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Inaugural Bay Area Sports Business Awards winners announced
Four recipients named ahead of the November 9 gala; the John Beam Community Action Award will be presented live
The Leavey School of Business at Santa Clara University and the San Francisco Chronicle have named the first four winners of the Bay Area Sports Business Awards, a new annual program honoring the people and organizations shaping the region’s sports economy. The fifth honor, the John Beam Community Action Award, will be presented live at the awards gala in San Francisco on November 9.
Winners were selected by a finalist judging panel of eight Bay Area sports leaders: Billy Beane, Brandi Chastain, Stu Jackson, Tom Kelley, Ann Killion, Heather Owen, Bill Schlough and Kerri Walsh Jennings. Judges with a personal or organizational connection to a finalist recused themselves from ranking that category.
Sports Innovator of the Year: Jess Smith. As president of the Golden State Valkyries, Smith built the WNBA expansion team from the ground up, leading it to a sold-out first season in 2025 and league records for average and total attendance. CNBC valued the franchise at $1 billion in 2026, the first WNBA team to reach that mark. The honor arrives as the Valkyries, in just their second season, lead the Atlanta Dream 3–2 in the WNBA Finals, with a chance to clinch the league title in Game 6 on Thursday, October 29.
Ethics in Sports Business Award: Brenda Villa. A four-time Olympic medalist and now associate head coach of Stanford women’s water polo, Villa is recognized for her work opening the sport to kids in under-resourced communities. Through Project 2020, the Brenda Villa Foundation and her co-chairing of USA Water Polo’s Racial Equity and Reform Task Force, she has worked to widen access to pools, programs and leadership.
Athlete Game Changer Award: Stephen Curry. Curry is honored for the work of Eat. Learn. Play., the Oakland-focused foundation he and Ayesha Curry launched in 2019. Since then, the foundation has invested more than $100 million in Oakland students, delivered more than 35 million meals and, with partners, rebuilt 24 schoolyards and six gyms.
Sports Business Advocate Award: Bay Area Women’s Sports Initiative (BAWSI). Founded in 2005 after the Women’s United Soccer Association folded, BAWSI places professional, college and high school women athletes as coaches and mentors for children in under-resourced neighborhoods. It has enrolled more than 30,000 children and youth in free programs, including BAWSI Rollers for children with disabilities.
John Beam Community Action Award. Selected by the San Francisco Chronicle in partnership with the Beam family, the award honors those who have used sport to strengthen Bay Area communities. It will be presented live at the November 9 gala.
Like every award in the program, none carries a cash prize. Instead, a donation is made in the recipient’s honor to a charity or to a scholarship fund for Leavey’s MS in Sports Business program. The inaugural class will be honored at the gala in San Francisco on November 9. For more on the awards and each winner, visit SFGATE.