American Conference, StubHub Announce First-Ever Open Distribution Partnership in College Sports

American Conference, StubHub Announce First-Ever Open Distribution Partnership in College Sports

Three-Year Agreement Makes StubHub the Official Open Distribution Partner of American Conference Championship Events

The American Conference and StubHub today announced a three-year sponsorship and ticketing partnership that names StubHub the Official Open Distribution Partner of the American Conference and its championship events through June 2029. The agreement marks the first Open Distribution partnership in college sports and creates a new model to expand championship ticket reach, strengthen fan access and drive revenue for the conference and its member institutions.

“The American Conference and our wholly owned commercial division, American RISE Ventures, are building a modernized, innovative commercial platform for the future of college athletics with partners like StubHub,” said American Conference Commissioner Tim Pernetti. “StubHub gives our championships reach, business intelligence and access to a global marketplace. The partnership illustrates our dynamic, aggressive approach to creating true value for our partners in unique ways.”

Through the partnership, StubHub will serve as the American’s Open Distribution and marketing engine, connecting championship ticket inventory with StubHub’s marketplace of more than 125 million registered users across more than 200 countries and territories. The partnership will support American Conference championship events, including football, men’s and women’s basketball and Olympic sports.

As part of the agreement, StubHub will be integrated into the American’s championship ticket sales ecosystem, including promotion on TheAmerican.org, use of official logos and marks, digital and social promotion, and in-venue signage at football and basketball championship events. StubHub will use its distribution, pricing and strategy services to support ticket sell-through and help drive ticket revenue for the conference.

“The American has the vision and urgency that make this a natural first in college sports,” said Andy Miller, head of college sports partnerships at StubHub. “College sports fans are among the most passionate live-event audiences in the country. This partnership gives American championship events direct access to StubHub’s audience and marketing capabilities, and we are especially excited about what we can build together around women’s sports.”

StubHub’s Open Distribution model gives rights holders a nonexclusive way to reach more fans through the company’s global marketplace while maintaining flexibility in their ticketing strategy. For the American, the model creates a new channel to drive discovery, support ticket sales and serve fans across the full championship event life cycle.

“This is not just a ticketing relationship. It is a distribution strategy,” said Bryan Calka, chief commercial officer, American Conference. “StubHub brings scale and marketplace intelligence that will help us to better serve fans, create value for our championships and establish a new category for conference partnerships.”

The partnership was executed through American RISE Ventures, the conference’s commercial business division created to lead revenue generation, sponsorship strategy, media rights, brand partnerships, technology and emerging business opportunities.

Partnership Highlights

• First-ever in college sports: StubHub will become the first Official Open Distribution Partner of an NCAA Division I athletics conference.
• Three-year partnership: The agreement runs through June 2029.
• Championship access: The partnership covers American Conference football, men’s and women’s basketball and Olympic sports championship events.
• Fan reach: StubHub will connect American championship inventory with its global marketplace and fan audience.
• Revenue growth: StubHub will apply distribution, pricing and strategy services to support ticket sell-through and drive ticket revenue.
• Women’s sports focus: The partners will identify opportunities to grow access, discovery and audience around women’s basketball and other women’s championship events.

About American Conference

The American Conference is a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association. The league was founded in 1979, reconstituted in 2013 as the American Athletic Conference, and rebranded as the American Conference in 2025. With the conference office in Irving, Texas, the American includes the following institutions: University of Alabama at Birmingham, United States Military Academy West Point (Army, in football only), University of North Carolina at Charlotte, East Carolina University, Florida Atlantic University, University of Memphis, United States Naval Academy (Navy, in football only), University of North Texas, Rice University, University of South Florida, Temple University, University of Texas at San Antonio, Tulane University, University of Tulsa and Wichita State University (basketball and Olympic sports). Under the leadership of Commissioner Tim Pernetti, the American sponsors 20 sports, nine for men and 11 for women; is a member of the College Football Playoff; has television partnerships with ESPN and CBS Sports; and in the spring of 2019 signed a foundational television agreement with ESPN that commenced in 2020-21 and extends through the 2033-34 academic year. For more information, visit TheAmerican.org.

About StubHub

StubHub is a leading global ticketing marketplace for live events. Through StubHub in North America and viagogo internationally, StubHub serves customers in more than 200 countries and territories, supports more than 30 languages and accepts payments in more than 45 currencies. From sports and music to comedy, dance, festivals and theater, StubHub offers a safe and convenient way to buy or sell tickets to live events around the world. For more information, visit StubHub.com.

stubhub@sgpr.com

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