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Next League
  • 5.0 (5)
  • SPORTS
  • UPDATED WEEKLY

Want to learn more about the most talked about topics and trends in the sports business industry from the sports business executives who run it? Join Next League’s CEO David Nugent, a sports technology industry veteran and thought leader with over 20 years experience in the ever-changing technology services business. Tune in every week for insightful and engaging discussions on everything from artificial intelligence and fan engagement to the changing media landscape and the growth of women’s sports with the sports industry’s leading executives.   For more on Next League, visit our website or follow us on LinkedIn.

  1. 2D AGO

    How the Sports Industry Is Rethinking Its Talent Pipeline with Scott Rosner

    Scott Rosner collected hundreds of rejection letters he got trying to break into sports. And it shaped exactly how he thinks about the candidates knocking on Columbia's door today. Private capital has rewritten ownership, NIL and conference realignment have blown up college athletics, and AI is changing how every function operates. The curriculum can't look the same as it did ten years ago. As Program Director of the Sports Management program, Scott believes the industry needs people who can think across disciplines, absorb disruption, and figure things out when there's no playbook. His graduates are stepping into roles across agencies, media, and betting — often inside organizations navigating that complexity in real time. In this episode, you’ll hear: How Columbia structures a 40+ adjunct faculty model to deliver practitioner-led instruction at scaleWhy career outcomes are increasingly skewing toward agencies, media, and betting over ticket salesWhat Columbia’s 60-second video essay reveals about candidate decision-making under pressureWhat curriculum changes are required to keep up with AI adoption and disruption in college athleticsHow Columbia evaluates grit, failure response, and long-term potential in admissions decisions Resources and Links: Learn more about Next League on our website and LinkedIn. We are leading sports organizations into the digital future. Connect with Scott Rosner on LinkedIn. Learn more about Next League on our website and LinkedIn. We are leading sports organizations into the digital future.

    40 min

  2. MAR 17

    Why San Diego FC Treats Its Academy Like a Capital Investment

    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.

    44 min

  3. MAR 10

    The New Operating Model for Live Sports with Jeb Terry

    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.

    46 min

  4. MAR 3

    The Gap Between AI Hype and What Actually Works in Sports with Scott Gutterman

    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.

    44 min

  5. FEB 17

    Inside Barclays Center’s Push to Scale AI and Facial Authentication with Keia Cole

    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.

    31 min

  6. FEB 10

    What It Takes to Modernize Youth Sports at Scale with Sameer Ahuja

    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.

    41 min

  7. FEB 3

    Best Of: USOPC and Team USA on the Road to LA 2028

    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.

    28 min

  8. JAN 27

    How to Design Better Digital Products in Sports

    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.

    41 min
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Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
5 Ratings

About

Want to learn more about the most talked about topics and trends in the sports business industry from the sports business executives who run it? Join Next League’s CEO David Nugent, a sports technology industry veteran and thought leader with over 20 years experience in the ever-changing technology services business. Tune in every week for insightful and engaging discussions on everything from artificial intelligence and fan engagement to the changing media landscape and the growth of women’s sports with the sports industry’s leading executives.   For more on Next League, visit our website or follow us on LinkedIn.

Information

  • Creator
    Next League
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    58
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 © Dave Nugent
  • Show Website
    Know What Is Next

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