her approach to transformation at scaleWhen digital leaders should demand measurable ROI and when experimentation is a smarter betResources and Links:Connect with Keia Cole on LinkedIn and learn more about Wicket Facial Recognition.Learn more about Next League on our website and LinkedIn. We are leading sports organizations into the digital future.

Youth sports operates at a scale few people realize, with millions of games, volunteer-run teams, and technology that has to work for everyone from coaches to grandparents.GameChanger CEO Sameer Ahuja is here to walk through how the company approaches those challenges, and how that thinking shaped their most significant product update in its 15-year history.He shares how GameChanger has leaned into a mobile-first, automation-driven approach to serve millions of teams, how AI is being applied in practical ways, the long-term vision for athlete profiles, and how privacy and trust shape every product decision.In this episode, you’ll hear:How Sameer’s background shaped his approach to building trust and making long-term product betsWhy youth sports creates a paradox of massive scale and tiny audiences, and how that reality forces different decisions How GameChanger thinks about reducing labor when building tools for volunteer coaches and familiesHow the company decides when AI-driven automation is “good enough” to shipResources and Links:Connect with Sameer Ahuja on LinkedIn.Learn more about Next League on our website and LinkedIn. We are leading sports organizations into the digital future.

What does it take to build Team USA in a rapidly changing global, political, and digital landscape? In this Best Of episode, USOPC leaders Sarah Hirshland and Katie Bynum Aznavorian are breaking down how Olympic success is engineered, the road to Milano Cortina and LA 2028, the role of storytelling and personalization, and how they’re evolving fan engagement. You’ll hear from the following guests:(0:41) Sarah Hirshland, U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee(16:17) Katie Bynum Aznavorian, U.S. Olympic & Paralympic CommitteeIn this episode, you’ll hear:Why personalization and fan data infrastructure are critical to helping fans connect with 1,200+ Team USA athletesHow the USOPC allocates resources across 60 national governing bodiesWhy the organization views itself like a venture capital firmHow Making Team USA was built to simplify qualification pathways and create year-round fan engagement How the Olympic Games can unify countries and communities during divided momentsResources and Links:Learn more about Team USA and the upcoming Olympic Games.Connect with Sarah Hirshland on LinkedIn.Connect with Katie Bynum Aznavorian on LinkedIn.Learn more about Next League on our website and LinkedIn. We are leading sports organizations into the digital future.

How do sports teams achieve faster alignment, fewer reworks, and digital products that move from idea to launch more reliably?Bora Nikolic’s views of technology in the sports industry have helped shape many of the fan experiences you see from leading sports properties today. And today, he’s challenging the idea that design is about aesthetics, arguing instead that it’s an execution discipline.Dave and Bora look ahead at what’s changing, from accessibility, to AI accelerating how teams research, prototype, and align across functions. Bora also shares why the next phase of fan experience will be defined by connected, multimodal journeys that span platforms, environments, and moments that matter to fans.In this episode, you’ll hear:What allows digital products in sports to actually ship on time and at scaleHow teams can modernize digital experiences without losing fan trust What friction really looks like across the fan journey, and why clarity and predictability matter more than visual polishWhy accessibility needs to be embedded into design systems from the start How AI-enabled prototypes are changing how stakeholders evaluate and approve digital productsResources and Links:Connect with Bora Nikolic on LinkedIn.Learn more about Next League on our website and LinkedIn. We are leading sports organizations into the digital future.