John Ourand

A veteran documentary dealmaker’s new model pairs athletes with production opportunities. You don’t have to be a Peyton or Lebron to get in.

John Ourand Welcome back to The Varsity. I am breaking out the slickers to brave the nor’easter at Saturday’s Colgate–Villanova game. Yes, dear friends, it’s another parents weekend on the Main Line. Before we begin: The Senate is expected to vote on the Protect College Sports Act as early as Monday. Stop me if you’ve […]

LIV failed as a golf tour and burned through a staggering amount of money, but its hostile challenge jolted the PGA Tour into finally treating golf as a star-driven spectator sport.

Sep 29, 2026 John Ourand Welcome back to The Varsity. I’m John Ourand, camped out in New York all week. We’re just two days away from In the Arena, the sports business conference that Puck is hosting in partnership with MoffettNathanson. By now, you know the luminaries who will be onstage, including Adam Silver, Bela […]

Few people have more influence over college sports than SEC commissioner Greg Sankey . So when Sankey talks about eligibility rules, media-rights pools, playoff expansion, or the specter of self-governance, athletic directors and network executives listen. Because where the SEC goes, college sports tends to follow.

The media merger of the century is finally official, leaving the sports world wondering what will become of Skydance’s myriad sports rights deals, from the untouchables to the possibly disposable. And that’s all before it has to renegotiate with the NFL and possibly hunt down international soccer rights. “Everybody assumes it’s gonna be a bloodbath,” said one top sports executive.

Do surging valuations for sports franchises portend future mega-returns for new owners, or are they premonitions of a bubble waiting to pop? At our recent In the Arena conference, two industry investors explained why the frenzy isn't as crazy as it seems.

The commentator argues that college sports is financially healthy and competitively strong—not chaotic—and that the turmoil stems largely from the NCAA's own policies.

A former ESPN producer's accusations that the brand had unfairly prioritized its gambling partnerships made the rounds this week. Was this an overdue cri de coeur, or just business as usual for an entity that has long tried to balance its integrity with its core business model?

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