Debut Episode of JaneWallStreet’s ATT: LOVB Chief Growth Officer Stephanie Alger
On the debut episode of JaneWallStreet Presents: At The Table, a bi-weekly podcast exploring the intersection of sports, media, and finance through the lens of (mostly) female decision makers, JaneWallStreet Executive Chair Deirdre Lester sits down with League One Volleyball (LOVB) Chief Growth Officer Stephanie Alger.
In this 40-minute conversation, they touch on:
Building Bottom-Up
LOVB took a differentiated approach to market entry. Stephanie explained the logic behind its decision to focus on grassroots participation before introducing a professional product.
“The pro league was always an idea and was planned to happen. But creating [a] youth foundation was critical to [its long-term success. So, we] started with a few clubs and now, after six years in business, [are] approaching 100 in the youth ecosystem; about 26,000 youth athletes across 29 states,” Alger said. The idea was to “have that amazing foundation, great revenue, EBITDA, etc. [in place] at a business level on the youth side, and then create that youth-to-pro atmosphere and launch the league."
Catalysts for Geographic Expansion
Stephanie outlined volleyball’s existing footprint and how the sport’s growth map is shifting.
"In general, the middle of the country is huge in volleyball. Texas, Nebraska, Kentucky. Southern California is huge. [Less so in] the Northeast,” Alger said. But the sport “is expanding so exponentially that we’ll see more states get involved, especially [in] the college space…With football and Title IX, [the sport] is a natural place to [for athletic departments to expand].”
Creating Predictable Viewing Windows in a Fragmented Media Market
LOVB’s flagship weekly window strategy has been helpful in building consistent fan engagement.
"One of our investors mentioned in the beginning that it was hard to find [league] games. So, one of the things we focused on this year was to have a game of the week. Wednesday at 8 p.m. EST on NBC. It’s appointment viewing that people know where to go [to get it],” Alger said. “We’ve found that [has worked]…[We are drawing] a lot more [viewers] than last year.”
📺 Watch the full video on JohnWallStreet’s YouTube Page.
Deirdre will be back with the next episode of JaneWallStreet Presents: At The Table in two weeks. Amazon Web Services’ Global Head of Sports Julie Souza will be her guest.
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About Stephanie Alger: Stephanie Alger is a sports executive and dealmaker focused on building sustainable sports leagues for the next generation. As Chief Growth Officer at League One Volleyball, she leads ownership expansion, capital formation, and league strategy across the professional and youth ecosystem, helping drive more than $150 million in capital commitments and team transactions.
Prior to returning to sports, Stephanie spent two decades in finance and private equity at Bank of America and Vista Equity Partners, where she led large-scale global businesses, including oversight of the Equity Derivatives, Swaps, and Prime Brokerage platforms. She serves on the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee’s Performance Innovation Advisory Committee, is Audit Chair of USA Taekwondo, and is actively involved with multiple nonprofit organizations.
