Key Takeaways
- Game On targets 500,000 young people in sports-centered mentoring by 2035, per the nonprofit’s September 17 announcement.
- Kids in the lowest-income households play organized sports at less than half the rate of the wealthiest, BBBSA said.
- Partners can enter through three tracks: Play, Coaching and Career Pathways, each with a defined ask of brands, leagues and teams.
- The initiative extends prior BBBSA sports work, including The Big Draft with the NFL’s Inspire Change program and Gillette flag football events.
Big Brothers Big Sisters of America (BBBSA), the one-to-one youth mentoring organization founded in 1904, launched Game On on September 17, 2026, a sports-based mentoring initiative with a stated goal of engaging 500,000 young people by 2035. The Tampa-based nonprofit is asking brands, leagues, teams, coaches and fans to fund and staff the effort across three tracks: play, coaching and career pathways.
Why Is Big Brothers Big Sisters Turning to Sports-Based Mentoring?
BBBSA’s case rests on reach and a gap. Two in three Americans are fans of at least one sport, and more than three in four fans ages 12 to 17 typically watch games with other people, according to figures cited in the announcement. Among sports parents, 98 percent say organized sports helps their children make friends, BBBSA said.
The gap is economic. Children in the lowest-income households play organized sports at less than half the rate of children in the wealthiest households, per BBBSA, which describes that disparity as a potential relationship gap. The organization’s position is that sports create the opening for connection while the mentoring relationship determines the outcome.
“Too many young people today are sitting on the proverbial sidelines, battling loneliness, a lack of confidence and uncertainty about their future,” said Artis Stevens, president and CEO of Big Brothers Big Sisters of America. “Every young person deserves a champion in their corner, and through Game On, we’re asking the sports world to join us in making sure they have one.”
Play, Coaching and Career Pathways: Three Ways In for Partners
Each track carries a specific partner ask, per the announcement.
Play gives Bigs (mentors) and Littles (young people) shared time through sports, e-sports, movement and competition. BBBSA is asking partners to support community play days and ongoing sports experiences, lower the cost of entry for kids who would otherwise sit out, create more places for girls to play and lead, and back e-sports experiences with a mentor alongside the gamer.
Coaching runs through youth sports leagues, camps and other sports organizations. BBBSA said it aims to recruit and train new volunteers, including employees, athletes, alumni and fans, as mentors, and to help adults already inside youth sports become more confident mentors through short, customizable training modules.
Career Pathways sits under BBBSA’s broader Big Futures commitment to career readiness. Partners host on-the-job experiences in fields such as media, operations, hospitality, merchandising, analytics and coaching, according to the organization.
“Game On is more than a program. It’s a call to action,” said Adam Vasallo, chief marketing and communications officer at BBBSA, adding that reaching 500,000 young people requires brands, leagues, teams, community organizations and individuals to participate.
Built on NFL, Gillette and Dove Precedents
Game On is not BBBSA’s first sports move. The organization cited a multi-year partnership with the NFL’s Inspire Change initiative that produced The Big Draft, which turns the Super Bowl and the NFL Draft into a nationwide mentor-recruitment drive. BBBSA has also partnered with Gillette on 10-city flag football events and with Dove to promote girls’ sports and confidence, per the announcement.
The nonprofit serves more than 5,000 communities across all 50 states, BBBSA said, giving prospective partners a national footprint to activate against.
500,000 Littles on a Nine-Year Clock
For youth sports operators, the Coaching track is the most direct point of contact: BBBSA said it will work through leagues, camps and sports organizations to recruit volunteers and train the adults already on the field. For brands, the Play and Career Pathways tracks map to familiar sponsorship inventory, including play days, subsidized registration, girls’ programming, e-sports and job shadowing.
What the announcement does not include is a funding target, an annual milestone schedule or a list of launch partners beyond the NFL, Gillette and Dove collaborations already on record. The number BBBSA put on the table is 500,000 by 2035; the partners who will get it there have not yet been named.
Source: Big Brothers Big Sisters of America via PR Newswire, September 17, 2026, [URL]
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How big is the youth sports market?
American families spend approximately $54 billion annually on kids’ sports and recreation, according to the YSBR and Kinetica Group Youth Sports TAM & Parent Spending Report, with organized sports alone representing a $40 billion-plus market. The average family spent $1,016 on a child’s primary sport in 2024, up 46 percent since 2019, per the Aspen Institute’s Project Play, and market research projects the global youth sports market will reach approximately $114 billion by 2032 (Business Research Insights).
How many kids play youth sports in the United States?
Approximately 27.3 million children ages 6 to 17, or about 54.6 percent, played organized sports in 2022-2023, according to the National Survey of Children’s Health as reported by the Aspen Institute’s Project Play. High school sports participation reached a record 8.26 million athletes in 2024-25, per the NFHS.
Who founded Youth Sports Business Report?
Youth Sports Business Report was founded by Cameron Korab, a sports marketing veteran with more than a decade in the industry and an MBA from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management. Korab also co-founded Vertical Sports, a sports marketing advisory serving brands across youth, college, and pro sports.
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Youth Sports Marketing Questions, Answered
Where can brands sponsor youth sports? Brands can sponsor youth sports through local leagues and clubs, tournaments and events, facilities and complexes, governing bodies, and national platform programs. Sponsoring a child’s own program is the most powerful entry point: 81 percent of parents say it captures their attention, outperforming TV, social media, and pro sports sponsorship, per a 2026 Priority Partnerships study conducted by YouGov Sport.
How much does youth sports sponsorship cost? Youth sports sponsorship costs range from a few thousand dollars for a local league or team sponsorship to six and seven figures for regional facility naming rights and national platform programs. The environment is welcoming at every level: 84 percent of parents hold net positive sentiment toward brands sponsoring youth sports, with negative sentiment under 5 percent, per YouGov Sport research. Most brands start with a pilot activation, measure engagement, then scale.
What is the ROI of youth sports marketing? The data is striking: 80 percent of parents say they would choose the brand that sponsors their child’s youth sports program when comparing two similar products, per a 2026 Priority Partnerships study by YouGov Sport. A 2026 EMARKETER and DICK’S Media survey found 84 percent of sports parents say that role influences their purchase decisions, and 60 percent spend more on game and practice days, driving loyalty across categories from dining to travel to automotive.
Ready to build a youth sports strategy? Vertical Sports is an Advisory+ delivering integrated expertise across all levels of sport. Youth, College, Pro. Every Fan, Every Level. Brands and youth sports organizations can reach the team at info@verticalsports.us.
