A college women’s tournaments with more than $1 million at stake. Sounds like March Madness, right? Nope, it’s Spikes Under the Lights, a college volleyball showcase, and it’s coming to AT&T Stadium with four powerhouse schools competing for the largest prize pool ever in women’s college sports. And it’s all thanks to youth volleyball events.

The Division I Men's and Women's Basketball Championships will increase from 68 teams to 76 starting in 2027. NCAA is trumpeting the increased opportunities for championship participation but in the world of travel sports, the questions are already starting: What does the new structure mean for hosting opportunities and how will it affect bidding?

Usually, high-profile sports events see growth that comes in their wake, almost like an aftershock. (A prime example is the interest in gymnastics following the Summer Olympics.) But soccer has flipped that model on its head, showing exponential growth even before the first World Cup player takes the field in the USA, according to a report from SFIA.

The question of when, how (or even if) the IOC will sanction esports events may have been answered. Earlier this month, IOC President Kirsty Coventry suspended the Esports Commission’s activities, putting the kibosh on bringing video games into the Olympics. The move has been called temporary; however, efforts to incorporate gaming keep stalling out.

Participation in team sports in the U.S. has continued to increase, according to the most recent data from the SFIA. Baseball has been a top driver of this growth, with more than 18.2 million Americans ages six and up participating in the sport in 2025. All that growth has many locations around the country upping their game to welcome events.

Here we are, halfway through National Tennis Month, and the news is … bad. No fewer than 23 tennis programs across all three divisions of the NCAA have been canceled in recent weeks. The Intercollegiate Tennis Association is mounting an all-hands-on-deck effort to save programs from the axe and to keep tennis on campus as a championship varsity sport.