Todd Smith, president and CEO of the Sports & Fitness Industry Association (SFIA) since last October, talked with SGB Executive about how it is evolving to meet its mission to promote sports and fitness participation and industry growth, its new initiatives and the Trump administration’s decision to bring back the Presidential Fitness Test.
Smith, who replaced SFIA’s long-time CEO, Tom Cove, was most recently the SVP at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, but has roots in the sports world, including serving as director of Global Partnerships at AEG, the sports and live entertainment giant. He also supported sponsorships, marketing and fan development in stints with the NBA’s Sacramento Kings, NHL’s LA Kings, and MLS’ LA Galaxy. At UCLA, he was a member of the men’s volleyball team.
SGB: Since it just happened, what do you think about the move to reestablish the President’s Council on Sports, Fitness and Nutrition, and the potential return of the Presidential Fitness Test?
Todd Smith: SFIA applauds the Administration’s decision to reestablish the President’s Council on Sports, Fitness, and Nutrition. It is an important step towards improving the health and well-being of America’s youth through increased physical activity and participation in sports, which aligns directly with our mission at SFIA. We look forward to closely collaborating with the President’s Council to build healthier, more active communities through sports and fitness. The Council’s revitalization arrives at a pivotal time, as the United States prepares to host a historic decade of global sporting events, aligning with SFIA’s recently launched 2034WARD Campaign – a decade-long initiative that will capitalize on upcoming global sporting events to drive growth in sports and fitness participation and create a lasting culture of health and wellness.
SGB: What do you like about working at SFIA and in the sports industry?
Smith: The people are the best part of our industry. My teammates at SFIA and all the amazing people we get to interact with on a day-to-day basis across our membership and the industry are all phenomenal. The level of sophistication, technology, and brilliant minds across SFIA’s network is incredible, and I am fortunate to engage with it every day.
SGB: How is SFIA evolving?
Smith: At SFIA, we exist for one purpose, and that is to provide resources and support to serve our members and our industry. As noted above, the best part of our industry is how our member companies are continually evolving and innovating, developing new technologies and products. That requires SFIA to be in sync with our members and ensure our resources, our capabilities, and our value match the continued evolution of our members to meet their needs.
We truly believe that membership at SFIA should feel like an extension of your team, so it is imperative from our standpoint that we have those conversations with each of our members, understanding their needs, and being very diversified in terms of the membership benefits that we are offering.
SGB: What are some major initiatives SFIA has underway?
Smith: In mid-July, we announced the pilot of a new professional development initiative, the VetsEXCEL Career Development and Mentorship Program, designed to support military veterans. It builds on our Excelerator mentorship program, which launched in 2023, to support the development of young professionals currently working within the sports and fitness sector. With VetsEXCEL, we are aligning ourselves with the military veterans’ community. We will connect with veterans who are beginning the next chapter of their lives post-retirement from the military. They are starting their civilian career journey and they are interested in working in sports and fitness, but need help, insights, and ultimately, mentorship, to understand where their skill set could best transfer and how they can go about breaking into the industry. VetsEXCEL will take 10 veterans and match them up with 10 executives in the sports industry. We are extra excited because several of the executives who have raised their hands to be mentors are also military veterans themselves. What an awesome pairing to have a veteran matched with a mentor who’s also a veteran working in the industry and is able to guide them through this professional transition period in their life. VetsEXCEL will launch in mid-September.
SGB: Are there any others you’d like to call out?
Smith: In May, we launched the 2034WARD Campaign, an initiative designed to maximize the spotlight on our industry as the U.S. hosts a historic lineup of sporting events from 2025 to 2034, including the Summer and Winter Olympic Games and world championships in soccer, rugby, and baseball. A big part of 2034WARD is getting more youth engaged and active and bringing free opportunities to communities across the country. We are in conversations to have our first, of what we are calling our 2034WARD Multi-Sport Youth Clinics, in Tulsa at the end of this year.
SGB: What’s the priority around thought leadership?
Smith: From a content standpoint, whether that’s webinars or conversations where we are convening industry leaders, we are prioritizing expanding the depth and type of content that we are providing to our members. When it comes to thought leadership, I want stakeholders thinking of SFIA first when they are looking for updates or insights on what’s happening in the industry. I want them to think of SFIA as the go-to for all industry-related data, trends, and insights.
SGB: What events is SFIA planning this year?
Smith: We had our Team Sports Conference this past spring in Indianapolis. We hosted our 2034WARD Campaign launch event on Capitol Hill in May, and we are preparing for our first 2034WARD Multi-Sport Youth Clinic later this year. Additionally, I am traveling around the country hosting salon dinners with industry leaders. We had a great dinner in Q1 in Boston, and we are planning another at the end of summer.
SGB: What changes is SFIA making on the research side?
Smith: We are really doubling down on the type of research that we are providing, both in terms of scale and also working with specific companies on custom research reports. This will be the first year that we are releasing participation data at the midpoint of the year. Typically, we release data looking back at the previous year. But now we will be able to see how trends are faring at the midpoint and then also see the final tally at the end of 2025 to gain a comprehensive picture. We see ourselves as the go-to research vendor for the industry, given our expertise, our experience, and our leadership, which has allowed us to take on custom research projects for individual companies to meet their specific data-driven needs.
SGB: How would you sum up the health of sports participation these days?
Smith: Participation at the end of 2024 was where we like to see it in terms of participation growth. It was at an all-time high at the end of 2024. But the reverse of that is that there were still close to 20 percent of Americans, six years and older, who were not actively participating in any type of activity. If we want to prioritize improving health as a country, we can’t have 20 percent of Americans still not doing any type of physical activity. We have not released our next formal participation report yet, but we are getting early numbers back and participation in the first six months of this year has declined from where it was the previous year. Certainly, from our standpoint, we don’t think is a coincidence because a lot of families and consumers are seeing prices increase due to tariffs and will have to opt out of purchasing new sports and fitness equipment and essentials. Increased prices are going to continue to leave more American families and people on the sidelines. So, that’s my big focus right now from a participation standpoint. We still have almost half the year left; we have time to reverse the first half trend and get ourselves back to growing participation.
SGB: How is the industry fairing with the tariff situation?
Smith: Tariffs require prices to increase, and we just talked about the negative impact that higher prices are having in terms of participation rates in 2025. Continued uncertainty also makes it impossible for businesses to plan long-term. Businesses are having to spend more time on navigating the uncertainty caused by tariffs and less time on future planning and doing what businesses should be doing in terms of developing new products, innovating, and providing the best experiences and the best products for their customers.
SGB: What priorities does SFIA have around advocacy?
Smith: Tariffs will remain top of mind. Additionally, with the global spotlight on our industry over the next 10 years through the major sporting events taking place in the U.S., we are prioritizing and expanding the advocacy support and the advocacy deliverables that we provide to the industry through our 2034WARD Campaign. What the sports and fitness industry does on a day-to-day basis is truly amazing. It brings communities and countries together, and advocacy for SFIA is about ensuring our industry and our members are in positions where they can tell their amazing and inspiring stories.
Images courtesy SFIA/Conquer Ninja Warrior
