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For evidence of how robust the state of the sports technology industry is in 2026, look no further than last week’s Sports Business Awards: Tech.
Hundreds of executives congregated at the Hard Rock Hotel in Manhattan on May 18 to celebrate the fourth edition of these awards, which honor the industry’s most impactful innovations of the year in categories including AI, venue operations, athlete performance and more.
This year’s class featured 46 finalists across nine categories selected by Sports Business Journal’s editorial team, with winners determined by an external panel of expert judges. The ever-expanding role of tech in sports — on the field and behind the scenes — was on display in the diverse set of honorees. The evening saw an AI data platform, smart insole maker and mixed-reality app recognized, among others. The Best Technology Collaboration award, which went to TGL for its full tech stack, was spread across 11 companies, proving the point made onstage by guest host Andrew Hawkins that “innovation does not happen in silos.”
While technology took center stage, the awards also took time to honor the people driving innovation, with the NBA’s Chris Benyarko and Brooklyn Sports & Entertainment’s Darolyn Pierce taking home Technology Executive of the Year and Rising Woman of the Year, respectively, to raucous applause. SBJ’s annual list of the 10 Most Innovative Sports Tech Companies also was recognized, both during the ceremony and with a post-event portrait of representatives from the companies.
The night concluded with OneCourt being named the Sports Technology of the Year after earlier in the night taking home Best in Fan Experience and 10 Most Innovative honors. The 5-year-old startup’s tracking-data-enabled haptic tablets expand access to live games for blind and low-vision fans.
In his acceptance speech, Antyush Bollini, the company’s co-founder and COO, struck a fitting chord for executives in attendance to take home to their respective teams.
“I leave you guys with one thing, which is: Where would we all be without sports?” Bollini said. “It’s a huge part of all of our lives. And there’s so many people who can’t access it in the same way as us. So let’s keep doing this.”
Sports Business Awards: Tech 2026 judging committee
Richard Barbier, New Orleans Saints and Pelicans
Komal Bhukhanwala, CBS Sports
Ashley Braband, Omaha Productions
Jake Burns, Tepper Sports & Entertainment
Art Chou, Stadia Ventures
Ryan Dornbusch, Meta
Jared George, New York Islanders
Bo Han, Transmit
Krista Hansen, GMR Marketing
Alejandro Holcman, Qualcomm
Erik Jones, Arizona Cardinals
Jim Kadlecek, University of Mount Union
Adam Klene, Chicago Bulls
Aileen McManamon, 5T Sports
Laura Meyer, Houston Rockets
Omar Mitchell, NHL
David Nugent, Next League
Elizabeth O’Brien, IBM
Alexa Pritting, NBC Sports
Jay Riola, Orlando Magic
Emily Sisson, Octagon
Alysse Soll
Neda Tabatabaie, San Jose Sharks
Lisa Walker, Eventellect
