Stifel Deal With U.S. Ski & Snowboard Will Now Include Naming Rights Of All Ski Teams Under Brand

In October 2022, Missouri-based investment banking company Stifel announced a four-year sponsorship deal with U.S. Ski & Snowboard to become the title sponsor of the U.S. Alpine Ski Team. It marked the most significant U.S. Ski & Snowboard naming deal ever.

On Wednesday, the Olympic National Governing Body of U.S. ski and snowboard sports announced that the partnership has expanded to include all the ski teams under the brand’s umbrella: the U.S. Cross Country Ski Team, U.S. Freestyle Ski Team and U.S. Freeski Team, in addition to the Alpine Ski Team.

The 2022-23 season has seen the most World Cup events ever held on U.S. soil. Stifel’s title sponsorship also extends to the Alpine Rookie of the Year, Most Improved Athlete, Best Comeback, Athlete of the Year and Coach of the Year awards and includes prize money.

The naming rights deal is effective immediately and will continue through April 2026, following the conclusion of the Milano-Cortina Winter Games.

The expanded partnership also includes a number of events, which will now be referred to as the Stifel U.S. Ski Series: the freeski and snowboard Toyota U.S. Grand Prix at Mammoth and Copper, the cross country Loppet Cup in Minneapolis, the Intermountain Freestyle International at Deer Valley and the moguls FIS Freestyle World Cup at Steamboat.

“Partnerships of this level are crucial to the overall success of our programs and initiatives,” said U.S. Ski & Snowboard president and CEO Sophie Goldschmidt.

Goldschmidt noted that Stifel’s support provides opportunities from the developmental level to the World Cup level, decreasing the financial burden on those athletes. The freestyle, cross country and freeski programs directly receive more fiscal support for things that directly benefit athletes, including events, waxing, coaching support and travel.

Since the Stifel partnership began in the fall, alpine skier Mikaela Shiffrin has gone on to break Ingemar Stenmark’s record (86) for the most World Cup wins by any alpine skier, spotlighting the sport and the U.S. team globally.

Three-time Olympic medalist Jessie Diggins, the most decorated American cross-country skier of all time, said the additional funding “will be an enormous lift for our sport across all levels.”

Moguls skier and Olympic silver medalist Jaelin Kauf looked ahead to what this additional investment by Stifel across all the U.S. ski teams means for Olympic training and success. “On an international level, Stifle’s support will allow us to have the staff and support we need to continue our success and build for the 2026 Olympics,” Kauf said.

Alpine skiing events (think: slalom and downhill) were the second-most watched event at the 2022 Beijing Olympics in the U.S., drawing 11.8 million viewers. Freestyle skiing (aerials, as well as the more recent halfpipe and slopestyle) came in third, at 11.6 million.