Ben Wasserman’s Post

The weekly women's sports record breaking moment. 14.2M viewers tuned in on ESPN for University of Iowa and University of Connecticut. This took down last week's Elite 8 record featuring the same Iowa and Caitlin Clark taking on Louisiana State University. More viewers than 2023 National Basketball Association (NBA) Finals and Major League Baseball (MLB) World Series among many other sporting events in the past 12 months. So that was Friday. The very next day saw a 17K strong, sell-out crowd in attendance for the open practice for the NCAA Finals featuring South Carolina Gamecocks and University of Iowa. The crowd was amazing and based on all the dancing and fun on the court by Coach of the Year Dawn Staley and their mascot Cocky, the NCAA missed an opportunity to make a full weekend of it with a concert or some type of women's basketball festival. Think about what University of Colorado Boulder and Coach Prime are doing with their Spring Game. Three years ago, NCAA didn't allow the women's event to use the moniker "March Madness" and didn't have a gym available for Final Four participants. There are still issues. Inconsistent 3-point lines and lodging far from game sites still shone a light that there is still room for growth, but the media coverage and star power has triumphed and pushed this event to new levels. ESPN signed a new deal for all NCAA Championships, excluding Men's Basketball Tournament and CFP Series for about $137M per year. While that deal doesn't kick in till next year, it is already looking like a bargain when streamers are paying $100M for one NFL game. Sports Business Classes - - Can collegiate dominance translate to professional success? Can the ratings, coverage, viewers, fans, excitement, and energy of the Women's NCAA Basketball Tournament translate into success for the WNBA (Women's National Basketball Association)? All the major star power will be moving to the "W". Your class is the hired marketing agency and business consultant to the WNBA (Women's National Basketball Association) - advise them with a 12 month roadmap that starts TODAY. Follow Joe Pompliano, Sportico, & Front Office Sports for all the details. University of Connecticut School of Business University of South Carolina Darla Moore School of Business The University of Iowa Tippie College of Business NC State Poole College of Management University of Oregon Lundquist College of Business Temple University's School of Sport, Tourism and Hospitality Management Portland State University - School of Business UCLA Anderson School of Management Jesuit High School Portland Beaverton School District Lincoln High School #womenssports #sportsbusiness #sportsmarketing #sportsmanagement #sportsbiz #sportsbizprof

College Football Playoffs vs NBA Season: Revenue Comparison and Impact Discover the financial dynamics of college football playoffs and the NBA season. Explore the revenue generation potential and the contrasting durations of these sports. Find out how these factors affect the overall earnings and business strategies of both sports. #CollegeFootballPlayoffs #NBASeason #RevenueComparison #AthleticsBusiness #SportingIndustry #FinancialAnalysis #SportsEarnings #AthleticsRevenue #SportsBusiness #SportsIndustry

How many famous sports plays were impacted by weather?... And how did weather play a role in my career? A home run here, a good play there…could the weather have been the difference between a big league career and being so close to that? it’s interesting to think about and something I’ve been reflecting on as I dig into my new role with Weather Applied Metrics. It’s an intriguing reflection for any sports fan, I think. The fact that this oftentimes invisible force is such a key player in sports history. Willie Mays & Jim Edmonds’ over the shoulder catches, countless game winning, or losing field goals (Ray Finkle, anyone?), epic golf shots, bending free kicks, track world records…the list goes on and on and the only ways we’ve been brought into the story as fans are looking at flags and listening to broadcasters. Our friends at Major League Baseball (MLB) get it. This article by Mike Petriello takes a look at one of the most iconic sports plays of all time, Ted Williams’ legendary 502(?) foot home run at Fenway Park. So legendary that one red seat sits in a sea of green at Fenway Park to help us remember just how impressive it must have been to see in person. I’ve seen it from home plate and it looks forever away…impossible. But thanks to Mike Petriello's creativity, historical data, modern technology, and some expertise from Doug Sinton, we were able to add a little science to legend and make an unbelievable feat seem more…unbelievable. What are some of your favorite historical sports plays?

They blew it out of the water this year. Last Friday, with over 14 million average viewers, the Iowa vs UConn women's Final Four-game averaged more viewers than (per Joe Pompliano*): • Any women's CBB game ever • All 2023 NBA Finals games • All 2023 World Series games • The 2023 Orange Bowl • The 2023 Big Ten Championship • The 2023 Cotton Bowl • The 2023 Pac-12 Championship • The 2023 Big-12 Championship • The 2023 ACC Championship • The 2023 Peach Bowl • The 2023 Masters Final Round • All tennis grand slam finals (men's & women's) • All 2023 CFB regular season games except one Only to be surpassed by Sunday's Championship game between Iowa and South Carolina which drew... 18.7 million viewers 🤯 The game also peaked at 24 million viewers and was the most watched basketball game — men's or women's, college or pro — in five years. Pretty insane considering that weight room video was only only 3 years ago... IYKYK. But the question remains. With superstars such as Angel Reece, Caitlin Clark, Kamilla Cardoso and Paige Bueckers taking their talents to the WNBA, will women's college basketball continue to trend upward? Without a doubt and here's why... 1) There is a conscious effort to increase viewership and awareness now more than ever before 2) There is now more investment and infrastructure, including funding, facilities and support 3) There are plenty of players who have high and very lucrative NIL profiles which gives additional exposure and visibility to the sport 4) There are several real deal hoopers who are next in line None of this is an anomaly. It's the start of a new era in women's sports. And major shoutout to Dawn Staley and the South Carolina Gamecocks 👏🔥 #ncaa #marchmadness #sportsbusiness

For years, we've been referred to as the Harlem Globetrotters of baseball and now with this recent article the tables have turned. In many ways, this makes me proud and is a testament to the brand we've built and our current relevance in the sports landscape. We've worked hard to stand out and create our own distinct brand. We've strived to not be the Globetrotters of basketball, even though I have a lot of respect for the impact on they've had on the game, especially when they started. We are more interested in building the game of Banana Ball, than just building the Savannah Bananas. That is why none of our games are scripted and why we now have three Banana Ball teams and more coming in the future. In fact, our goal is to build the fun of the game and the competitiveness of the game. This held true on this past tour as the Bananas lost more games to the Party Animals than they won. We are scared of becoming irrelevant. We are scared of fans staying they've seen it once and don't need to see it again. That's why we are constantly coming up with new ideas and reimaginging the game. But one thing is for sure: We always want to be known as the most fun and entertaining sport and be fans first with everything we do. And if the Bananas name gets attention in a headline and gets more people to read about the Globetrotters or another entertaining game or sport, I'm all for it. https://lnkd.in/ec9iG7a5

🏀 Miami Hurricanes Basketball: Shooting for Success! 🌪️ Stay updated on the latest buzz surrounding the Miami Hurricanes Basketball team. Dive into player performances, game insights, and the team's journey towards success. 📖 READ MORE - Link in Bio. 🌪️ Share your support for the Hurricanes, tag friends, and join the conversation on college basketball excitement. Copy & Paste: 📲 https://lnkd.in/ghsc3-eY 🏀🌪️ Post Hashtags: #MiamiHurricanes #CollegeBasketball #SFLMedia #SportsUpdate #BasketballBuzz #GameOn #FreeNews

Teach kids the fundamentals. The fundamentals of youth sports = joy. I absolutely love what Jesse Cole is doing to breath life into baseball and get parents to loosen up. Some comments online about this are 🤔. My 2 cents: Any adult who has a problem with this should go outside today and dance a little with friends. We need more joy in youth sports. More resources to keep kids active. More of this! Go Bananas! Sports Innovation Lab

How to Watch Every Big Ten College Football Game Online

Welcome to Week 22. Conference Championship week went as expected, with a 1 for 2 across all categories, same as most years in the past. However, my last note was don’t sleep on a KC / DET final. That’s what it should have been, if DET didn’t fall asleep and not kick 2 field goals, which would have put in a KC / DET final. I’m sure everyone is ready to speculate on whether the “script-writing” held up somehow for SF, as they continue to get help to sputter through the playoffs. Based on the fact they were extremely lucky to win both playoff games, I wouldn’t put a lot of high hopes onto them for the championship.     This week I have a breakdown for both SF playing at home and KC playing at home. This allows for a neutral field leveling when applied as an average. Additionally, we used how each team played in domes to help the model. As always, you need to be adding your eye test, looking at the injury reports and updates, along with a general due diligence will make your personal projections more fun. As I state all the time, I try not to impart “feelings” into the projections, and keep the management adjustments to only the empirical evidence (e.g. injury reports, new players, trades, etc).   Here we go (all CAPS = Home Team), let’s have some fun:   Spread bets: KC (+2.0, PAG: +5.65)   Total: Game (47.0, PAG: 48.62)   As I've mentioned, we go much deeper in general. Reach out to me if you want to be added to the detailed email.   #predictiveanalytics #justforfun #sportsbetting

So here's something different for today: I tried my hand at a sports article for The Daily Campus! In this, I talked about the New York Mets' options at the Designated Hitter position for the 2024 season, one of the weak spots of their lackluster 2023 campaign. I talk about flashy free agents and potential in-house options. Read more at the link below: https://lnkd.in/eakbN7Mu