FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Brendan Gannon
Senior Marketing Manager, Awards Programs
Ragan Communications
[email protected]
Ragan Communications Launches Sports Marketing Awards, Now Accepting Entries
Awards program will recognize standout campaigns, partnerships, fan experiences, content, communications, teams and professionals across the sports industry.
Chicago, IL — July 30, 2026 — Ragan Communications is now accepting entries for its Sports Marketing Awards, a recognition program honoring the people and work behind the moments that connect fans, build brands, strengthen partnerships and produce measurable business results across sports.
Behind every memorable game-day experience, breakthrough sponsorship, athlete partnership, viral piece of content and successful season launch is a team making dozens of strategic decisions before fans ever see the result.
The Sports Marketing Awards were created to give that work, and the people behind it, greater industry recognition.
Entries are open to professional and minor league teams, leagues, college athletics programs, brands, agencies, sponsors, sports media companies, technology organizations and independent professionals working across sports marketing, communications and public relations.
“Sports creates some of the most passionate audiences in the world, and reaching those audiences takes remarkable creativity, strategy and collaboration,” said Brendan Gannon of Ragan Communications. “We created the Sports Marketing Awards to recognize the marketers, communicators, creators, partnership leaders and teams responsible for work that fans remember and organizations can measure.”
The entry deadline is October 23, 2026. Learn more and enter here.
Categories reflect the wide range of work taking place across the sports business, including:
- Sponsorship Activation
- Brand/Team Partnership
- Fan Engagement Campaign
- Game-Day/Live Event Marketing
- Women’s Sports Marketing Campaign
- Social Media Campaign
- Influencer/Athlete Partnership
- Athlete Storytelling Campaign
- Media Relations Campaign
- Crisis Communications
- AI-Powered Fan Experience
- In-Venue Fan Experience
- Sports Marketer of the Year
- Sports Communicator of the Year
- Sports Agency of the Year
- Sports Marketing Campaign of the Year
See the full list of categories here.
Strong entries will show more than a compelling idea. Judges will look for clear goals, thoughtful strategy, strong execution and results that demonstrate what the work accomplished.
Those results may include increased ticket or merchandise sales, sponsorship value, fan participation, audience growth, engagement, media coverage, website traffic, app usage, conversions, brand awareness, reputation or other meaningful business outcomes.
Recognition through the Sports Marketing Awards gives organizations an opportunity to put successful work in front of a national audience of communications and marketing professionals, build credibility with leadership and clients, celebrate the people responsible for the results and give standout campaigns a life beyond the season or activation in which they appeared.
Winners will receive recognition across Ragan’s editorial, marketing, PR and social channels, along with a trophy, digital winner badge and promotional resources to help organizations and teams share their achievement.
Organizations may submit their own work, agencies may enter work on behalf of clients, and individuals or teams may be nominated for recognition. Work may also be entered in multiple categories when appropriate, with each submission judged independently.
The standard entry deadline is October 23, 2026. Late entries will be accepted through October 30, 2026, with additional late fees applying after October 23.
Review the full category list, eligibility information and submission details, and enter here.
For entry questions, contact Barbara Kanady at [email protected].
For sponsorship opportunities, contact Morgan Einspanier at [email protected].
About Ragan Communications and PR Daily
Ragan Communications has been delivering trusted news, training and intelligence for more than 60 years to internal and external communicators, HR professionals and business leaders. Its daily news sites, PRDaily.com and Ragan.com, are read by more than 600,000 internal and external communicators monthly. Ragan’s Communications Leadership Council is one of the fastest-growing membership groups for communications executives, and its conferences, webinars and workshops are attended by more than 5,000 communicators a year. Ragan Training is the leading learning portal among communicators, offering more than 800 hours of training and development for communicators. Ragan is also the producer of Communications Week, which is held each November. Headquartered in Chicago, Ragan has team members spanning the country and loyal customers worldwide. Visit us at ragan.com.
