Altius Sports Partners

What Altius Sports Partners does

Altius Sports Partners is a Washington, DC-based strategic advisory firm founded in 2020 to help collegiate athletics departments navigate the post-NIL era, and has since evolved into a comprehensive advisor on college sports revenue, operations, and athlete commercialization. The firm operates two divisions: ASP College, which provides consulting, embedded on-campus personnel, and strategic guidance to Division I athletics programs across NIL program development, athlete revenue sharing, licensing, sponsorship, compliance, and operational efficiency; and ASP Brands, which connects blue-chip consumer and media brands such as Verizon, Powerade, FedEx, and NBC Sports with college athletes for marketing campaigns and endorsements. As of the most recent reporting, the firm serves 55+ Division I institutions across 10+ conferences — including nearly half of the Power 4 — and maintains on-campus executive staff (Executive GMs / Executive Directors) at 16 partner schools such as Michigan and Georgia.

The firm is privately held and operates as Altius Sports Partners, LLC. On November 6, 2023 it was acquired by underdog & company, an innovative marketing services platform majority-backed by NewSpring Holdings (a Philadelphia-based PE firm with over $3 billion AUM). The firm also partners with OneTeam (athlete licensing) and previously held a minority stake with Playfly Sports. Pricing is quote-based and not publicly disclosed; revenue is derived entirely from professional services fees across consulting engagements, embedded operating roles, and brand partnership intermediation. The firm's leadership is drawn from former athletic directors, NFL league office executives, sports law academics, and senior sports operating executives. Notable transitions include the September 2025 promotion of Andrew Donovan to lead the firm following the departure of CEO Tommy Gray to Fanatics. The firm has been recognized as a Best Place to Work in Sports by Sports Business Journal (2023, 2024, 2025) and Best Employer in Sports by Front Office Sports (2023, 2024).

Name

Altius Sports Partners

Legal name

Altius Sports Partners, LLC

Website

https://altiussportspartners.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2020

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Altius Sports Partners is a strategic advisory firm serving 55+ U.S. Division I athletics programs and consumer brands, providing consulting, embedded on-campus personnel, and brand-athlete partnership services around NIL, revenue generation, and operational efficiency.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Sports Management Consulting

NAICS

Agents and Managers for Artists, Athletes, Entertainers, and Other Public Figures (7114)

SIC

Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)

akta.pro primary industry

Sports Business Consulting & Advisory (Strategy, Valuation, Due Diligence) (MPAKAKAL)

akta.pro secondary industries

Sports Fundraising & Development Services (Foundations, NIL Collectives Support) (MPAKAKAK), Sponsorship Sales, Valuation & Analytics Services (Rights Sales, Measurement, Consulting) (MPAKALAK), Athletics Fundraising, Sponsorships & NIL Support (EDALAIAN)

Keywords

• Sports management consulting
• Collegiate athletics advisory
• NIL strategy services
• Athletic department consulting
• Athlete brand partnerships

Headquarters

HQ city

Washington

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Others

Revenue model

1. Strategic Consulting - ASP College: Altius provides consulting services to collegiate athletics departments, offering guidance on NIL programs, revenue generation strategy, departmental optimization, licensing, sponsorship, agent relations, and operational efficiency. The company has evolved from NIL-focused consulting to comprehensive strategic advisory across all revenue and operational aspects of college athletics programs.
2. Brand Partnership Services - ASP Brands: ASP Brands helps blue-chip brands including Verizon, Powerade, FedEx, and NBC Sports develop and execute college sports marketing strategies and NIL campaigns. The division facilitates collaboration between brands and athletes, executing national marketing campaigns involving college athletes.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Altius Sports Partners is a strategic advisory consultancy serving collegiate athletics through two core divisions: ASP College provides strategic consulting to Division I athletic departments on NIL program development, revenue generation, operational efficiency, licensing, sponsorship, and departmental transformation; ASP Brands connects blue-chip consumer and media brands such as Verizon, Powerade, FedEx, and NBC Sports with college athletes for NIL marketing campaigns and endorsement partnerships. The firm also embeds on-campus personnel at partner institutions through its GM Program.

Product overview

Altius Sports Partners is a strategic advisory firm with two core divisions: ASP College provides consulting services to collegiate athletic departments on revenue optimization, NIL programs, operational efficiency, and departmental strategy; and ASP Brands facilitates partnerships between blue-chip brands and college athletes. The company also operates an On-Campus GM Program that places dedicated personnel at partner institutions to lead NIL operations, supported by an athlete education curriculum covering brand development, financial literacy, and compliance. The firm serves 40+ Division I programs including nearly half of the Power 4 conferences, and is backed by underdog & company.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• ASP College: The college division providing strategic consulting services to collegiate athletics departments on NIL, revenue generation, and operational efficiency.
• ASP Brands

Products and services

• ASP College Strategic consulting and advisory services for Division I collegiate athletic departments covering revenue generation strategy, NIL program development, athlete revenue sharing implementation, operational efficiency, licensing, sponsorship, agent relations, compliance, and departmental transformation.
• ASP Brands Connects blue-chip consumer and media brands including Verizon, Powerade, FedEx, and NBC Sports with college athletes for NIL marketing campaigns, brand partnerships, sponsorship valuation, and endorsement activation in college sports.
• On-Campus GM Program Places dedicated Altius personnel (Executive GMs, Executive Directors) on university campuses to lead NIL operations, athlete engagement, commercial strategy, and strategic initiatives for partner institutions.
• NIL Education Curriculum Educational curriculum for student-athletes covering NIL opportunities, financial literacy, contract negotiation, brand development, and compliance, delivered through Altius's Athlete Services Division.

Named customers13 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• OneTeamminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 7 May 2024OneTeam and Altius Sports Partners entered into a multiyear partnership agreement for collaborative initiatives in the college sports and athlete branding space.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights7 records

Direct peers

• Playfly Sports: Playfly Sports is one of the largest college sports multimedia rights and sponsorship sales agencies in the U.S., directly overlapping with ASP College's advisory and ASP Brands' sponsorship activation work for Division I institutions.
• Legends Hospitality: Legends provides advisory, hospitality, and sponsorship services for collegiate and professional sports properties, including NIL-adjacent strategy work — comparable to ASP's broader strategic advisory and brand partnership offerings.
• JMI Sports: JMI Sports provides comprehensive marketing, sponsorship, and venue-naming representation for major collegiate and professional sports properties, comparable to Altius's combination of school-side advisory and brand-side partnership intermediation.
• Blueprint Sports: Blueprint Sports builds and operates school-affiliated NIL collectives and provides athlete commercial services — directly competing with Altius's campus-embedded NIL operations and GM Program.

Broad incumbents

• CAA (Creative Artists Agency): CAA's sports division represents collegiate and professional athletes for NIL and endorsement deals and advises schools on athlete commercial strategy, overlapping with Altius's ASP Brands and embedded GM offerings.
• Wasserman: Wasserman Group is a global sports marketing, talent representation, and consulting firm — Altius hired Brent Swartz away from Wasserman's college sports practice, indicating overlap in the brand-athlete partnership space.
• Octagon: Octagon is a global sports marketing and athlete management agency owned by IPG, operating in college sports sponsorship consulting and brand strategy that overlaps with ASP Brands' offerings.
• Learfield: Learfield (formerly Learfield IMG College) is the dominant U.S. collegiate multimedia rights holder and sponsorship agency — a much larger incumbent that competes with Altius across sponsorship strategy, NIL integration, and brand partnership services for schools.

Emerging players

• Teamworks: Teamworks (which acquired INFLCR) provides athlete management, NIL compliance, and athletic department operations software — an emerging tech-driven competitor to portions of Altius's advisory and athlete services stack.
• Opendorse: Opendorse is the leading NIL marketplace and athlete marketing platform; it is a partial competitor in facilitating brand-athlete endorsement deals and could disintermediate portions of ASP Brands' intermediation business.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/AltiusPartners
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/altius-sports-partners

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Altius Sports Partners