Honoring rising professionals, groundbreaking organizations, and industry leaders driving innovation throughout sports
NEW YORK — Front Office Sports (FOS), the leading multiplatform media and news organization covering the business of sports, today announced the debut of the Front Office Sports Honors, an awards platform dedicated to celebrating the individuals, teams, and organizations reshaping the business of sports. Building on years of honoring industry leaders, the Front Office Sports Honors includes two marquee awards: the Rising 25 Award and the Most Innovative awards.
“The business of sports is evolving faster than ever, and innovation sits at the heart of its future,” said Front Office Sports CEO and founder Adam White. “With Front Office Sports Honors, we look forward to recognizing the leaders and organizations who are continually pushing boundaries, challenging the status quo, and redefining the future of sports.”
The Rising 25 Award, established in 2017, will continue its legacy of celebrating the brightest young talent in the business of sports. In recent years, it has become one of the most competitive and sought-after accolades, recognizing the next generation of leaders.
The Most Innovative Awards, presented in partnership with Sports Innovation Lab, will honor organizations pioneering change across the sports industry. From groundbreaking venue designs to cutting-edge technology and transformative media, these awards recognize companies setting new industry standards. The eight award categories for 2025 will include:
- Most Innovative Venues: Recognizing venues revolutionizing the fan experience through state-of-the-art technology, sustainability, and fan-centric innovation.
- Most Innovative College Athletic Departments: Honoring collegiate sports programs that are redefining athlete development and fan engagement while embracing data-driven decision-making.
- Most Innovative Leagues: Spotlighting leagues embracing modern fandom with new strategies for engagement, competition formats, and digital integrations.
- Most Innovative Teams: Celebrating teams that forge deep and authentic connections with fans in innovative and engaging ways on and off the field, court, ice, and beyond.
- Most Innovative Events: Recognizing the events that push the boundaries of sports entertainment with immersive experiences and sustainability initiatives.
- Most Innovative Tech Companies: Honoring companies at the forefront of sports technology—spanning AI-driven performance analysis to fan engagement platforms and more.
- Most Innovative Brands: Showcasing brands that enhance the sports experience through cutting-edge gear, digital engagement, and purpose-driven initiatives.
- Most Innovative Media Companies: Spotlighting media organizations revolutionizing sports storytelling, content distribution, and audience engagement.
“Front Office Sports continues to distinguish itself as a next-generation media company, and calling on Sports Innovation Lab to create a definitive, data-driven methodology for recognizing innovation in the sports industry is a perfect example,” said Sports Innovation Lab Co-Founder and CEO Josh Walker. “We are proud to partner and bring objectivity to their awards program.”
Nominations for the 2025 Front Office Sports Honors are now open.
For more information on the awards, evaluation criteria, submission process, and past winners, please visit frontofficesports.com/honors.
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ABOUT FRONT OFFICE SPORTS
Front Office Sports is the leading multiplatform media and news organization covering the business of sports, boasting an audience that every month delivers more than 175 million social impressions, 35 million newsletter opens, 10 million video views, and 2 million page views. In addition, with more than 15 distribution partners, FOS content appears on screens in more than 50,000 buildings and venues across North America. Front Office Sports was named one of Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies in 2021, AdWeek’s Hottest in Sports in 2022, and listed on Inc. 5000 in 2023, recognizing the fastest-growing private companies in America.
ABOUT SPORTS INNOVATION LAB
Sports Innovation Lab is a Data, Insights, and Analytics company that enables brands and sports properties to build more effective sponsorships, improve targeted advertising, and enhance fan experiences. Known for its pioneering research on fan behavior and the commercialization of the women’s sports market, Sports Innovation Lab is evolving how organizations use data to understand their customers and acquire more of them, starting with sports and entertainment. Sports Innovation Lab’s proprietary fan intelligence model – Fluid Fan Graph™ – is built on observational, transactional, and deterministic fan data. Global brands including the NFL, Kellanova, NASCAR, and Monumental Sports and Entertainment use Sports Innovation Lab’s data, audiences, and strategic advisory to drive revenue. Learn more at sportsilab.com or follow on LinkedIn, Instagram, and X.