Deep Blue Sports & Entertainment Host 3rd Annual Business of Women's Sports Summit in NYC

Short N Sweet Ent

Photo Credit: Coach_taybx

From basketball to soccer, to gymnastics to track, you name the sport, and WOMEN have been dominating in their respective fields for decades. Women have taken their power back and shown through their talent and skills that they aren’t anything to mess with when they are in their element. It is always an honor to be in spaces where women in sports are celebrated for the achievements, contributions, and impacts that they have had and will continue to have for years to come.    

On April 21, 2025, at Chelsea Factory, Deep Blue Sports & Entertainment hosted their 3rd Annual Business of Women’s Sports Summit in New York City.

The Summit partnered with Bumble, Invisalign, Canopy Team, Relo Metrics, Shopify, Gainbridge, Super League, Popup Bagels, Glamsquad, Sequel, Olipop, Hot Plate, and Dig to create a once and a lifetime experience.    

With an all-star line-up of athletes, executives, managers, entrepreneurs, talent, and investors Deep Blue Sports & Entertainment put together engaging and thought-provoking panels and fireside chats for everyone in attendance. The main stage host was the beautiful and talented Peleton Instructor Kirsten Ferguson The speakers included game changers such as Allyson Felix, Sue Bird, Azzi Fudd, Monica McNutt, Jasmine Maietta, Lauren & Sienna Betts, Flau’jae Johnson, Laura Correnti, Stef Strack, Laurie Hernandez, Megan Rapinoe, and Chelsea Clinton. iHeart Women’s Sports Podcast Host, Terrika Foster-Brasby and Khristina Williams conducted backstage live interviews with some of the speakers and it gave the viewers a personal insight into each person’s journey.

What it means to be a modern-day female athlete is continuously changing and the topics of what it means to be the best in your sport, how to build a championship team, how to partner with brands, the conversations surrounding NIL, and policy and public service initiatives are all areas that were discussed throughout the day.    

Photo Credit: Coach_taybx

The “Creating Buzz & Making Content In Women’s Sports” panel moderated by Ellen Hyslop and featuring Ari Chambers, Aliyah Funschelle, Vinciane Ngomsi, and Darian Jenkins had a breakout discussion that ignited passion and excitement across the room. As someone looking into the life of a content creator, journalist, and or a sports analyst you may see it as an easy job but this profession is a lot of work and requires much more than the eye can see. It requires endless hours of hard work and dedication. The art of storytelling is at the forefront of what they do and to get the job done correctly you have to be intentional and authentic with the stories you are telling. In this particular discussion, the ladies discussed how to break into their field and the highs and the lows of what they do.

One key takeaway from this discussion was the importance of engagement and how to stay connected to your audiences.

“Engagement for me is connecting the dots between the athletes and the brands”, said Jenkins.

“We really want them to tell their stories from their own minds”, said Ngomsi.

The relationship between brands and athletes is extremely essential and viewers can automatically sense which brands put in the extra work to show that they really care about who they are working with.

Photo Credit: Coach_taybx

This year, the birth of the “Unrivaled Basketball” sports league was born. The success of Unrivaled took off like a rocket and never looked back. We got to see the players display their talent on another level and we got the chance, through social media, to get to know them on so many different levels. Sports analyst Ari Chambers spoke about how Sephora was able to capitalize during this time.  Chambers stated, “Everyone wanted to be a part of the tunnel to show off their fits. People wanted to know the products that were used by some of the players, like DiJonai Carrington because we know her to always look beautiful on the court. Sephora was everywhere and at one point I had to ask myself do I need to go shopping”.

It was no surprise that the WNBA Draft had millions of viewers tuning in to see the number one pick Paige Bueckers get drafted to the Dallas Wings. Some people may say that what really stole the moment of the night was her interview with the queen of sports media content, Aliyah Funschelle. When asked about this moment in the discussion Funschelle highlighted that her partnership with DoorDash and Wing Stop was great but she didn’t know it would take off the way it did. While expressing her viral moment she stated, “engagement is the biggest thing with these brands and you want it to matter”. You want people to know that these athletes are relatable and that we all can connect with them in various ways.                 

As the end of the panel came to a close Ari Chambers reminded us all that if you want this to be your career, “Wherever there is sports, Be There”!

Azzi Fudd on "Why we should support Women's Sports?

Flau'jae Johnson on "Why we should support Women's Sports?

All in all, The Business of Women’s Sports Summit was worth wild and a huge success. From the red-carpet interviews to the activations there was something for everyone. To top off the evening The Timeless Torches and Big Ellie came out and delivered a jaw dropping performance. We are excited to see more people support women’s sports and take up the spaces where we belong.

Written By: Shauntay Hallett

Until Next Post... Coach Tay