USC Next Level Sports Conference: Talking about the future of college sports

In a conference that featured some of the biggest names in sports media and business, it was a USC freshman track and field player who stole the show.

While Ezra Frech is no stranger to the spotlight — he was a two-time gold medalist at this year’s Paralympic Games — he is a relative newcomer to the ever-changing field of collegiate athletics. Frech only spoke for about five minutes during the nearly seven-hour conference, but he made the most of that time by clearly displaying his passion for fellow athletes with disabilities and emphasizing the need to push the boundaries of the traditional concept of a college athlete.

“I really feel like I was put on this earth for a few things: to normalize disability — to be an example of what is possible as an amputee — and to inspire the world,” Frech said. “There weren’t many college opportunities for someone with a physical disability to play sports…now I am the first above-the-knee amputee to ever attend a Division I school for track and field.”

Frech was one of about two dozen speakers at the USC Next Level Sports Conference on Thursday at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, the new home of the Los Angeles Clippers. The inaugural conference covered almost every topic related to the sports business, from new technologies to the changing media landscape to the future of fandom. Speakers also highlighted USC’s leadership position in the new era of college sports.

“Our students want to achieve great things. They don’t come to universities to do well,” said USC President Carol Folt. “What’s so important is that we meet them there in all their endeavors, be it in the studio, in the lab or on the field. These students carry this aspiration with them throughout their lives.”

New conference, new opportunities

One of the highlights of the day was a panel discussion with Folt and Big Ten Conference commissioner Tony Petitti. The two discussed USC’s options in the university’s new conference and the impact of the NCAA’s new revenue-sharing model, which allows schools to pay athletes directly through name, image and likeness (NIL) agreements.

“I’m really excited that for the first time we will be able to share revenue directly with student-athletes. It was overdue,” Petitti said. “My focus is on making sure we get this new paradigm shift right.”

The two also debunked the notion that conference realignment and lack of opportunities have had a detrimental impact on college athletics.

“I hear things like, ‘College sports are broken’ – that’s not true,” Petitti said. “What we needed to improve was the relationship with the student-athletes. That doesn’t mean it’s broken, it just means it’s time for a change.”

What it means to be a student-athlete

Trojan basketball stars JuJu Watkins and Kiki Iriafen and UCLA water polo player Lauren Steele joined Frech on stage to discuss their roles as student-athletes, representatives of their universities and ambassadors for their respective sports.

The Women of Troy prep team of Watkins and Iriafen is currently ranked third in the country. That means expectations and media attention, but in the age of NIL, those expectations can become much more. Fortunately, Iriafen said, USC is a program that understands the scope of NIL and helps its athletes leverage their marketability while achieving success on the court and in the classroom.

“You still have to make sure the main thing remains the main thing, but NIL is something that they also want us to benefit from,” Iriafen said. “Not everyone on our team wants to continue playing professionally [after college]But our school and our coaches still support us and give us the resources we need so we can continue to be successful off the field in the years to come.”

Frech spoke about his path to USC and how it was one of the few athletics programs that allowed him to compete with able-bodied athletes. This allows him to change people’s perspectives on what a Division I athlete can look like.

“It’s easy to get caught up in these superficial things like likes or views or followers, but in my head, every like, every view, every comment, every follower, every person I meet, every conversation I have a little more normalized,” Frech said.

USC’s Role in the Future of Sports

USC’s role as a leader in college athletics was a common theme among all Trojans who spoke at Thursday’s conference. Whether it was Frech as a trailblazer for the disability community or Watkins and Iriafen as leaders in women’s basketball, the Trojan athletes showed they are familiar with the direction the sports industry is moving and the impact sports can have on diverse communities.

“Our students are incredible,” Folt said. “They’re better than ever and they have all these great things that inspire little kids everywhere.”

In 2028, the eyes of the world will be on Los Angeles when it hosts the Olympic and Paralympic Games. Taking the stage Thursday, the Trojans hope to take center stage and inspire the next generation of athletes.

“We will continue to point the way in the right direction with discussions like the ones we had today,” said Frech. “We still have a lot of work to do, but then this big, beautiful moment in LA 2028.”