The Varsity

4.7 (57)
SPORTS NEWS
UPDATED SEMIWEEKLY

Puck Sports Correspondent John Ourand and a rotating cast of industry insiders take you deep inside the executive suites and owner boxes that run the entire sports business. You’ll hear interviews with everyone from players to network execs and everyone in between. The Varsity is an extension of John's private email for Puck by the same name. New episodes publish twice-weekly, every Wednesday and Sunday.

23H AGO

YouTube’s Sports Takeover & More ’26 Predictions

Sports media analyst Michael Nathanson swings by the pod to reveal the sports media plotlines insiders are tracking over the coming year. They discuss YouTube’s growing footprint in the sports streaming ecosystem, how legacy players like ESPN can maintain relevancy, whether a Netflix-WBD merger might impact TNT Sports, and much more. Explore how prediction markets skirt state authority and pose risks to consumers at AmericanGaming.org/predictionmarkets (http://americangaming.org/predictionmarkets) To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

47 min
3D AGO

The Varsities: Sports Media’s 2025 Superlatives

The Athletic’s Andrew Marchand joins John to bestow The Varsity’s inaugural Sports Media Awards—from the most overhyped plot line and the sleeper story that flew under the radar, to the best play-by-play announcer, top analyst, and the executive who moved the industry the most. Then they look ahead and call their shot on which executive takes home the 2026 crown. Explore how prediction markets skirt state authority and pose risks to consumers at AmericanGaming.org/predictionmarkets (http://americangaming.org/predictionmarkets) To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

47 min
12/24/2025

The CFP Expansion That Wasn’t

NBC Sports college football insider Nicole Auerbach returns to the pod to assess the state of the game through the College Football Playoff. She pores over the dud first-round matchups, explains why CFP expansion is probably off the table for 2026 thanks to Big Ten–SEC infighting, considers whether Notre Dame’s snub could force a conference move, digs into the intensifying financial strain on athletic departments—and much more. Explore how prediction markets skirt state authority and pose risks to consumers at AmericanGaming.org/predictionmarkets (http://americangaming.org/predictionmarkets) To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

47 min
12/21/2025

Netflix’s Anti-ESPN Thesis

Netflix vice president of sports Gabe Spitzer joins John for a deep dive into the streamer’s event-first sports strategy—from the Jake Paul–Anthony Joshua fight to NFL games on Christmas Day. Spitzer explains why Netflix is chasing tentpoles, not volume, and how selective rights plays like the Women’s World Cup and MLB fit into a broader global sports push. They also dig into Netflix’s approach to sports docs, podcasts, and the company’s ambitions to be a truly global sports destination. Explore how prediction markets skirt state authority and pose risks to consumers at AmericanGaming.org/predictionmarkets (http://americangaming.org/predictionmarkets) To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

48 min
12/17/2025

Windhorst’s NBA State of Play

ESPN’s NBA reporter Brian Windhorst joins John for a state-of-the-union on the league—and where it's headed next. They dig into the NBA Cup and its new 10-year Amazon deal, the league’s push into Europe, the enduring All-Star Weekend dilemma, and why, for all the handwringing, the on-court product has never been better. Plus, the rise of superstars in small markets like OKC’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Denver’s Nikola Jokic—and whether John has any reason at all to be hopeful about his hometown Washington Wizards. Explore how prediction markets skirt state authority and pose risks to consumers at AmericanGaming.org/predictionmarkets (http://americangaming.org/predictionmarkets) To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

47 min
12/14/2025

USA Sports’ Digital Glow-Up

USA Sports president Matt Hong joins John to talk shop about the post-Versant spin era. He breaks down the significant push into digital, their big investment in women’s sports like volleyball and the WNBA, why NASCAR has more gas left in the tank, and how USA is trying to keep one foot in linear TV while sprinting toward a very digital future. Explore how prediction markets skirt state authority and pose risks to consumers at AmericanGaming.org/predictionmarkets (http://americangaming.org/predictionmarkets) To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

47 min
12/10/2025

Sports Media’s Winners (and Losers) of 2025

Puck superfriends Julia Alexander, Eriq Gardner, and Dylan Byers reunite with John to debate the sports-media class of the year: David Ellison muscling into the rights wars, Pat McAfee cementing himself as the on-air talent north star, and the rest of the industry’s biggest winners of 2025. Explore how prediction markets skirt state authority and pose risks to consumers at AmericanGaming.org/predictionmarkets (http://americangaming.org/predictionmarkets) To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

47 min
12/07/2025

The MLS 3.0 Blueprint

MLS commissioner Don Garber joins John live from the University of Maryland’s Povich Symposium to chart the league’s MLS 3.0 blueprint. They discuss MLS’s rising fortunes, including its $21 billion collective valuation, and dig into the much-scrutinized Apple deal, now ending ahead of schedule. Garber stands by the partnership and lays out why he thinks MLS is well-positioned for the streaming age. Explore how prediction markets skirt state authority and pose risks to consumers at AmericanGaming.org/predictionmarkets (http://americangaming.org/predictionmarkets) To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

47 min

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TRAILER

Introducing The Varsity with John Ourand

Welcome to “The Varsity,” your new favorite podcast about what’s really happening in the business of sports and the players who run it all. Join Puck sports media correspondent John Ourand and a rotating cast of industry experts for inside-the-room conversations about the money behind the major leagues, the biggest network executive dramas, media rights battles, and so much more. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

08/13/2024

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3 min

4.7

out of 5

57 Ratings

Eamon Lynch was great

03/20/2025

mattmanfan

I recently enjoyed your podcast with Eamon Lynch. It gave me a better understanding of what is going on with the PGA tour and LIV golf right now. You do a great job as I have enjoyed your podcast going back to the first one. It is one of my favorite ones to listen to each week.
F McAfee

12/11/2025

quikoni

This is not a slight on the show but more on this episodes content and opinions, mostly that McaHack is the future of sports entertainment. He and his antics represent everything that is WRONG with where sports is going. You DON’t give him more of a platform, you take him off it, because he has no journalistic integrity, his schtick is beyond cliche and he has the most grating voice I’ve ever heard. I don’t watch ESPN anymore because of this direction. Go BACK to the way it was We don’t want to see a punter in a tank top, swinging bat give his uninformed about sports. IfI I want that I’ll go to a softball field and get it from the guy who peaked in high school!
Not Interested

05/21/2025

SamimSissel

John we aren’t interested in hearing anti- Trump diatribes from your guests. CBS put their thumb on the scale with the KH interview
What a rolodex!

12/03/2024

Sports Biz Fan

Everybody who’s anybody in sports business seems to come on this podcast—commissioners, top media executives, well known personalities. And I can understand why. These are great interviews. Ourand started with Peyton Manning, and the guest quality hasn’t dropped one bit since.

Puck Sports Correspondent John Ourand and a rotating cast of industry insiders take you deep inside the executive suites and owner boxes that run the entire sports business. You’ll hear interviews with everyone from players to network execs and everyone in between. The Varsity is an extension of John's private email for Puck by the same name. New episodes publish twice-weekly, every Wednesday and Sunday.