SSAC

Moderator: Sue Bird Panelist: Adam Silver In this wide-ranging conversation, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver joins moderator Sue Bird to explore how the league is navigating a period of rapid change on and off the court. The discussion will focus on the unique opportunities from player development to fan interactivity to analytics and international expansion. Hear how new player development models an...

Moderator: Liz Moulton Panelists: Greg Kim, Sonia Raman, Michael Girsch, Matt Gaudry Career Playbooks presentations are given by a wide range of professionals from leagues, teams, and other players in the sports industry. Attendees will have the opportunity to hear each speaker’s unique story of entering and succeeding in the sports industry and learn vital careers lessons as they chart their own...

Moderator: Chad Millman Panelists: Jeff Ma, Nate Silver, Sean Zerillo The rapidly evolving landscape of sports betting presents unique challenges for both bettors and bookmakers, especially as data anomalies and unexpected outcomes increasingly disrupt predictive models. This panel, featuring industry experts, will explore strategies for identifying and addressing situations when actual results de...

Moderator: Danny Rensch Panelists: Alexandra Botez, Levy Rozman, Daryl Morey, Ella Papanek Chess is experiencing a global renaissance, fueled by emerging innovations in streaming, social media, and format variety, but where does the game go from here? Join Levy Rozman, Alexandra Botez, Ella Papanek, Daryl Morey, and Danny Rensch as they explore how chess is evolving to engage new audiences. This p...

Moderator: Valerie Camillo Panelists: Shelley Pisarra, Tim Clark, Kathryn Kai-ling Frederick In 2025, sports are fighting harder than ever for fans’ attention – contending with an unprecedented news cycle, shorter attention spans, and changing modes of content consumption. This panel will discuss how teams and leagues are using data to adapt in this rapidly changing world, and how they can play –...

Moderator: Ben Alamar Panelists: Jackie MacMullan, Jeff Bennett, Rebecca Dyer, Brant Berglund Storytelling plays a vital role in the fan experience. Across the sports landscape, storytellers are relied upon to convey the drama and excitement of sports, bring new fans in, and satisfy fans' hunger for knowledge. The tools available to storytellers have expanded significantly over the last few years...

Moderator: Jessica Gelman Panelists: Paul "Triple H" Levesque, Bela Bajaria From Drive to Survive to Quarterback, Netflix has reshaped how fans engage with sports through immersive storytelling. Now, with WWE’s flagship Raw moving to Netflix, the streaming giant is making an even bolder play in live sports entertainment. But what makes for compelling sports storytelling? How do you build anticipat...

Moderator: Alex Edelman Panelists: Nate Silver, Jessica Gelman, Daryl Morey

Moderator: Katie Hodel Panelists: Karlis Kezbers, Keith Goldner, Nicole Pelaez-Dandrea, Branden Moore In an era where data is king, predictive modeling has become a critical tool for decision-making both on and off the field. From optimizing player performance and game strategy to enhancing fan engagement and business operations, predictive models shape the way organizations in sports operate. How...

Moderator: Erin Kelly Panelists: Mike Shane, Jeff Heaton, Emily Johnson, Kari Gritton The most fundamental fan experience in sports is in a seat watching your favorite team live. This panel brings together top ticketing voices to explore the evolving landscape of how fans buy, sell, and experience live events. Experts from across the ticketing landscape will share insights on innovations in ticket...

Moderator: Pablo Torre Panelists: Sendhil Mullainathan, Daryl Morey As AI continues to reshape industries, its impact on sports is only beginning to be understood. Economist and behavioral scientist Sendhil Mullainathan and Daryl Morey join Pablo Torre Finds Out for an in-depth discussion on how AI can expand human capacity in sports, not by replacing human intuition and expertise, but by enhancin...

Moderator: Bill Connelly Panelists: Lorrissa Horton, Scott Pioli, Kevin Demoff Increasingly, NFL organizations are becoming more data-centric, and as a result, so has the role of the Front Office. See through the eyes of NFL executives whose franchises are on the leading edge as they discuss the role of data analytics on free agency/draft strategy, prospective player evaluation, play calling on th...

Moderator: Contessa Brewer Panelists: Jonathan Kraft, Mark Shapiro What will the sports industry look like in 2045? In this forward-thinking conversation, Jonathan Kraft and Mark Shapiro will explore the forces shaping the next generation of sports—from mega-events like the World Cup and Olympics to the future of live entertainment and hospitality, and the growing role of private and public capita...

Moderator: Bret McCormick Panelists: Mark Jackson, Bill Hanway, Darren Ross, Fran Weld  Sports real estate has evolved into a powerful tool for fan engagement, urban revitalization, and the creation of innovative revenue streams. No longer just venues for games, modern sports facilities are driving economic growth, fostering community connections, and redefining the spectator experience. From the...

Moderator: Shira Springer  Panelists: Constance Schwartz-Morini, Megan Rapinoe, Marie Donoghue Increasingly, leading sports figures are telling their stories and connecting directly through athlete-led podcasts, documentaries, and other content that indicates athlete power and changes to sports media approaches. Underscoring this trend is a growing interest from fans to go beyond broadcasted games...

Moderator: Michael McCann Panelists: Oliver Luck, Mark Jackson, Brian Higgins As college athletics enters a transformative era, a landmark NCAA settlement could reshape player compensation, conference dynamics, and the future of the NCAA itself. This panel brings together leading voices from sports governance and business strategy to explore the implications of direct athlete payments, revenue sha...

Moderator: Michael Lewis Panelists: Andrew Luck, Adrian Wojnarowski The NCAA has entered a new era - one shaped by NIL, the transfer portal, and a talent market that looks more like free agency than the traditional recruiting of the past. As the landscape shifts, programs are adapting by introducing General Managers, a role long associated with professional sports but now critical to navigating co...

Moderator: Steve Heiner Panelists: George Pyne, Carolyn Tisch Blodgett, Mitch Lasky Sports investing has expanded far beyond traditional team ownership, with capital now pouring into areas such as sports technology, media rights, betting, athlete-backed ventures, and emerging leagues. This panel will explore how the smartest money in sports is being allocated and what factors investors consider wh...

Moderator: Shira Springer  Panelists: Mike McCarley, Katlyn Gao, Mike Buckley, Steve Argeris As investment accelerates in professional sports, new leagues and teams are emerging, redefining competition and engagement. Mike Buckley, Katlyn Gao, Mike McCarley, and Steve Argeris are shaping this transformation from different angles—league founders driving innovation and an industry leader navigating...

Moderator: Alison Fragale Panelists: Lorissa Horton, Mike Ybarra, Tim Armstrong Year after year, the overlap between the technology and sports sectors grows stronger. Teams and leagues have used technology to revolutionize how they make decisions on the field; technology companies in turn have looked to sports to highlight their capabilities, enhance user engagement, and find new areas of growth....

Moderator: Abe Madkour Panelists: Amy Howe, Brian Rolapp, Jessica Gelman The sports industry is in a period of massive disruption from streaming media to direct-to-consumer to globalization to sky-rocketing team valuations to increased access to athletes to data connectivity. Why have team values increased so much despite declining viewership? The Future of Sports Business is evolving in real-time...

Moderator: Michele Steele Panelists: David Stearns, Nick Caserio, Daryl Morey What’s it like to negotiate nine-figure contracts, let go of a veteran fan-favorite player, or survive a trade deadline? This panel unites four visionary executives across three different sports—Daryl Morey (Philadelphia 76ers), David Stearns (New York Mets), Kwesi Adofo-Mensah (Minnesota Vikings), and Nick Caserio (Hous...

Panelists: Alex Rodriguez, Jason Kelly, David Blitzer ‘The Deal’, Bloomberg’s hit show featuring Alex Rodriguez and Jason Kelly, brings its signature blend of sports, business, and investing to the MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference for an exclusive live interview. In this special session, they sit down with David Blitzer—co-managing partner of Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment and a pi...

Moderator: Jessica Gelman Panelists: Michele Kang, Gerry Cardinale Join an exclusive conversation with Gerry Cardinale and Michele Kang, two entrepreneurs who are literally changing the sports industry.  Both founders have taken unique approaches to expanding global reach through investment approach and team ownership structure. Michele Kang is a pioneering entrepreneur and investor who has transf...

Moderator: Mark Donaldson Panelists: Jonathan Atkeison, Mihir Warty, Todd Myers, Jarrod Kimber Two internationally renowned sports, cricket and rugby, are betting on the appeal of a World Cup to break into the American market. But how effective is this strategy? And what can be done strategically to get this bet to succeed? The World Cup approach relies on a significant upfront investment with con...