Special Reports
Event coverage and deep dives, reported in the room, with what it means for youth sports.
Event coverage
SBJ Game Changers 2026
Ten sessions and a photo essay from Sports Business Journal's 14th Game Changers Conference, Oct. 1 in New York, and what they mean for youth sports.
Image: Sports Business Journal
8:45 a.m. · The Val Ackerman Legacy of Leadership Award
Val Ackerman's Rules for the Long Game
Val Ackerman · Presented by Abe Madkour (SBJ)
9:10 a.m. · Top of the Agenda
Hockey Romance, Stadium Takeovers and the Squeezed Middle
Heidi Browning (NHL) · Rachel Epstein (NWSL) · Hillary Mandel (IMG) · Heidi Noland (UFC) · Moderator: Abe Madkour (SBJ)
9:50 a.m. · Bridging the Gap
Two Partnerships Built Around What Players Actually Needed
Marina Storti (WTA Ventures) · Heidi Pellerano (Concacaf) · Moderator: Eileen Silvergleid (Leaders Group Sports)
10:25 a.m. · SBJ Connect · Photo essay
Pick a Neighborhood, Find a Table: Inside SBJ Connect
Photo essay · Structured networking at 35 tables in four topic neighborhoods
11:20 a.m. · From Activation to Impact
Ford Gave LPGA Rookies Broncos. The Bigger Gift Was Mentors.
Rob Johnston (Ford) · Moderator: Monica Fee (LPGA)
11:40 a.m. · One-on-One with Kristin Lemkau
Kristin Lemkau on Messy Careers, Mediocre Teams and Athletes' Money
Kristin Lemkau (J.P. Morgan Wealth Management) · Moderator: Abe Madkour (SBJ)
12:10 p.m. · Leading a Modern Sports Franchise
Shelly Cayette-Weston's Hornets Playbook: Fill the Building First
Shelly Cayette-Weston (Charlotte Hornets) · Moderator: Bonnie Bernstein (Walk Swiftly Productions)
1:50 p.m. · Leadership Lessons from a Trailblazer
Kim Ng on Getting Rejected in Public, and Saying Yes to Softball
Kim Ng (Athletes Unlimited Softball League) · Moderator: Rachel Axon (SBJ)
3:00 p.m. · The New Playbook for College Athletics
Vanderbilt's AD: If We're Not Careful, Women's and Olympic Sports Lose
Candice Storey Lee (Vanderbilt) · Kim Damron (Learfield) · Colleen Garrity (Excel Sports Management) · Moderator: Rachel Axon (SBJ)
4:00 p.m. · The Human Edge
The AI Panel's Rule: Start With the Problem, Not the Tool
Julie Souza (formerly AWS) · Samantha Stark (Phyusion) · Moderator: Becki Wronko Civello (Next League)
4:30 p.m. · The New Wager Landscape
Prediction Markets Pitch Engagement. A Banker Warned of a Reckoning.
Adam Barrick (Kalshi) · Keith Wachtel (NHL) · Evan Davis (Royer Cooper Cohen Braunfeld) · Moderator: Joe Lemire (SBJ)