Media Entertainment Business Review: Specials Magazine

What challenges define the evolving NIL landscape for athletes, brands, and partnerships? In the Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) landscape, rules, valuations and deals shift year to year. NIL partnerships in college athletics operate within evolving rules, approval processes and shifting definitions of value, making it difficult for athletes, brands and partners to structure agreements. Spyre Sports works with student-athletes, brands and donors to structure NIL partnerships in a constantly changing NIL environment. Based in Knoxville and closely connected to the University of Tennessee’s athletic and donor network, the sports marketing agency builds workable athlete–brand partnerships by aligning commercial strategy with athlete development and brand engagement. Founded in September 2020, prior to the formal rollout of NIL, Spyre Sports entered the market early, enabling it to navigate initial uncertainties and evolve into a results-driven partner. With deep expertise in NIL, compliance and personal branding, it connects athletes with brands, managing endorsements and creating marketing and fan engagement platforms. “Everything has been changing, and the type of deals that we're allowed to do or not do has also evolved. We roll with it the best we can,” says Hunter Baddour, president.

What limitations exist in traditional shooting range experiences for participants today? At the traditional gun range, guests shoot at a stationary paper target; an experience that many find limited, static, and impersonal. Enter Level Up Live, a company positioning itself as a game-changer in shooting sports by integrating advanced gamification technology with live-action target shooting. The result is a new form of sports entertainment that is authentic, immersive, competitive, and social, with measurable, data-driven skill development tracking. Founded by Thomas Chiarella, Level Up Live is defining a new category: live-action esports—a fusion of real-world sports and the interactive, data-rich engagement of modern gaming. By combining physical skill with real-time performance analytics, the company is making shooting sports more dynamic, engaging, and accessible—from first-time participants to competitive shooters, with validation from professionals across the military and law enforcement community. Merging Gaming and Real-World Sports How does Level Up Live integrate gaming elements with physical shooting sports experiences? Much like Topgolf transformed golf into a social, technology-driven entertainment experience, Level Up Live is bringing that same transformation to shooting sports—blending physical gameplay with real-time data, competition, and immersive entertainment. At its core, the platform merges the physical discipline of shooting with the feedback loops and competitive structures that define modern gaming. Players use airsoft equipment – an air-powered firearms that fire a soft plastic BB - as physical controllers within a fully instrumented environment, where every interaction is tracked and analyzed. The system captures precise performance metrics—including reaction time, accuracy, and split times—enabling players to quantify progress, refine technique, and compete at a higher level. This transforms shooting from a static activity into a dynamic, measurable sport. “We’re defining a new category that we call live-action esports,” says Chiarella. “We’ve taken the benefits of esports—real-time performance data, competitive structures, and gamification—and integrated them with the tactile thrill of shooting sports.” Revolutionizing Shooting Sports with Data Why is real-time performance data critical for improving outcomes in competitive shooting environments? In traditional environments, performance feedback is minimal. Level Up Live replaces that limitation with a continuous, real-time feedback loop that tracks every aspect of player performance. This includes split times, reaction times, and transition efficiency—critical metrics that define performance in competitive shooting but are rarely measured in conventional settings. By capturing and presenting this data instantly, the platform enables players to make immediate adjustments and improve with each session. “In every competitive sport, the difference between first and third place is measured in fractions of a second,” Chiarella explains. “We’ve built a platform where every millisecond is captured, analyzed, and improved.” A key innovation is the system’s automated target reset, which is fully instantaneous. This eliminates downtime, maintains gameplay flow, and allows for continuous engagement—an essential element in both entertainment and skill development..

What challenges arise in maintaining operational continuity across regulated gaming system environments? Regulated lottery and sports wagering platforms operate under strict public accountability. Their central challenge is execution risk: systems must perform reliably every day while meeting regulatory obligations and maintaining the lottery's and public confidence. Multiple agencies, vendors, and service partners contribute to these environments, making coordinated performance essential to maintaining system stability. The greatest exposure typically appears where these systems intersect, particularly during releases, audits, and high-traffic events. Vital Services Contractors (VCS) operates inside that intersection. Positioned between government lottery authorities and Prime vendors responsible for providing central gaming systems, the company functions as an operational partner focused on maintaining continuity, alignment, and responsive system performance across stakeholders. Its role extends beyond supporting implementation into supporting user acceptance testing, release coordination, systems integration, audit readiness, field services operations to ensure maximum POS equipment ‘up-time’, operating Lottery Agents Customer Calls Center, key Regulatory and Industry Governance Audits (Soc-1/Soc-2), each supporting continuity control and helping prevent disruptions before they affect users or regulators. The company’s approach relies on experienced operators applying disciplined operational practices to identify risks early and keep platforms functioning consistently. This operating discipline has contributed to VCS’s recognition as Gaming Operations Management Solution of the Year. The need for this level of coordination intensified following the repeal of Professional and Amatuer Sports Protection Act (PASPA) when jurisdictions began launching mobile sports wagering under newly constructed regulatory frameworks. States faced pressure to rapidly introduce new platforms while expanding integrations, reporting capacity, and secure data handling. This expansion increased coordination complexity across vendors, regulators, and technical systems, raising the importance of stable rollout management. In response, VCS embedded additional monitoring routines, coordination checkpoints, and escalation pathways into daily operations to support controlled scaling and dependable system performance. “Our industry does not allow room for ambiguity,” says Emanuel Bailey, Chairman and CEO. “When you are operating in a public-facing gaming environment, every decision sits inside a regulatory framework and each gap carries consequences. Our responsibility is to make sure those gaps are identified and resolved before they surface.” The company links its results to this structured operational approach, which supports accountability across interconnected systems..