Welcome to Sportico’s transactions wire, a weekly rundown of personnel, partnerships and products across the sports business industry.

PERSONNEL

Steve Bornstein Joins Board of Coker’s New MMA Promotion

The new global mixed martial arts league led by Scott Coker announced that Steve Bornstein has joined its advisory board as the promotion continues to build toward its 2027 debut. Bornstein will advise the promotion across several areas, including media strategy, distribution, technology, fan engagement and commercial development. The group includes Wade Davis, Steve Kaplan, Steve Mosko and Swimmy Minami.

Minnesota United FC Names Christina Hennington CEO

Minnesota United FC announced that Christina Hennington has been named the club’s chief executive officer. With more than two decades of leadership at Target, Hennington most recently served as chief strategy and growth officer. Shari Ballard, who will retire after five years leading the club, will work alongside Hennington through the remainder of the 2026 season.

Project B Appoints Igor Kokoškov as Head of Player Development

Project B announced the appointment of Igor Kokoškov as head of player development to lead the organization’s long-term talent strategy. Kokoškov brings more than three decades of coaching experience across Europe, international basketball and the NBA. In 2018, Kokoškov made history when the Phoenix Suns hired him as their head coach, the first in NBA history born and raised outside of North America.

Chrysa Chin Joins NKSFB as Managing Director

NKSFB, a business management firm, announced sports executive Chrysa Chin has joined the firm as managing director, effective immediately. In her new role, Chin will work with the firm’s athlete services practice. Chin brings more than 30 years of experience in professional sports, most recently serving as EVP of strategic relations and chief player engagement officer at the NBPA.

Bay Collective Names Global Director of Data & Technology

Bay Collective, a multi-club ownership platform for women’s football clubs, announced the appointment of Joe Sullivan as global director of data & technology. Sullivan will lead the development and delivery of a platform-wide data, AI and technology strategy across Bay Collective’s clubs. Prior to joining Bay Collective, he was the first manager of a dedicated women’s data and technology team at the English Football Association.

Loren Mack Joins Bare Knuckle Boxing as CMO and EVP of Strategy

Veteran global sports executive Loren Mack has joined BKB: Bare Knuckle Boxing as chief marketing officer and executive vice president of strategy. Mack will oversee BKB global brand strategy, audience and content growth, broadcast and streaming marketing, live event demand generation, and the marketing strategy supporting the organization’s sponsorship and partnership portfolio. As a member of the senior leadership team, he will help shape BKB’s enterprise and corporate strategy.

U.S. SailGP Team Appoints Pete Gunovsky as Commercial Director

The U.S. SailGP Team announced the appointment of Pete Gunovsky as commercial director. Reporting to team principal, CEO and co-owner Mike Buckley, Gunovsky will lead the team’s global commercial function, overseeing commercial development, revenue growth and international expansion. Gunovsky joins from Oracle Red Bull Racing, where he served as head of commercial for three years. Previously, Gunovsky spent five years at Chelsea Football Club in a dual role across marketing and commercial.

Former Coca-Cola Exec Joins Whoop Leadership Team

Whoop announced the hire of its first chief communications officer, Kristen Moss, to lead global communications and elevate the brand’s reputation as it continues to scale. Moss most recently served as VP of strategic communications for North America at Coca-Cola, and head of global corporate communications for Reebok, where she led communications for the brand’s $2.5 billion sale to Authentic Brands Group.

PARTNERSHIPS

Scripps Sports Scores U.S. Media Rights for Women’s Volleyball World Cup

Volleyball World, the 2027 FIVB Women’s Volleyball World Cup Organizing Committee and Scripps Sports have signed an exclusive U.S. domestic broadcast rights agreement to televise all 64 games of the upcoming Women’s Volleyball World Cup 2027 tournament on Ion and Scripps Sports platforms in both English and Spanish. The deal was facilitated by Horizon Sports & Experiences, the exclusive sponsorship and media rights sales agency for the 2027 FIVB Women’s Volleyball World Cup.

USA Sports, Bundesliga Set Exclusive U.S. Media Rights Deal

USA Sports is the new exclusive English-language home of the Bundesliga—Germany’s top domestic soccer league—beginning this August with more than 300 live matches airing in the United States across USA Network and streaming on Versant-owned Fandango. As part of the long-term partnership that runs through the 2030-31 season, USA Sports will present live coverage of all Bundesliga regular season matches.

Lakers Announce Albert as Jersey Patch Partner

The Los Angeles Lakers announced a partnership with personal financial assistant app Albert, naming the brand the official jersey patch partner of the Lakers. The Albert jersey patch will be featured on the upper left chest of all four Lakers uniform designs including the gold icon edition, purple statement edition, white association edition and the black city edition.

New York Jets Partner With Xerox

The New York Jets announced a multiyear partnership with Xerox to integrate Xerox solutions across the team’s football and business operations. Collaborating with the Jets’ IT department, Xerox will help enhance productivity, streamline workflows and support day-to-day operations. The partnership also includes gameday branding at MetLife Stadium, hospitality and partner engagement opportunities throughout the season, and year-round access to the Jets Partner Alliance, the team’s B2B network of leading brands.

Aston Villa Announce Visit Rwanda Partnership

Aston Villa announced Visit Rwanda as the club’s Principal Partner, Official Tourism Partner and Official Coffee Provider. Visit Rwanda’s branding will appear on the front of all men’s, women’s and academy teams’ shirts, as well as in a number of other prominent spaces.

Cal Athletics, Dialpad Agree to Jersey Patch Sponsorship

Dialpad—an AI platform for customer experience—has been selected as the inaugural jersey patch sponsor across all 30 of the Cal Golden Bears’ sports programs. Dialpad has also been named the Official AI Platform for Fan Experience of Cal Athletics in what is the largest corporate partnership in Golden Bears history. The multiyear partnership was facilitated by Learfield’s Cal Bears Sports Properties.

DePaul Athletics, Desert Cactus Launch Jersey Patch Partnership

DePaul Athletics officially announced a sponsorship partnership with Chicagoland-based Desert Cactus, which makes them the first jersey patch sponsor in the Big East. In the multiyear deal, Desert Cactus will be featured on all DePaul men’s basketball uniforms, starting with the 2026-27 season. In addition, Desert Cactus will work with DePaul as a testing ground for new products across several retail locations, which will then be scaled nationally.

Psycho Bunny Announces Multiyear Partnership With USA Padel

Menswear brand Psycho Bunny has entered into a multiyear partnership agreement with USA Padel, making Psycho Bunny the official uniform partner for the men’s, women’s and all-age group national teams. All groups will compete in Psycho Bunny-branded Team USA uniforms, both nationally and internationally.

FloSports Gets Exclusive CrossFit Games Rights

FloSports announced a partnership with CrossFit, making it the exclusive global media partner for the 2026 CrossFit Games, presented by the Air National Guard. The agreement delivers comprehensive coverage to the 2026 CrossFit Games across every division this season—individuals, teams, adaptive, teenagers and masters. It represents the largest investment to date in coverage of the CrossFit Games, significantly increasing access and payout purses to athletes.

Texas Tech Athletics Secures Naming Rights Agreement With Galaxy

Texas Tech Athletics announced a 15-year naming rights partnership with Galaxy to rebrand the home of Red Raider Football as Galaxy Stadium beginning with the 2026 season. The agreement with the data-center infrastructure and digital-assets company will create a new revenue stream for Texas Tech. The  collaboration with Galaxy will provide name, image and likeness (NIL) opportunities for Red Raider athletes through branded activation campaigns and original content.

PRODUCTS

Toronto FC II Relocates to Barrie as City Unveils Soccer Stadium

The city of Barrie, Ontario, Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment, MLS Next Pro and Barrie Stadium Group announced a partnership that will bring professional soccer to downtown Barrie through the relocation of Toronto FC II of MLS Next Pro, beginning with the 2028-29 season. The announcement also unveiled plans for a purpose-built, soccer-specific, 3,500-seat stadium in downtown Barrie. The stadium will serve as the future home of the Barrie MLS Next Pro team while acting as a community destination capable of hosting professional sports and concerts, festivals and community programming.

Mookie Betts Launches Baseball Glove Company

Eight-time MLB All-Star and four-time World Series champion Mookie Betts is launching LGND, a baseball glove company. LGND will debut with two glove collections designed to meet the needs of athletes at every stage of development. LGND will also feature an interactive glove customization platform that allows players to design a glove that reflects their individual style and preferences.

Louis Vuitton Supplies Official Trophy Trunk of World Cup 2026

As an Official Supplier and Branded Licensee of the FIFA World Cup 2026, Louis Vuitton will introduce the official World Cup Trophy Trunk for the tournament trophy. The trunk will first appear during Sunday’s World Cup final. For this occasion, the house also unveils an exclusive limited-edition collection of Louis Vuitton trunks.

IBA President Kremlev Sets Wrestling Partnership With RAF

Umar Kremlev, president of the International Boxing Association (IBA), who also serves as chairman of the supervisory board of the Russian Wrestling Federation, together with Chad Bronstein, co-founder and CEO of the professional wrestling league Real American Freestyle (RAF), announced a joint venture with the professional wrestling league to launch its debut tournament of RAF Russia. The debut joint project will see an RAF tournament held in Moscow on Sept. 5.

PURCHASES

Founder of Ronin Capital Makes Investment in Detroit City FC

Detroit City Football Club (DCFC) Holdings announced that Jay Farner, founder and CEO of Ronin Capital Partners, will be making the largest single investment in the club’s history through Ronin Sports & Entertainment Group, the sports investment division of Ronin. The investment will help fuel the construction of AlumniFi Field, accelerate the club’s mixed-use development connecting Detroit’s Corktown and Mexicantown neighborhoods, and support the club’s continued growth. As part of the investment, Farner has joined the DCFC Holdings board of directors.

Elite Consulting Joins AS1

AS1, the  football representation company, continues its international expansion with the incorporation of Elite Consulting of Scandinavia. The integration of Elite Consulting significantly strengthens AS1’s presence in Northern Europe. Today, AS1 represents more than 550 players from over 40 countries competing across 36-plus professional leagues.

(This has been updated with the Lakers’ jersey patch partnership.)