Connie Wardman

In May 2006, a bold idea took shape on a rugby pitch in New York City. At the Bingham Cup—gay rugby’s equivalent of the Rugby World Cup—we introduced the world to Sports Out Loud Magazine, the first and only gay sports magazine in existence at the time. With a simple but ambitious vision—“To Unite the World Through Sports”—we set out to tell the stories no one else was telling. Not the stories of celebrity athletes. Not the stories confined to box scores.

This year, Las Vegas becomes the epicenter of inclusive sports when thousands of athletes and fans gather for the Sin City Classic. In 2026, Compete Sports Network is turning up the volume with the Winter Sports Business Conference, happening January 14–20, 2026 — a full week designed to help you connect, collaborate, and grow your sports organization or brand. This isn’t your typical conference. It’s where sports meets purpose, and where genuine relationships lead to real business.

At JPMorganChase, he leads a global strategy that brings the firm together with business and community organizations that ensure small businesses and women-, minority-, veteran-, LGBTQ-, and disability-owned businesses have meaningful opportunities to participate in the company’s multibillion-dollar supply chain.