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- [00:00]
Indiana University Announcer
Indiana University strengthens tomorrow's workforce with practical, real world experience. IU grads make a difference in your community, serving as teachers, nurses and engineers who rise to tomorrow's challenges and meet them. Learn more at iu.edu impact,
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Host
Bloomberg Audio Studios, Podcasts, Radio News. I want to jump in right to our next two guests because they just are at a panel. The Legacy Play How Global SP Shape Cities, Economies and culture. And we think about so many things that bring communities together and sports is certainly one. So delighted to have a star here
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Co-Host
about to be two stars. Yes.
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Host
Bree Johnson, U.S. olympic goal medicine world champion, of course, skiing. We all know who she is.
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Co-Host
She's so excited you're here.
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Host
Yeah. Just got in here, right?
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Bree Johnson
Yeah, just last night.
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Host
Just last night. Okay. And she's your way. We're not. I don't know about us. Tricia Worthington is with us, Chief Revenue and Philanthropic Officer at U.S. ski and Snowboard. Thank you guys for being with us. Where to begin? You come to Milken. Joe and I keep talking about sports. Is a ton of money in sports. A lot of pressure though, on every sport to make sure that they are generating revenue. Trisha, let me start with you. Tell us what you guys are doing, how easy it is, how hard you're all competing with Dollar for dollars, I should say.
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Tricia Worthington
Absolutely, yeah. We have two main revenue avenues of revenue at US Ski and small snowboard. And that is primarily private giving as well as corporate partnership. And both are really equally supporting these athletes. Everything we raise through those two avenues support their training, their traveling, their coaching, everything they need to get to the level that that Breezy did in Italy.
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Co-Host
Well, it's incredible to have you here and wonderful to meet you. You're a hero for a lot of folks who watched you in action. And I'm wondering what kind of a reception you you're getting here today. Because you're a draw and you help. You're an ambassador for this message, Right. What kind of reaction are you hearing from those who are holding the dollars at Milken?
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Bree Johnson
Yeah, I mean, it's really such an honor to be here, I think. You know, I would say I'm not one of the most well known athletes right now, but, you know, once the gold start shining around, then
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Host
Johnson.
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Bree Johnson
Right.
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Co-Host
Well, that starts the conversation in itself, doesn't it?
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Host
Exactly.
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Bree Johnson
Exactly. Yeah. I think, you know, winning an Olympic gold medal, I don't think I really even could comprehend the value of it to the American public. I think we as athletes, we work our whole lives for it. But I Think, you know, there's a lot of pieces that need to come together. Ski racing in particular, is very much, you know, it's, I think, more similar to a Formula one operation than, like, what most people would expect from an Olympic operation. And we're trying to do that on a very small budget. So, you know, for everything to come together at the right time, once every four years is definitely a challenge.
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Host
Mean, and mean can make you extreme. Like, I totally see it play out. Breezy, talk to us about after winning the medal, like, what does that mean in terms of sponsorships? Do all of a sudden, is the phone ringing like crazy? Give us an idea of how that changes things.
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Bree Johnson
Yeah, it definitely changes things, although it's slow. Right. So as athletes, I would say most of our income comes from four main revenue sources for Alpine athletes. You have your helmet sponsor, your kind of title sponsor. We're lucky enough to work with Stifel on the US Ski Team. And they work with you personally. They're a great. Or they're a great company, and they work. They're super invested in skiing and also expanding our appearance globally, which is super important for sponsorships. Then you have your sort of nil deals, your Instagram deals, things like that. That's. It's a small piece of the pie, and I feel like it's somewhat getting smaller as the market gets larger with NCAA athletes, etc. Then you have your endemic sponsors, your equipment sponsors, things like that. That's sort of holding pretty steady, I would say, but with inflation, I would say somewhat decreasing. And then you have your appearance fees, your, you know, conferences that you speak at, your, you know, keynote speeches that you do. So that obviously has grown a lot. Some of the deals, you know, that I've had are definitely growing. And then obviously you make more from your endemic sponsors through the, you know, bonuses and things like that around the Olympics. But I would say, yeah, it's an ever changing landscape, for sure. And especially with, you know, NCAA and those pieces, it's definitely evolving.
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Co-Host
So, Tricia, how do you grow a sport that for many people is not accessible and is known at least for having a high barrier of entry? How do you make this accessible to more Americans?
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Tricia Worthington
Yeah, I think doing a good job on the corporate sponsorship side and having those corporate partners help us raise awareness for the athletes, because we are such a small sport. So we work with big brands like Stifel that Breezy mentioned, but also Visa, Toyota, J. Crew, all exposing us to audiences that aren't endemic necessarily to the sport. So that would be a key part of that.
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Host
I feel like the last couple of years, Hallelujah. Women and sports are getting some recognition. They're getting the broadcast audience. I do feel like there is a shift going on in a big way. Investors want to invest not just in men's teams, they want to invest in women's teams. Tell me about. Let me start with you. You know, what you are seeing specifically.
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Tricia Worthington
Yeah, I mean, our women are killing it right now. You know, Breezy Lindsey, in case anybody
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Host
forgot, women are
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Co-Host
supposed to say the
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Tricia Worthington
strongest women's moguls team in the world. And so because there's so much hype around women's small sports, it is attracting corporate partners to the team. And so, you know, it's definitely helping us grow that area of our support to a much bigger, you know, size than it has been traditionally.
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Host
I want to ask you. I just want to ask Breezy the same question, like how. Because you started doing this when you were how old and what you've seen, your trajectory of how kind of the acceptance of women in sports, the success of women in sports.
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Bree Johnson
I mean, I would say that in many ways, I think social media has changed the landscape because in the ability for everybody to tell their story, I think people have realized that women have just as compelling of stories as men do. And I think that has, you know, exploded online the ability for women to market themselves. I mean, you know, I think in terms of marketing, you often are talking about a form of investment, right. And I think people are now seeing that investing in women's sports through marketing is, you know, that is an undervalued asset right now. And so to invest in it is, you know, a much better return. Whereas I think with men's sports, yes, there's great return on it, but also, you know, people already have. It's not undervalued in the same way that women's sports is really interesting.
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Co-Host
Just lastly then, what would be your advice to a young person living in the middle of the country without a lot of disposable income, who wants to do what you did?
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Bree Johnson
I mean, I think to me, sports is such a broad category, and I personally love skiing. And I think that they're. For one, you see stories of skiers from places like Buck Hills, small ski hills, and I think we're working through organizations like Sharewinter and things like that to try to expand the sport to a broader socioeconomic background. And then as far as, like, sports in general, I do think that there is a sport for everyone. I think that, yes, there are different kind of genetic advantages to different sports, but I think that everybody sort of has something for one of them, whether it's, you know, the eyesight you need for skiing or the fast switch muscles for sprinting. And so I think just trying a lot of different sports is what I would recommend to a lot of.
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Co-Host
Well, you've inspired so many Americans. We thank you for being here. It's wonderful to meet you in person. And thanks for doing everything that you're doing.
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Tricia Worthington
Thank you.
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Co-Host
Absolutely.
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Host
Both of you. Yeah, really wonderful stuff. So appreciate it.
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Co-Host
Lucy Johnson and Trisha Worthington with us here live at the Milken Global Conference in Beverly Hills.
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Indiana University Announcer
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