USG Event Recap: 2026 Dallas Impact Weekend

This past weekend, Uncommon Sports Group hosted an Impact Weekend in Dallas, TX, for twenty-nine USG Academy participants. Each of the attendees spent eight weeks walking through USG’s Academy program, which provides faith-based and professional development opportunities for participants as they pursue careers in the sport industry. The Impact Weekend experience is a required in-person opportunity that each Academy participant attends to provide them with a more hands-on development experience and a chance to build Christ-centered relationships within the college and pro sport industry.

After traveling to Dallas, the weekend officially began on Friday afternoon with a welcome session and a visit to AT&T Stadium. A tour guide walked our group throughout the entire facility, including the Cowboys locker rooms, stadium suites, press box, and much more. It was very cool to see one of the most well-known spectacles in sports and to learn more about the operations of a professional sports facility.

Following the tour, our group drove around the corner to an entertainment complex called Texas Live! for dinner and a panel session with Christian sport industry professionals from the Dallas metro area. The panelists included Paul Conner, Account Executive with Seminole Boosters; Dana Blount, Assistant Athletics Director of Academic Services at TCU; Angela Marin, Director of Athletics at the University of Texas at Dallas; and Luke Unverferth, Coordinator of Corporate Partnership Marketing at the Dallas Cowboys.

The panel touched on a number of topics, including how they got their foot in the door in the sport industry, the importance of having a “why” for working in sports, their day-to-day responsibilities in their specific roles, how they have navigated various transitions in their careers, and how they make Jesus a priority in their lives despite a busy schedule.

Following Friday’s activities, Saturday morning began with the group breaking into small groups to study the Scriptures together. Each group dove into Acts 2:42–47 to study the various disciplines evidenced by the early church. The discussion was rich and edifying for the groups!

After Bible study, we loaded up into our vans and headed to Southern Methodist University (SMU) for a tour of their football facilities with Carter Stanton, the Associate Athletic Director of Creative Strategy with the Mustangs. The group was able to see the new state-of-the-art football facility, the Gary Weber End Zone Complex. Our tour included seeing the team’s locker room, weight room, team room, and the football stadium itself. The tour wrapped up in the creative team’s office for a mock recruiting photoshoot!

Our next stop after SMU was outreach with a local ministry called Mercy Street. Through the vehicle of youth sports, Mercy Street reaches out to impoverished communities in the Dallas area to connect children and families to sports and ultimately the gospel of Jesus Christ. A USG member, Garrett Sons, serves in an operations role with Mercy Street. Our group helped tidy up the facilities at Mercy Street and prayed over specific prayer requests that Garrett shared for the ministry. Afterwards, the group had some time to play sports with one another, including basketball and volleyball.

Finally, Saturday wrapped up in downtown Dallas with dinner and a Mavericks game. During each Impact Weekend, the group is provided an opportunity to fellowship with one another during a social event. The Mavericks game provided a space for the group to build relationships with one another and to enjoy a professional sporting event.

The weekend wrapped up on Sunday morning with a church service at Watermark Church. A part of our mission at Uncommon Sports Group is to connect Christians working in sports to community, and the best way to do that is to be connected to a local church body. Attending a local church during the weekend emphasizes the importance of the community and discipleship that the church can provide.

It was a blessing to grow and serve alongside this group of future leaders in the college and professional sport industry. Our prayer is that each participant will take what they learned and apply it to their future or present careers in sports.

We’re incredibly appreciative of our Clean Out For A Cause donors for their generosity and for making events like these possible. As we send these new USG members out, we’re confident that they are prepared and equipped to be Christ-centered leaders within the college and pro sport industry.

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