🏆 A Double Don Driving the Future of Women’s Sports

Sara Gotfredson is the Founder of Trailblazing Sports Group, a boutique partnerships firm exclusively focused on women’s sports. She launched the company after nearly two decades at ESPN and Disney, where she rose to lead West Coast sales and brand partnerships across TV, digital, print, and streaming. A double graduate of the University of San Francisco (USF) earning a Bachelor’s in Business Administration and Master’s in Sport Management, Sara’s career path has spanned CBS SportsLine during the early days of digital sports, leadership at ESPN calling on brands like Nike, adidas, Google, and Apple, and national sales across Disney’s portfolio. Today, she’s channeling that experience into building the business case for women’s sports — helping athletes, leagues, and media companies unlock growth through authentic, ecosystem-driven brand partnerships.

The Spark

Sara grew up in San Diego and chose the University of San Francisco because she wanted a different environment and a Jesuit education. Marketing was her undergraduate major from day one, but the path clicked her senior year in a sports media and marketing class taught by Dr. Rich Cellini. “It was instrumental — I realized this could be a career path,” she recalls.

After a first role in the dot-com boom, she joined CBS SportsLine and used her graduate school application to show her commitment: “I know you have a line of people looking for this job, but I’m very committed to working in sports. I’m even going to get my master’s in this space.” That combination of conviction and education helped her stand out and land the role that launched her sports career.

The USF Advantage

Sara is a proud double Don. She credits USF with being ahead of the curve. “They saw where the business of sports was going before a lot of other bigger institutions.” With over 2,700 alumni from the MS in Sport Management program, she sees the breadth and depth of its network as a huge differentiator.

She also points to USF’s location. “They sit uniquely in this really cool tech space with sports and with all that’s happening in AI. You can’t say that about some of the top universities in the country,” she notes. For Sara, the combination of early vision, strong alumni connections, and a city at the intersection of sports, tech, and innovation has been central to her journey.

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ESPN and Disney Years

Sara spent 18 years at ESPN, beginning as an account executive and later leading the West Coast territory. She called on brands like Nike, Adidas, EA Sports, Google, and Apple, helping them integrate across ESPN’s platforms in television, digital, magazine, and radio. While eight months pregnant, she was asked to oversee the entire West Coast. “Good news, you got the job. Bad news, you have to move to LA,” she laughs.

Later, a Disney reorg expanded her remit to the full portfolio, from the Oscars to Disney+. It was a valuable experience, but she missed the pure sports focus. That gap set the stage for Trailblazing Sports Group.

Building Trailblazing Sports Group

Trailblazing Sports Group is not an agency. “We are a boutique partnerships firm,” Sara says. The team represents and partners with athletes, media companies, and women’s sports teams and leagues, then brokers multi-party deals that make the business work at scale.

“In women’s sports, it’s really important to do a property deal tied with an athlete deal, tied with a storytelling deal, tied with a digital or CTV distribution deal,” she explains. “That’s how you get the ROI out of a partnership.” A favorite example: QuickBooks. Trailblazing partnered with its media agency to connect athletes, entrepreneurs, media, and even women’s sports bars that already used QuickBooks. “It actually is powering women’s sports,” Sara says. The result positioned the brand as an authentic enabler of the ecosystem.

Looking Back, Moving Forward

Sara’s advice to her younger self is simple: “Don’t sweat the small stuff.” In live sports, things will go wrong, but what matters is how you strengthen the relationship afterward. She also wishes she had invested in her network earlier. A Beatles lyric on her desk captures it best: I get by with a little help from my friends.

For students and young professionals, her message builds on that theme. “Work hard and say yes,” she says. Show up where leaders show up, even if it means extra hours or weekends. Stay curious, keep doors open, and recognize that every experience has value. One handshake could be the connection that changes your career.

Ultimately, this is why she wakes up each day to lead Trailblazing Sports Group: “To put more money in pockets of athletes and in media companies that are covering more women’s sports.” Sara believes brand investment drives the entire ecosystem. Without it, rights fees and athlete visibility do not grow. Building that flywheel has been the hardest work of her career, and also the most rewarding.