USA Swimming
As chief commercial officer for USA Swimming, Shana Gritsavage Ferguson is responsible for overseeing the organization’s marketing, communications, TV production, e-commerce and events, which include over 9,000 sanctioned swim meets. None of those events — nor any in the national governing body’s history — is bigger than next year’s U.S. Olympic trials, which will be hosted at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.
“I am laser-focused on that Olympic trials swim meet in June of next year. It’s the biggest thing we do in a four-year cycle, and it’s the only event that makes money,” said Ferguson of the event that will get nine nights of prime-time coverage on NBC. “We’ll put three swimming pools on a football field. That’s never been done before. We’ll look to sell 30,000 seats a night, and we’ve never done that before.”
Though Ferguson recently joined USA Swimming in 2019, it’s a sport she knows intimately well. Ferguson was a youth swimming standout who competed for the U.S. Naval Academy before serving nine years in the Navy and Marine Corps, which she considers her greatest achievement.
She returned to the sports world in 2006, when she enrolled as part of San Diego State University’s newly launched sports business management program. A year later with an MBA in hand, Ferguson landed at Under Armour and worked in events during the apparel brand’s early days. Across a decade-plus at the company, Ferguson led global experiential marketing, corporate social responsibility and, in her last two years, the brand’s marketing efforts in Canada.
Ferguson is focused now not only on next year’s Olympic trials, but also on LA28.
“The assumption is that USA Swimming, as the host country and the host NGB, will have purview over the operation,” said Ferguson. “As soon as Paris concludes, we’re now planning not just our Olympic trials for ’28, but also the Olympic Games for ’28, which is exciting.” — Chris Smith
Shana Gritsavage Ferguson
Chief Commercial Officer, USA Swimming
Born: Upstate New York
Education: United States Naval Academy, B.S., economics; San Diego State University, MBA
Family: Spouse, Matt
More about Shana
Something that instantly makes my day better: Coffee.
Advice to my younger self: Ask for a seat at the table. And when you have done the work to earn that seat, pull others up with you.
If I did not work in sports …: If I could do it all over again, I would be a book editor at a publishing house.
Biggest career risk: Leaving a steady position without having something concrete to move immediately in to.
Proudest professional achievement: I have a high-performing team of people who care deeply about each other and the sport we serve.
