GamePlanU

What GamePlanU does

GamePlanU is a Sarasota, Florida-based private company that operates as a multi-sided platform at the intersection of sports, media, technology, and higher education, with a stated mission of turning athletes into entrepreneurs and campuses into innovation engines. Its portfolio of products is organized into four pillars — Innovation (the SIE platform with national startup competitions, founder programming, and campus-anchored programs), Innovators (the Athlete Innovator Pathway and Creator Studio for IP and brand development), Speakers (an ongoing speaker series and workshops), and Ecosystem (Campus Collabs connecting athletics, innovation centers, alumni networks, and industry partners). Supporting the pillars are two proprietary methodologies: the ROSI™ (Return on Sports Innovation) five-pillar performance index with an interactive Scoreboard for institutional benchmarking, and the Sports Startup Evaluation Framework, a weighted 1-5 rubric scoring model across six dimensions (Market, Team, Moat, Traction, Capital Efficiency, Ecosystem Fit) used to vet applying founders.

Revenue mechanics span three streams: subscription/recurring revenue from university partnership programs (institutional ROSI engagements and sponsorship activation), transaction fees from national startup competitions and championships, and managed-services economics from the Sports Innovation Angel Fund, which pools investor capital for syndicated deal flow. Distribution combines field-sales enterprise engagement with universities, a self-serve Founder Application Platform (15-25 minute submission), and a complimentary Investor Network serving as a channel for curated deal flow. The company's reach is national across the United States, anchored by the Gridiron1880 creator-led media network focused on college football fandom and athlete storytelling. GamePlanU reports a 1-10 employee headcount, was launched in 2017, has no publicly disclosed funding rounds, revenue figures, or institutional investors, and operates primarily on a community-and-content-driven go-to-market motion backed by events, social media, and thought leadership content.

Name

GamePlanU

Legal name

GamePlanU

Website

https://gameplanu.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

GamePlanU operates a multi-sided platform at the intersection of college sports, media, and higher education, running startup competitions, athlete entrepreneurship programs, and the ROSI™ performance framework for universities, with an affiliated investor network and angel fund.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Sports Innovation Programs

NAICS

Sports Teams and Clubs (711211), Other Spectator Sports (711219), Sports and Recreation Instruction (611620)

SIC

Investment Advice (6282), Services-Miscellaneous Amusement & Recreation (7990)

akta.pro primary industry

Sports Fundraising & Development Services (Foundations, NIL Collectives Support) (MPAKAKAK)

akta.pro secondary industry

Sports Community Relations & Grassroots Program Management (MPAKAKAJ)

Keywords

• Sports innovation platform
• Athlete entrepreneurship programs
• Startup competitions
• University athletics partnerships
• Sports media network

Headquarters

HQ city

Sarasota

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Sports Innovation Angel Fund: Pooled investment vehicle for co-investing alongside network members in vetted sports innovation startups. Members commit capital allocations for syndicated deal participation.
2. University Partnership Programs: Campus-anchored innovation programs with institutional performance measurement through ROSI framework, including sponsorship activation and corporate partnership revenue.
3. Competition and Event Fees: National startup competitions and startup championship events generate participation and platform access revenue.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

GamePlanU operates an integrated platform for sports innovation and athlete entrepreneurship, delivering national startup competitions, accelerator pathways, and campus-anchored programs through the GamePlanU SIE platform and the Gridiron1880 media network. It provides the ROSI™ performance index framework for universities, the Sports Startup Evaluation Framework for vetting sports startups, an Investor Network with co-investment via the Sports Innovation Angel Fund, and the Athlete Innovator Pathway that supports athletes in building ownable IP and ventures. Programs feed media, media powers community, community produces founders, and founders cycle back to programs.

Product overview

GamePlanU is an operating system for sports innovation and athlete entrepreneurship, built as a platform-plus-programs architecture. The core offerings include GamePlanU SIE (Sports Innovation & Entrepreneurship) as the flagship platform combining national startup competitions, founder programming, and campus innovation; the Gridiron1880 Network for college football media and athlete storytelling; the Athlete Innovator Pathway for IP and venture development; and the Sports Innovation Startup Championships. Supporting infrastructure includes the ROSI™ (Return on Sports Innovation) performance framework and Scoreboard for university metrics, the Sports Startup Evaluation Framework for venture scoring, the GamePlanU Investor Network for deal flow and the Sports Innovation Angel Fund, and the Founder Application Platform. All programs feed into a four-pillar operating system where innovation programs feed media, media powers community, community produces founders, and founders cycle back to serve the next class of athletes.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Gridiron1880: A creator-led network and studio built around college football fandom, athlete storytelling, and the next era of sports media distribution.
• GamePlanU SIE
• ROSI

Products and services

• GamePlanU SIE (Sports Innovation & Entrepreneurship) Flagship platform combining national startup competitions, founder programming, and campus-anchored innovation designed to launch the next generation of sports ventures across athletics, media, and technology.
• Gridiron1880 Network A creator-led network and studio built around college football fandom, athlete storytelling, and the next era of sports media distribution.
• Athlete Innovator Pathway Programs that move athletes from audience to ownership — providing IP, brand, and venture-building support to help athletes develop ownable ventures and innovation-driven businesses.
• Sports Innovation Startup Championships National championship-style competitions surfacing the next breakout founders in sport, media, and technology.
• Campus Collabs Connective tissue between athletics, innovation centers, alumni networks, and industry operators forming a shared opportunity pipeline across universities.
• ROSI (Return on Sports Innovation) A performance index and framework for universities measuring the value created when undergraduates, graduate students, student-athletes, and alumni build the future of sports, encompassing five pillars: Innovation Output, Founder & Career Development, Student Recruitment & Retention, Capital & Economic Impact, and Community & Ecosystem Growth.
• ROSI Scoreboard Interactive live dashboard allowing institutions to enter KPI data and publish their ROSI Index to a national leaderboard, calculating Return on Sports Innovation in real time.
• GamePlanU Investor Network with Sports Innovation Angel Fund Network connecting credentialed investors with vetted founders building across college athletics, professional teams, grassroots programs, sports media, and emerging sports technology, providing curated deal flow, proprietary scoring memos, and co-investment options through the Sports Innovation Angel Fund.
• Founder Application Platform Application system for sports innovation startups to apply to GamePlanU programs, requiring pitch deck and founder video, with evaluation through the proprietary Sports Startup Evaluation Framework.

Quantifiable outcome

• 30+ years building sports, media and innovation ecosystems
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• University Athletics DepartmentscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPrograms embedded in athletics connecting coaches, student-athletes, and athletic administration with campus innovation centers and entrepreneurship hubs.
• University Innovation CenterscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnerships with entrepreneurship hubs, business schools, and incubators providing methodology to turn sports innovation ideas into ventures.
• Alumni NetworkscoreGTM or Marketing PartnerMentors, investors, and operators from alumni networks deploying time and capital into the next generation of athlete founders.
• Industry Partners (Brands, Leagues, Media Companies)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBrands, leagues, media companies, and platforms seeking authentic access to athlete creators and founders building the future of sports fandom.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves1 record

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Players' Tribune: Athlete-owned storytelling media platform in which professional athletes publish first-person narratives — overlaps with Gridiron1880's athlete-storytelling thesis and offers an established content template GamePlanU can adapt for the college sports audience.
• Reimagined Sports (formerly ReKTGlobal): Sports-focused holding spanning esports team ownership, content, and talent/athlete commercialization — a broader incumbent pursuing athlete-IP and creator-network opportunities similar to GamePlanU's Athlete Innovator Pathway.
• Whistle Sports: Digital sports media network built around athlete and creator storytelling distributed across social platforms — closely analogous to the Gridiron1880 Network's positioning as a creator-led college-sports media studio.
• Overtime: Athlete-led digital media company producing short-form and original content around emerging sports and high-school talent — comparable to Gridiron1880 in its athlete-creator-led approach to reaching younger sports audiences.

Emerging players

• Greenfly: Platform helping athletes, teams, and leagues distribute short-form content across social channels with analytics and rights-management tooling — overlaps GamePlanU's Athlete Innovator Pathway and Gridiron1880 around athlete brand-building and content monetization.
• INFLCR: Platform built around athlete influencer brand building and NIL content exchange with college athletic departments — adjacent to GamePlanU's Athlete Innovator Pathway, particularly the IP/brand support for student-athletes.

Direct peers

• HYPE Sports Innovation: Israel-based global sports innovation ecosystem running accelerators, startup competitions, and an investor network for sports-tech founders — the closest functional analog to GamePlanU SIE, combining competitions, founder programming, and capital matchmaking across geographies and sports.
• Techstars Sports Tech Accelerator: Long-running Techstars accelerator program dedicated to sports-tech startups, offering structured accelerator programming, mentor networks, and demo-day access to investors — directly comparable to the GamePlanU SIE championship/accelerator funnel.
• Comcast SportsTech (powered by JumpStart): Corporate-backed sports-tech accelerator pairing startups with Comcast/NBCUniversal sports-media assets and universities; comparable to GamePlanU as a structured accelerator with enterprise/operator distribution.

Others

• Bruin Sports Capital: Sports-focused private investment firm; a capital-and-IP partner comparable to GamePlanU's Investor Network and Sports Innovation Angel Fund, rather than to its program/competition business.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

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 GamePlanU