Excel Sports Management announced the hiring of veteran agent Erin Kane. Already an industry-leading sports agency, the addition of Kane will strengthen the company’s existing presence in women’s sports representation. Excel represents iconic brands, talent, and properties and includes female clients across LPGA, Speaking, Media Talent, and NIL. Kane will serve as Vice President of Women’s Sports, bringing along with her a roster of world-class talent: WNBA All-Star and Olympic gold medalist Elena Delle Donne, softball icon Jennie Finch, and World Champion Big Wave Surfer Maya Gabeira.
Kane brings over 15 years’ experience to Excel as the founder of The Clarion Agency, which she launched with the sole focus of representing women’s sports after working across the industry for clients in the NBA, WNBA, PGA, NASCAR, and softball. Notable milestones in Kane’s career include negotiating for Kristi Tolliver to become the only active WNBA player to ever serve on an NBA coaching staff, securing Trae Young’s partnership with Body Armor, and facilitating a deal between Nike and Delle Donne that saw her design and launch an accessible basketball shoe, aided by Donne’s sister Lizzie, who lives with disabilities. Prior to founding The Clarion Agency, Kane spent eight years at Octagon, where she led the development of the agency’s WNBA practice in addition to working across multiple sports. She also worked on athlete marketing at Gaylord Sports Management and Lagardère Unlimited (now SPORTFIVE) early in her career.
Excel Senior Vice President of Marketing Colleen Garrity will also take an expanded role to direct the strategic growth of the women’s representation business while continuing her work with the agency’s NBA clients.
In addition to Delle Donne, Finch, and Gabeira, Kane’s clients include:
- Ari Chambers – Broadcast Personality
- Napheesa Collier – Minnesota Lynx
- 2019 WNBA Rookie of the Year and 2x WNBA All-Star
- Zia Cooke – University of South Carolina women’s basketball
- Arike Ogunbowale – Dallas Wings
- 2020 WNBA Scoring Champion and 2021 WNBA All-Star Game MVP
- Annie Park – LPGA Tour
- 2019 Solheim Cup Team USA member and NCAA Champion (2013)
- Kristi Toliver – Los Angeles Sparks
- 3x WNBA All-Star and 2x WNBA Champion
Excel already represents a number of women across multiple talent representation areas. The agency’s Women’s Golf division, announced in 2020, features stars like Michelle Wie West and Albane Valenzuela. Media Talent clients include broadcasters Holly Rowe and Lisa Byington, the first woman to become a play-by-play announcer for a men’s professional sports team. Excel’s Speakers division represents several high-profile women. The agency manages the marketing portfolio for Peloton instructor Jess Sims and UConn women’s basketball players Chrystin Williams and Caroline Ducharme.
Overall, Excel’s talent division is a dominant force across multiple sports, including basketball, baseball, golf, and football, with a roster that features rising stars, MVPs, all-stars, and Hall-of-Famers.