National Sports Media Association

What National Sports Media Association does

The National Sports Media Association (NSMA) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit professional association founded in 1959 and headquartered in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, serving sportscasters, sportswriters, and adjacent sports media professionals across the United States, with nominal international reach via its affiliation with the International Sports Press Association (AIPS). Its core product is a portfolio of peer-recognized awards — including the National Sportscaster of the Year, National Sportswriter of the Year, more than 50 State Sportscaster/Sportswriter of the Year designations, the Hall of Fame, and specialized honors such as the Woody Durham Voice of College Sports Award, Jim Nantz Award, Bear Bryant Awards, Clarence "Big House" Gaines Awards, Roone Arledge Award for Innovation, and category awards for books, documentaries, sideline reporting, and young reporters.

The organization operates an annual NSMA Awards Weekend & National Convention, most recently the 66th edition held at Grandover Resort & Spa in Greensboro, North Carolina, which serves as the primary in-person venue for recognition, networking, and educational programming (the Convergence Summit panels and Feedback Room critique sessions). Supporting products include a member-only Resource Center housing NSGA Sports Participation reports (2022–2026) and NSMA program archives, a searchable Membership Directory of individual and corporate members, a Careers/Job Board listing openings from ESPN, FOX Sports, CBS Sports, and team organizations, a Student Chapters program with chartering infrastructure, a Mentor Program, a curated NSMA's Top 5 news feed, and a monthly newsletter. The underlying technology stack is light: NSMA runs on the Glueup event management platform for registration and event operations and offers a companion mobile app (My Glue from Glue-up) for iOS and Android; no proprietary technology or AI/ML capability is developed in-house.

NSMA's business model is that of a membership-based trade association rather than a commercial software or media business. Revenue is generated from three streams: recurring Premier Memberships billed monthly, corporate sponsorships organized into Grand Slam, Homerun, Double, and Single tiers (headline sponsors include Wyndham Championship and ESPN, alongside regional Greensboro-area organizations), and tax-deductible donations processed through Stripe. Distribution is primarily through direct enrollment on the website, the annual convention as a renewal and acquisition venue, and the job board as a self-serve member benefit. The organization is led by Executive Director Dave Goren and operates without parent company, private equity, or venture capital backing.

Name

National Sports Media Association

Legal name

National Sports Media Association

Website

https://nationalsportsmedia.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1959

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The National Sports Media Association is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit professional association founded in 1959 that serves sportscasters and sportswriters through annual awards, Hall of Fame recognition, an annual convention, student chapters, and a membership directory across the United States.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Professional Trade Association Services

NAICS

Professional Organizations (813920)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Regional/Continental Confederations & Associations (MPAKAFAD)

Keywords

• Professional association services
• Sports media awards
• Membership subscriptions
• Trade association events
• Industry recognition programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Winston Salem

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Membership Subscriptions: Premier memberships billed on recurring monthly basis. NSMA operates as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization with membership fees as a primary revenue stream.
2. Donations: Tax-deductible donations accepted through Stripe payment platform. As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, contributions support programming and operations.
3. Sponsorships: Corporate sponsors at various tiers (Grand Slam, Homerun, Double, Single) contribute to NSMA's programming and operations.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

National Sports Media Association is a 501(c)(3) professional trade association that delivers industry recognition and community services to sportscasters and sportswriters. Its core offerings consist of annual awards programs (National Sportscaster of the Year, National Sportswriter of the Year, more than 50 State awards, Hall of Fame, and specialized awards such as Bear Bryant, Woody Durham, Jim Nantz, Big House Gaines, Roone Arledge, and The Annie), an annual Awards Weekend & National Convention including the Convergence Summit and Feedback Room, a searchable Membership Directory, a digital Resource Center, a Mentor Program, chartered Student Chapters, a monthly newsletter, a curated Top 5 news feed, and a careers/job board. Memberships are sold on a recurring monthly basis and supplemented by corporate sponsorships and donations.

Product overview

The National Sports Media Association operates as a membership-based professional association serving the sports media industry. Its core offering consists of awards and recognition programs (including the NSMA Awards, Hall of Fame inductees, and specialized category awards), a membership directory connecting individual and corporate members, and annual conventions featuring professional development panels. The organization also provides educational resources through student chapters, a mentor program, a digital resource center with industry reports, career services via a job board, and curated news content through its Top 5 feed and monthly newsletter. The portfolio is unified under the NSMA brand as a nonprofit association rather than a commercial software platform.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• NSMA Awards Program Annual awards program that recognizes excellence in sports media across national, state, and specialized categories, including National Sportscaster of the Year, National Sportswriter of the Year, more than 50 State Sportscaster and Sportswriter of the Year awards, and category-specific honors such as Bear Bryant Awards, Clarence 'Big House' Gaines Awards, Woody Durham Voice of College Sports Award, Jim Nantz Award, Best Sports Book, Best Sports Documentary, Best Sideline Reporter, Best Young (Under-30) Reporter, Roone Arledge Award for Innovation, and The Annie (Ann Spencer Sports Connector Award). Aimed at working sportscasters and sportswriters who are seeking peer and industry recognition.
• NSMA Hall of Fame Lifetime achievement recognition program that inducts distinguished sportscasters and sportswriters for contributions to the sports media industry, with recent inductees including Adrian Wojnarowski, James Brown, Greg Gumbel, and Sid Hartman. Available to members and the public as part of the recognition portfolio.
• NSMA Awards Weekend & National Convention Annual two-day in-person event combining the awards banquet with the Convergence Summit (educational panels presented by award winners) and the Feedback Room (demo reel and clip file critique sessions for students and young professionals). 66th edition scheduled for June 28-29, 2026 at Grandover Resort & Spa in Greensboro, NC, with more than 300 attendees at recent iterations.
• NSMA Premier Membership Recurring monthly Premier Membership that provides individual sports media professionals with access to the Resource Center, searchable Membership Directory, Careers job board, and other member-only content and resources. Sold through website enrollment and billed on a monthly cadence with 15-day cancellation notice.
• NSMA Mentor Program Mentorship initiative connecting students and young professionals in sports media with veteran sports media professionals, providing career guidance and industry insight for mentees and supporting the association's professional development mission.
• NSMA Student Chapters Program Chartered student organization program supporting aspiring sports media professionals at universities, with constitution, handbook, charter requirements, application form, and student chapter news. Targets students pursuing careers in sports media, journalism, or broadcasting.
• NSMA Careers / Job Board Job board service that lists sports media employment opportunities from organizations including ESPN, FOX Sports, CBS Sports, the Miami Heat, and the Jacksonville Jaguars. Available to members and the broader community seeking sports media roles.

Named customers6 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• International Sports Press Association (AIPS)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNSMA is affiliated with the International Sports Press Association (AIPS), the world governing body for sports journalism, providing international reach and collaboration for sports media professionals.
• National Sporting Goods Association (NSGA)minorOthersNSGA provides sports participation research reports available through NSMA's Resource Center, including annual Sports Participation in the US reports.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves1 record

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• U.S. Basketball Writers Association (USBWA): USBWA is a national association for college and pro basketball writers, operating its own annual honors (e.g., Oscar Robertson Trophy, Coach of the Year) and membership directory. Highly comparable to NSMA's award-driven, sports-vertical association model.
• Boxing Writers Association of America (BWAA): BWAA is a U.S. association for boxing writers, running annual awards (e.g., Fighter of the Year, Manager of the Year) and Hall of Fame. Functionally mirrors NSMA's structure for a narrower sport vertical, making it a like-for-like membership-association peer.
• Pro Football Writers of America (PFWA): PFWA represents sportswriters covering the NFL and runs its own annual awards, Hall of Fame, and Good Guy Award. It is a sport-vertical peer to NSMA — both are 501-style membership associations running credentialed awards programs for sports media professionals.
• Associated Press Sports Editors (APSE): APSE is a U.S. professional association for sports editors and journalists, running its own annual awards, conferences, and membership programs. It is the most directly comparable peer to NSMA in mission, member base (print/broadcast sports media), and awards-driven GTM.

Broad incumbents

• Radio Television Digital News Association (RTDNA): RTDNA is the world's largest professional organization for broadcast and digital news professionals, with awards (Edward R. Murrow Awards), conventions, and ethics training. It overlaps NSMA on broadcast sports media members but operates across all news categories, making it a broader incumbent peer.
• National Association of Broadcasters (NAB): NAB is the trade association for U.S. broadcasters, with major events, advocacy, and education programming. It serves sports-broadcasting employers that NSMA's sportscaster members work for, making it an overlapping adjacent incumbent rather than a direct competitor.
• Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ): SPJ is the largest U.S. journalism membership organization, offering awards (Sigma Delta Chi), advocacy, and professional development across all journalism disciplines. Comparable to NSMA in nonprofit association / membership-subscriptions / awards model but at a much broader journalistic scale.

Others

• International Sports Press Association (AIPS): AIPS is the world governing body for sports journalism and an existing strategic affiliate of NSMA. Not a competitor but the upstream umbrella organization whose international reach and chapters complement NSMA's domestic footprint.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/@nsmasportsmedia
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@nsmasportsmedia
• Facebookfacebook.com/nationalsportsmedia
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/national-sports-media-association-nsma-
• Instagraminstagram.com/nsmasportsmedia

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

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 National Sports Media Association