Stifel’s Title Sponsorship Of U.S. Alpine Team Is Most Significant U.S. Ski & Snowboard Team Naming Deal Ever

On October 28, investment banking company Stifel announced a four-year sponsorship deal with U.S. Ski & Snowboard that will see it become the title sponsor of the U.S. Alpine Ski Team.

According to U.S. Ski & Snowboard president and CEO Sophie Goldschmidt, this is the most significant alpine partnership in U.S. Ski & Snowboard history, and will support alpine skiers “from the development level to the World Cup.”

The U.S. Alpine Ski Team, now renamed the Stifel U.S. Alpine Team, boasts some of the United States’ most recognizable Olympians, including three-time Olympic medalist Mikaela Shiffrin, 2022 Olympic silver medalist Ryan Cochran-Siegle and eight-time FIS World Cup podium finisher Breezy Johnson.

As Goldschmidt intimated, this is the first U.S. Ski & Snowboard alpine partnership that extends beyond the World Cup level into the development level, supporting athletes through every level of elite competition in North America—World Cup, NorAms and national championships.

To that end, Stifel will become the title sponsor of the U.S. NorAm Tour, on which rising athletes compete to earn a spot on the Stifel U.S. Alpine Team and compete internationally at the World Cup, world championships and Olympic levels.

As I reported last week, U.S. Ski & Snowboard has entered into a major streaming deal with Outside Interactive, streaming all U.S. FIS World Cup alpine, cross country, freestyle, snowboard and freeski events on U.S. soil on one snowsports hub.

Stifel enters the mix at a time when the U.S. will host the most domestic alpine World Cups in history, and it will also serve as the title sponsor of the men’s FIS Alpine Ski World Cup event in Palisades Tahoe, California, and as a sponsor of the men’s FIS Alpine Ski World Cup events in Beaver Creek, Colorado, and Aspen, Colorado, and the women’s FIS Alpine Ski World Cup event in Killington, Vermont.

More than just a financial support of athletes’ training, Stifel will provide career and financial education to athletes to build up their savings and investing strategies.

While there are exceptions—America’s most decorated alpine skier, Bode Miller, retired at age 40—most alpine skiers’ professional careers end in their thirties. There’s a lot of careful planning that needs to go into achieving financial security after retirement.

“Stifel and their leadership have been longtime supporters of alpine skiing and the team, and we’re thrilled to bring them on as the official title sponsor of the Stifel U.S. Alpine Team,” Shiffrin said in a statement. “I also love that they will be supporting the team at every level including developing the pipeline to help build the next generation of Olympic champions in the United States.”

At the 2022 Beijing Olympics, alpine skiing events were the second-most watched in the U.S., drawing 11.8 million viewers. Snowboarding won out with 11.9 million viewers, and coming in third was another ski/snowboard event, freestyle skiing, at 11.6 million.

The recent U.S. Ski & Snowboard deals with Outside and Stifel come at an opportune time as more Americans are tuning in to these sports and looking for ways to watch them outside of primetime coverage or Olympic years.

Other notable sponsorship agreements Stifel has signed include with the NHL’s St. Louis Blues and several PGA golfers.

“We have become a firm where success meets success—one that attracts successful individuals and partners, recognizes up-and-coming successes, and helps others achieve success,” Stifel chairman and CEO Ronald J. Kruszewski said in a statement. “The athletes of the U.S. Alpine Team exemplify dedication, focus, and perseverance and represent the very definition of success.”