The Business of Women's Sports: Emerging Leagues

Wednesday, October 14 | 12:30 PM ET

The Business of Women's Sports

Emerging Leagues

Beyond the WNBA and NWSL, a growing wave of emerging women’s leagues is testing new formats, compensation models, and commercial strategies — from basketball and volleyball to softball and baseball startups. While expansion and experimentation are driving momentum, long‑term sustainability remains the defining challenge. This SBJ Live episode will examine how emerging women’s leagues are being built, funded, and positioned — and what separates durable growth from short‑term buzz.

What We Will Discuss:

• Business models behind new and emerging women’s leagues
• Media, distribution, and visibility strategies at the startup stage
• Player compensation, ownership, and labor considerations
• How brands and investors are evaluating early‑stage league opportunities

Who Should Attend:

• League founders and team executives
• Investors and operators focused on women’s sports
• Brand and sponsorship leaders seeking early‑entry partnerships
• Media, agency, and consulting professionals tracking league innovation

Featured Speakers (Additional to be Announced)

Luke Cooper has dedicated his career to basketball, business and helping others in the space reach their full potential. Beginning as the lead student manager for the University of Missouri, Kansas City’s men’s basketball program, he quickly transitioned into a full-time basketball development career that eventually led to his position as President and Co-Founder at Unrivaled.

Prior to Unrivaled, Cooper served as Head Trainer at Overtime Elite for almost two years, where he notably trained Amen and Ausar Thompson, the first twins to be selected in the NBA Draft’s top five. His experience working with NBA talent includes Andrew Wiggins, Zach LaVine, Bradley Beal and David Lee, and led to his co-founding of Through the Lens alongside Alex Bazzell, current Unrivaled President, and Carmelo Anthony. The platform is aimed to help bridge the gap from the best trainers and players in the world to the everyday player and parent.

Born and raised in Kansas City, Missouri, Cooper began his career as a KC Skills Coach at Pure Sweat, a basketball training company with skills coaches working across the U.S. that offers a variety of services to players and coaches at every level.

Raquel Braun is the Co-Founder of Mulier Fortis, a consultancy transforming the landscape of sports, media, and technology, and currently serves as Chief Commercial Officer at League One Volleyball (LOVB). At LOVB, she leads the league’s global media and content strategy, overseeing media rights, live event production, original programming, and strategic partnerships to build a permanent media business for one of the fastest-growing professional women’s sports leagues in the U.S. With 18 years of experience driving growth for major sports and media organizations, Braun has held leadership roles at EA Sports, FOX Sports, and the Women’s Sports Network, where she served as Chief Business Officer. She is also an Adjunct Professor at Georgetown University Law Center, teaching sports and entertainment law to the next generation of industry leaders.

Pete Jung is a marketing leader with three decades of experience in global marketing and brand strategy. He serves as chief marketing officer of TMRW Sports, which is creating new approaches to sports, media and entertainment. In this role, he leads marketing and communications for TGL presented by SoFi, the men’s team golf league developed with the PGA Tour; WTGL, an upcoming women’s team golf league developed with the LPGA; and the launch of a new professional flag football league in partnership with the NFL, featuring men’s and women’s competition ahead of the 2028 Olympics.

Previously, Jung served as chief marketing officer of NASCAR, where he led the organization’s marketing department and drove brand growth by attracting new fans and deepening engagement. After joining NASCAR in 2014, he helped expand its reach among younger and diverse audiences through multicultural marketing, integrated partnerships and athlete-driven campaigns. His accomplishments included leading NASCAR’s first brand relaunch in more than 40 years, introducing a data-driven fan journey strategy, launching the first professional sports league fan rewards program, and creating a first-of-its-kind youth program.

Earlier, Jung served as vice president of global marketing at Mastercard, directing consumer marketing strategies across more than 40 international markets. He also held marketing and advertising roles at Time Inc. and leading marketing agencies, working across major brands in sports, travel, automotive and consumer industries.

A graduate of the University of Dayton, Jung lives in Winter Park, Fla., with his wife and children.

Allie Kleva, Chief Growth Officer, Athletes Unlimited

Registration is free. All registrants will receive a recording of the webinar following the event.

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