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We're entering a new era of sports sponsorship, here's what you need to know

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We're entering a new era of sports sponsorship, here's what you need to know

Sports sponsorship offers a transference of cultural power, says Alex Henderson of M+C Saatchi. So, how do we make sure we get the partnership right?

Brands spend over $100bn annually on sports sponsorships – not for impressions or logo placements, but for something more difficult and important to measure: meaning.

At its best, sponsorship is a statement of identity. It is how brands show up in the right moments, with the right communities, in a way that authentically says: this is who we are.

In this new marketing era, brands crave cultural power. Sponsorship offers a transference of cultural power, the value of which cannot be replicated in other marketing disciplines.

But while sponsorship ambition has evolved, measurement hasn’t. Rights holders still lean heavily on media equivalency models – outdated formulas that reduce sponsorship to the cost of a billboard. In a world where brand leaders are under significant pressure to prove marketing ROI, that’s no longer acceptable, and they need more help.

The real value of sponsorship lies in what it shifts – not just what it shows.

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Brand value

We’ve all seen sponsorships that clearly move the needle: they build relevance, unlock new audiences, or drive loyalty. But without sophisticated data tools and a clear strategy, it’s hard to explain why they worked – or justify the investment.

That’s the gap, and it’s holding the industry back.

It’s time to move from instinct to actionable insights. From one-off activations to repeatable brand-led sponsorships. From chasing impressions to building cultural connections with the right communities through conversations that will drive short- and long-term brand desire.

Cultural power provides a breakthrough framework for sponsorship. It reframes success and resonance, not just reach. It asks not just whether a brand has presence, but whether it mattered and how it influenced audiences.

This doesn’t mean trend-jumping. This calls for being consistently relevant, emotionally resonant, and, most importantly, living out your brand’s core values through the sponsorship experiences you bring to life.

The strongest sponsorships don’t just mimic culture – they actively shape it.

Achieving alignment

Here are four musts for culturally powerful sponsorships. Firstly, begin with business ambition. Anchor your commercial strategy with tangible goals such as entering new markets, building brand equity, increasing lifetime value, or acquiring new audiences. Let the business drive the brief.

Secondly, measure what moves people. Move beyond surface metrics. Tracking sentiment, behavior, and cultural power with sophisticated tools will provide you the insights and language you need in the boardroom.

Thirdly, plan from cultural moments, not partnership menus. Don’t default to signage or social posts. Do the research to map the moments your audiences care about. Then design brand-led experiences that will deliver meaning in those moments.

Fourthly, move from a gut feeling to repeatable success. Treat sponsorship like any strategic investment. Use consistent frameworks to track what works – and implement those learnings across your partnerships.

The most effective sponsorships don’t happen by accident. They’re the result of alignment – between ambition and execution, between brand and audience, between presence and purpose. When that alignment clicks, cultural power is increased and creative gets braver, internal teams rally behind investment, and business value is realized.

Exposure to impact

In part because of brand desire for cultural power, sponsorship is coming of age. In the coming years, we believe sponsorship can become one of the sharpest and most impactful tools in a marketer’s toolkit.

But it’s long overdue the reinvention that it will take to help it get there. The best leaders across industries already know it is a very powerful brand builder. Finding the right data partner and tools sophisticated enough to help prove will prove key.

Cultural power offers a decisive path forward – connecting brand desire, presence, influence, and cultural moments to business performance in ways that boards can understand and back.

It goes from an unorthodox line-item cost to strategic growth driver. From exposure to impact. From passive presence to cultural power transference.

And that’s when your brand isn’t just seen. It’s understood, desired, in demand – and shaping culture.

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Sports

Emma Reaves Breaks Own School Record in Tri-Meet with URI, Stonehill

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KINGSTON, R.I. — Sophomore thrower Emma Reaves (Westminster, Md.) placed first in the shot put, headlining the women’s track and field team’s first-place finish in the team’s tri-meet with the University of Rhode Island and Stonehill College, winning with 104 points.
 
UNH’s men’s track and field team finished in third with 89 points, while URI won the meet with 96 points and Stonehill closed with 91 points.
 
In addition to Reaves’ win, the following Wildcats placed:
 

  • Women’s Long Jump

    • Sophomore Sarah Moore (Lisbon, Maine), first place (5.75m)
    • Graduate student Autumn Agri (Stratham, N.H.), second place (5.35m)
    • Junior Audrey Thornton (Freedom, N.H.), third place (5.28m)

  • Men’s Long Jump

    • Freshman Rio Calle (Weare, N.H.), fourth place (7.01m)

  • Women’s Triple Jump
  • Men’s Triple Jump

    • Sophomore Ethan Palmer (Bowdoin, Maine), third place (14.60m)

  • Women’s Shot Put

    • Reaves, first place (14.38m)
    • Freshman Payton Goulding (Cumberland, R.I.), third place (11.86m)
    • Sophomore Ruby Prentiss (Falmouth, Maine), sixth place (11.13m)

  • Men’s Shot Put
  • Women’s Weight Throw

    • Reaves, first place (17.87m)
    • Goulding, third place (15.23m)
    • Junior Briana Danis (Hooksett, N.H.), fifth place (15.06m)
    • Prentiss, sixth place (14.31m)1.5

  • Men’s Weight Throw

    • Senior Liam McGovern (North Kingstown, R.I.), first place (19.79m)
    • Abaka-Amuah, second place (19.53m)
    • Senior Jack Washam (Nashua, N.H.), third place (17.73m)

  • Women’s High Jump
  • Men’s High Jump

    • Junior Gunnar Sokol (Berwick, Maine), seventh (1.90m)
    • Sophomore Samuel Grube (Dover, N.H.), ninth (1.90m)

  • Men’s Pole Vault
  • Men’s 1 Mile
  • Women’s 60m Hurdles
  • Women’s 600m Run
  • Men’s 600m Run

    • Sophomore James Gecek (High Bridge, N.J.), seventh (1:25.58)

  • Women’s 60m Dash

    • Nada, first (7.71)
    • Moore, second (7.72)
    • Thornton, third (7.88)
    • Sophomore Eva Roberts (Derry, N.H.), fifth (7.92)

  • Men’s 1000m Run
  • Women’s 300m Dash

    • Thornton, second (42.43)
    • Sophomore Brooke White (Barnet, Vt.), fifth (42.90)
    • Senior Liliana Chirichella (Troy, N.H.), seventh (43.66)
    • Roberts, ninth (45.25)

  • Women’s 3000m Run

    • Senior Claire Ronan (Port Jefferson Station, N.Y.), first (10:09.32)
    • Senior Carolyn Day (Wolfeboro, N.H.), third (10:37.08)

  • Men’s 3000m Run
  • Women’s 4x400m Relay

    • New Hampshire “A” (Chirichella, Hickey, Dillon, Agri), second (4:08.42)

  • Men’s 4×400 Relay

    • New Hampshire “A” (Gecek, Daniel Anderson [Naugatuck, Conn.], Calle, Lesniak), fourth (3:28.38)



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ACU Heads to College Station for First Meet of the Indoor Season

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The ACU track and field team opens its indoor season by competing in the McFerrin 12-Degree Invitational on the campus of Texas A&M on Saturday. The meet will be a low-key meet designed to get in some competition before the Christmas break.

Joining ACU and host Texas A&M in the field will be Baylor, Sam Houston State, SMU, and UTSA.

This meet will be the first competition for several newcomers to the program. There are plans to have three 4×400 relays for the women and the men and some of the newcomers will only run on the relays this weekend.

ACU entries for the men include: 60 (Horatio Brooks); 300 (Gage Heighten); 1000 (Evan Martin); Mile (Benjamin Castro, Vincent Luffey); 3,000 (Mark Barajas, Carlos Cortez); 60 hurdles (Canaan Fairley, Miguel Hall); high jump (Canaan Fairley); long jump (Horatio Brooks); weight throw (Rhet Punt, Matthew Udemba).

There will also be a large relay pool to fill out the three 4×400 relays and this pool includes newcomers who will only be competing in the relays – Durrell Collins, Abraham Olufemi-Dada, Nickens Lemba – and two returnees also running solely on the relays this weekend – Ethan Krause and Ryan McMeen.

ACU entries for the women include: 60 (Lauren Foxworth, Darinasia Taylor, Kee’Lani Whitlock, Neriah Williams, Morgan Morris, Halle Gunter, Jaeden Thomas); 300 (Morgan Morris, Kaycian Johnson); 600 (Madelyn McFadden, Anna Vyn, Gracee Whiteaker, Jalyn Childers); 1000 (Emma Santoro); Mile (Lola Buentello); 60 hurdles (Hana Banks, Nele Huth, Natalie Poe, Skyla Riedel); high jump (Kaia Anderson, Kennadi Payne, Natalie Poe); long jump (Halle Gunter, Nele Huth, Skyla Riedel, Jaeden Thomas); shot put (Sterling Glenn, Ciara Tilley, Mariana Van Dyk); weight throw (Sterling Glenn, Mariana Van Dyk).

Because the McFerrin Invitational will not have a triple jump in the meet, two Wildcats took part in the OU Winter Field Fest. Arthur Jenkins recorded a 14.94m triple jump, while Mackenzie Flaugher went 11.70m.

The McFerrin 12-Degree Invitational will be held in the Murray Fasken Indoor Track on the Texas A&M campus. The field events will begin at 2 p.m. and the running events at 4 p.m. on Saturday.

Coach Miles Smith: I’m excited to see our kids compete. They have been working hard. We have a lot of newcomers who are getting their first taste of collegiate competition, so it will be fun to watch them compete.  Our goal is to come out healthy and learn what we need to work on over the next few weeks before the bulk of our season kicks off in mid-January.

 



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Petitjean, Weber Set Personal Bests In Boston

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BOSTON – The Elon University women’s track and field team opened its indoor season with two members of its distance squad competing at the Sharon Colyear-Danville Opener on Saturday at the BU Track and Tennis Center.
 
Senior Sarah Petitjean led the Phoenix in the 3,000 meters, posting a personal-best time of 9:49.97 to place 52nd in a field of 95 runners.
 
In the 5,000 meters, junior Hannah Weber also set a personal record with a time of 16:29, improving her previous best by nearly three seconds.
 
ON DECK
Elon will be idle for the winter break before returning to competition on Jan. 17 at the Mondo College Invitational at the JDL Fast Track Complex.
 

— ELON —



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Mountaineers Set New 4×400-Meter Relay Meet Record at Indoor Season Opener

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WINSTON-SALEM, N.C.  – The App State women’s track and field team opened the 2025-26 indoor season at the Visit Winston-Salem College Kick-Off on Saturday. A new meet record, set by the 4×400-meter relay quartet of junior Nicole Wells, seniors Damyja Alejandro-Ortiz and Daye Talley, and junior Jayla Adams, punctuated the day’s action. 

“This was a great season opener for all event groups to knock the rust off from months ago. The athletes are really motivated to be back from break and start the season.” said director of track & field/cross country Damion McLean. “Expectations are high this season, so we have to stay motivated on an elite level to be competitive.” 

 

Wells, Alejandro-Ortiz, Talley, and Adams stopped the clock at 3:45.76 for a new meet record in the women’s 4×400-meter relay. The previous meet record was 3:49.07, set in 2021 by Duke’s Jenna Crean, Lauren Hoffman, Megan McGinnis, and Kiara Ekeigwe. The Mountaineers were two seconds shy of the App State school record of 3:43.85, which was set at the 2023 Sun Belt Indoor Championships. Earlier in the afternoon, Adams and Talley finished third (24.39) and fifth (24.77), respectively, in the women’s seeded 200 meters. Adams remains third in the App State all-time list with her personal best of 24.22, which she set during the 2024 campaign. In the women’s unseeded 200 meters, sophomore Kaitlyn McLeod placed fifth with a time of 25.04.

 

In her collegiate indoor debut, freshman Alana Braxton posted a pair of first place finishes in the women’s triple jump (12.32m (40′ 5″)) and women’s long jump (5.87m (19′ 3.25″)). Fellow freshman Ashlynn Wimberly landed second with a leap of 12.14m (39′ 10″) and sophomore Jahaila Wright placed sixth with a leap of 11.60m (38′ 0.75″) in the women’s triple jump. With a leap of 5.31m (17′ 5.25″) freshman Kelly MacBride rounded out the top 10 in the women’s long jump.

 

Senior Ava Studney placed first in the women’s pole vault, recording a clearance of 3.95m (12′ 11.5″). 

 

Junior Kendall Johnson placed second with a time of 7.50 in the women’s 60 meters, coming within 0.08 of her personal best and program record of 7.42, which she set at last season’s SBC Indoor Championships. Wells rounded out the top 10 in the women’s 60 meters with a time of 7.73.

 

With a time of 2:18.09, senior Addison Ollendick-Smith placed fourth in the women’s 800 meters. Ollendick-Smith, who stands second all-time in the program record book, was seven seconds shy of her personal best of 2:11.13, which she set last season.

 

With a personal best toss of 14.70m (48′ 2.75″), junior Dianna Boykin placed eighth in the women’s weight throw. Sophomore Emily Edwards placed eighth with a toss of 12.17m (39′ 11.25″) in the women’s shot put and rounded out the top 10 in the women’s weight throw with a mark of 14.03m (46′ 0.5″).

 

Up Next

The Mountaineers will resume the indoor track and field season with the UNC Asheville Collegiate Opener at Tryon International on Jan. 10.

 



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No. 2 seed ASU volleyball advances to Sweet 16 in NCAA Tournament

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Updated Dec. 5, 2025, 11:15 p.m. MT



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Babcock sets record as Pitt women’s volleyball team rolls in 1st round of NCAA Tournament

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Olivia Babcock didn’t realize her performance during the first round of the NCAA women’s volleyball tournament gave her the Pitt record for most kills in a season. Babcock knew she met the previous record holder, Wendy Hatlestad, during alumni weekend.

Babcock recorded 13 kills during the Panthers’ 25-10, 25-17, 25-13 win Friday night at Petersen Events Center in front of a crowd of 4,240. Babcock now has 558 kills, going past the single-season record of 555 Hatlestad set in 2003.

“I was talking to her two weeks ago,” Babcock said. “That’s crazy I just met her. But I think it says a lot about how much my team trusts me to take those big rips, and it gives me the opportunity to score and get as many kills as I do.”

Everyone had a good night hitting for the top-seeded Panthers, who advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament for the 10th straight season.

The Panthers committed only four attack errors against UMBC (13-12) and finished with a hitting percentage of .551.

“It’s really good to start out and to remind ourselves to maintain high standards,” Babcock said. “Obviously, all of these teams have made it into the tournament because they’re an amazing team, and everyone’s going to bring their best volleyball. I think we just need to make sure that we’re playing our best, too, because, especially in these matches, we don’t wanna slip up and give away a set or a match.”

Pitt (27-4) hasn’t dropped a set in the first round since it beat VCU, 3-1, in 2017 at Penn State.

The Retrievers qualified for the tournament after winning the America East Conference for the fifth time in the past six seasons. Pitt setter Brooke Mosher, who finished with 34 assists, said the Panthers got themselves in system thanks to their good passing.

Blaire Bayless was second for the Panthers with nine kills, and Abby Emch contributed eight.

“That made it really easy for me to spread the ball around and get the middles involved,” Mosher said. “Then, I trusted my teammates to be able to put the ball away.”

Pitt lost the first point of the match after UMBC delivered on a kill by Jalynn Brown. The Panthers responded by scoring the next three points, capping the surge with an ace by Izzy Masten.

UMBC struggled to find holes in Pitt’s defense. The Retrievers hit .129 and were led by seven kills from Hannah Dobbs.

UMBC coach Kasey Crider was happy with how they played.

“We don’t have an Olivia Babcock slayer, so, bummer,” Crider said. “I’ve been to this tournament a few times as a head coach and assistant coach, and I’ve never walked away from the tournament thinking we were the best at the end until today. It still hurts, but there were no regrets.”

Pitt will take on Michigan in the second round Saturday. The Wolverines advanced by beating Xavier. The Panthers are 3-6 all-time against the Wolverines.

Pitt’s only meeting with Michigan in the NCAA Tournament came in 2018, when the Wolverines upset Pitt in five sets at Petersen Events Center.

Mosher, who previously played in the NCAA Tournament with Illinois, said she doesn’t feel any extra pressure playing as the No. 1 seed.

“I think just being in the tournament has its own weight in itself,” Mosher said. “Every game your season is on the line, which is the same no matter who you are.”

Josh Rizzo is a freelance writer.





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