The U.S sports system sits on the precipice of a massive transition, from the grassroots to the treetops. Traditional structures that have guided the development of youth, school, college, global and professional sports are being pressure-tested and in some cases ripped up by the forces of NIL, legal rulings, technology, private equity, and White House executive orders.

In moments like these, policy matters — guardrails to balance competing interests and creative incentives that can help a sector serve the public interest. But sports policy has never been a strength of our government — indeed, the U.S. is one of the few nations in the world without a federal department of sports to coordinate sport development.

So, policymakers put forth proposals to reshape college sports with no assessment of the impact on youth and high school sports — the foundation upon which the whole system sits. They pursue efforts to protect Olympic sports without considering alternate models that might recruit more athletes and deliver more medals for Team USA.

Can the U.S. develop coherent sports policy in this vacuum of knowledge? How did we get here and what needs to happen to ensure the Golden Decade ahead — from the 2026 FIFA Men’s World Cup to the 2028 Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games, the 2031 FIFA Women’s World Cup and 2034 Winter Games — unfolds in a manner that is underpinned by a coherent, mutually beneficial sport system?

Panelists:

• Dionne Koller, Sport law professor, University of Baltimore
• Binta Niambi Brown, Entertainment partner, Manatt
• Stephen Weyler, Government relations director, Invariant
• Jared Cooper, Executive director, FundPlay Foundation
• Brent Richard, CEO, IMG Academy
• Tom Farrey and Ashleigh Huffman, Aspen Institute Sports & Society, moderators

Resources:

• “The long-awaited Commission report on sports governance is here. What does it say, and what comes next?”: An analysis of the final report the Commission on the State of U.S. Olympics & Paralympics by Ashleigh Huffman and Tom Farrey
• World’s Leading Sport Systems: A comparative structural analysis of the sports systems in the United States and eleven peer countries
• Analyses by “Take Back the Game” author Linda Flanagan of innovative youth sports governance models at the state and local levels
• Youth Sports Policy & Governance: Project Play resources and Project Play Summit replays focusing on the governance of youth sports