Sports & Entertainment Travel

What Sports & Entertainment Travel does

Sports & Entertainment Travel (SET), LLC is a full-service sports and entertainment travel management company founded in 2014 and headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. The company builds, markets, and operates group travel packages for university alumni associations, athletic departments, donors, and individual sports fans, with anchor concentration in Power Five conference college athletics and a portfolio of premium bucket-list events including the Kentucky Derby, Masters Tournament, Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, and the 2026 FIFA World Cup. SET operates a web-driven group travel application that handles planning, marketing, registration, trip management, and financial reconciliation, with credit-card processing routed through PCI-Compliant gateways; the platform also powers custom, organization-branded travel microsites linked into partner university websites and supports a two-way traveler communication channel for real-time updates. SET holds exclusive or official fan travel partnerships with major programs including Penn State, the University of Oklahoma Foundation, Wisconsin, Oklahoma State, Oregon, Minnesota, and others, alongside event-property partnerships with the Acrisure Series, Cayman Islands Classic, Rady Children's Invitational, and Peak Events.

The company generates revenue primarily through one-time travel package sales (unit pricing; land-only and air-inclusive structures spanning roughly $579 to $5,439 per person) plus custom event planning services for donor tours and special events; supplemental streams include travel insurance commissions (via Travelex) and travel-agent channel commissions. Go-to-market is hybrid: enterprise field sales targeting university alumni associations, athletic departments, and event owners, paired with direct-to-consumer phone/web sales and a third-party travel-agent booking portal; distribution is amplified through partner-organization websites, alumni newsletters, in-game announcements, and email marketing. SET is a privately held LLC and has operated as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Orbridge — a premier educational group tour operator — since its January 1, 2019 acquisition. Operations across 7 U.S. states are supported by registered Seller of Travel compliance. Current leadership is President Kyle McDonald (appointed September 2023), VP Marketing Todd Crowell, and VPs of Business Development Brian Murphy and Tegan Thornberry; cumulative program volume cited is 1,700+ programs serving 100,000+–500,000+ participants (figures vary across sources).

Name

Sports & Entertainment Travel

Legal name

Sports & Entertainment Travel, LLC

Website

https://sportsandentertainmenttravel.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Sports & Entertainment Travel is a full-service sports travel management firm serving college athletics alumni associations, athletic departments, and individual fans. Founded in 2014 and owned by Orbridge since 2019, SET operates fan travel programs for 100+ university partners and premium events.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Sports Travel Management

NAICS

Spectator Sports (71121), Promoters of Performing Arts, Sports, and Similar Events (7113)

SIC

Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)

akta.pro primary industry

Sports Team, Tournament & Training Travel (THAKAGAI)

akta.pro secondary industries

Sports & Active Travel Agencies (e.g., ski, golf, dive) (THAKAFAJ), Sports Hospitality & Premium Experiences (VIP, Suites, Fan Zones) (MPAGAMAJ)

Keywords

• Sports fan travel
• College athletics travel
• Group travel management
• Athletic donor tours
• Event travel packages

Headquarters

HQ city

Indianapolis

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Travel Package Sales: SET generates revenue through selling comprehensive travel packages to sports fans, alumni, and donors. Packages include land-only options (accommodations, tickets, transportation) and full air-inclusive packages with charter or commercial flights. Pricing varies by event with deposits typically 15% and final payment due 90 days prior to travel.
2. Custom Event Travel Planning: Bespoke travel experiences for athletic donor tours, bucket-list trips, and special events including chartered transportation, private excursions, and hospitality events.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Sports & Entertainment Travel (SET) is a full-service travel and tour management company that plans and delivers customized sports and entertainment travel packages for university alumni associations, athletic departments, booster clubs, and individual sports fans. Offerings span land-only and air-inclusive packages to college football and basketball events, NCAA tournaments, bowl games, and bucket-list experiences such as the Kentucky Derby, Masters Tournament, Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, Balloon Fiesta, World Cup, and motorsports events. Operations are supported by a web-driven group travel application, PCI-compliant payment processing, a 24/7 in-house call center, and partner-branded booking websites.

Product overview

Sports & Entertainment Travel (SET) operates as a full-service travel and tour management company offering a unified portfolio of travel services centered on collegiate athletics and sports/entertainment fan travel. The core offering combines Full Travel Management (with dedicated marketing sites, reservation systems, and 24/7 support) with Athletic Donor Tours for university donor experiences. Supporting modules include Travel Insurance (via Travelex), Custom Event Quotes, and a Travel Agent/Planner Portal. The product line includes event-specific travel packages (Kentucky Derby, Balloon Fiesta, Macy's Thanksgiving Parade, World Cup, Acrisure Series, Rady Children's Invitational, Indy Classic), programmatic offerings (NCAA tournaments, bowl games), and bucket-list experiences (Masters Tournament, motorsports). SET has over 1,700 programs and serves university partners across the Power Five conferences.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Full Travel Management Comprehensive B2B travel management service for university and event partners, including dedicated travel website development, creative marketing campaigns, advertising, promotion, reservation systems, and a 24/7 customer support center.
• Athletic Donor Tours Specialized donor travel experiences for university athletic programs including football away game weekends, bowl games, basketball tournaments, baseball trips, and bucket-list experiences such as the Masters Golf Tournament and Kentucky Derby.
• Kentucky Derby Travel Packages Exclusive travel packages to the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs including accommodations in Lexington KY, premium grandstand tickets, horse farm and distillery tours, and round-trip transportation; pricing starts at $4,999 per person for the four-night package.

Named customers13 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• University of Oklahoma FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 23 September 2025SET named Official Fan Travel Partner of the OU Foundation. Manages all official OU Athletics, alumni, and fan travel packages including custom trips for marquee regular-season games, postseason football, and national events like Kentucky Derby and Masters. Packages range from land-only to all-inclusive with charter air.
• Total Sports ConsultingcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 22 July 2025SET named exclusive official travel package partner for the Acrisure Series, America's largest multi-team basketball event. Partnership features premium hotel accommodations, transportation, game tickets, exclusive events, and personalized guest support.
• Sports San DiegocoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 22 May 2025Partnership for exclusive official travel package provider status for the Rady Children's Invitational, elevating fan experience for college basketball showcase.
• Peak EventsminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 11 October 2024Exclusive travel package partner for all Peak Events' Classics including the Jacksonville College Baseball Classic.
• D1.relocationminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 29 February 2024Partnership to provide short-term housing solutions for athletic administrators and coaches transitioning to new jobs and markets. D1.relocation offers white-label platforms with customizable housing options across NCAA Division I institutions.
• Penn State Alumni AssociationcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 9 November 2023Official athletic travel provider for the world's largest alumni network, creating custom athletic travel packages for Penn State fans and alumni.
• Cayman Islands ClassicminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 25 February 2020Official travel package provider for the fourth annual Cayman Islands Classic college basketball tournament.
• Firestone Grand Prix of St PetersburgminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 27 November 2019Official fan travel package provider for the Firestone Grand Prix of St Petersburg IndyCar race.
• OrbridgecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019Orbridge acquired Sports & Entertainment Travel, LLC as of January 1, 2019. Both companies share leadership and Orbridge is SET's parent company. They jointly run SET's Green Initiative, planting 100,000 trees annually (500,000 trees over five years) to offset carbon footprint.
• University of Wisconsin-MadisoncoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 12 November 2018Partnership with Wisconsin Alumni Association and UW Athletics as official athletic travel provider for all UW-Madison fan travel packages.
• Oklahoma State UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 20 November 2015Partnership with OSU Alumni Association and OSU Athletics as official travel provider for all OSU alumni and fans wishing to follow the Cowboys.
• University of Oregon Alumni AssociationcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 3 December 2014Partnership to handle official athletic fan travel for all University of Oregon alumni and fans.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Anthony Travel: Anthony Travel is a long-standing sports and group travel agency that organizes fan travel for university athletics programs and major sporting events — virtually identical core offering to SET's Power Five and event-package business.
• Short's Travel Management: Short's Travel Management runs a dedicated collegiate sports division that books fan and donor travel for universities, directly overlapping with SET's alumni and booster-club fan travel programs.
• On Location: On Location (formed via the PrimeSport and CIDC merger) is the largest premium sports hospitality provider, selling official fan travel and VIP packages for NFL, college football, and marquee global events — directly competitive with SET's bucket-list packages.
• QuintEvents: QuintEvents provides official ticket-inclusive travel and hospitality packages for college football bowl games, Final Four, Indianapolis 500, and other major US sports events, competing head-to-head with SET for the same university and fan customers.
• Roadtrips: Roadtrips designs luxury, fully-customized sports travel experiences to the Masters, Kentucky Derby, College Football Playoff, and World Cup — overlapping with SET's premium bucket-list product line.

Broad incumbents

• WorldStrides: WorldStrides is the largest US educational student travel company, a sister-company to SET via Orbridge's parent structure. It addresses adjacent institutional group travel demand but is not focused on collegiate sports fan travel.

Others

• Cvent: Cvent provides event management, corporate registration, and group booking software used by large associations and corporations to coordinate meetings and group travel — an enabling technology in the event-travel ecosystem adjacent to SET's full travel management offering.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/SETExperiences
• Facebookfacebook.com/sportsandentertainmenttravel

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 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 Sports & Entertainment Travel