Release by Wichita Sports Commission & NBC Baseball Foundation
WICHITA, KS – The Wichita Sports Commission and NBC Baseball Foundation announced today that the NBC Baseball Foundation, which oversees the NBC World Series, will begin operating independently starting January 1, 2025, after operating alongside the Sports Commission for the past four years.
The NBC Baseball Foundation 501c3 and NBC World Series, will continue under the leadership of Katie Woods, who became the NBC World Series’ tournament director in September 2022, and will be governed by a dedicated NBC Baseball Foundation board of directors.
“As we look at the history of the National Baseball Congress as a national organization supporting amateur baseball across the country, we see the impact the NBC has had, and can have,” said Woods, “This independence gives us new opportunities to connect communities through baseball, from history and alumni to youth programming and of course elevating top amateur prospects through the NBC World Series.”
Started in the 1930s by Hap Dumont, the National Baseball Congress was privately owned before it became a non-profit organization in 2014, and operated independently from that time until it joined the Wichita Sports Commission in 2020.
“We’ve spent the last 10 months really looking at both organizations, and how the Wichita Sports Commission and the National Baseball Congress can each have the biggest impact on their communities,” said Wichita Sports Commission CEO/President Kevin Jenks, “What we learned through the process is that both organizations are in a position of exponential growth potential, and to do that most successfully they need dedicated boards & staff.”
The Wichita Sports Commission, which operates the Prairie Fire Race Series, Wichita Turkey Trot, Wichita Corporate Challenge, the Buster Posey Collegiate Catcher of the Year Award and the Greater Wichita Sports Banquet, is also in the middle of transitioning from a 501c6 organization to a 501c3 non-profit. “Becoming a 501c3 organization will allow the Sports Commission to pursue new partnerships and opportunities when it comes to grants and donations and give us a greater ability to fulfill our mission of enhancing the quality of life in Wichita through sports,” said Jenks.
Through independence, Woods sees big potential for the future of the National Baseball Congress.
“With tens of thousands of alumni, a rapidly changing landscape of collegiate baseball, and the connections of 90 years of the NBC World Series, we are really uniquely positioned to put the National Baseball Congress back on a truly national scale,” she said.
Jenks, who previously served as the NBC Tournament Director from 2014-2022 before taking over the helm at the Wichita Sports Commission, agrees. “The Sports Commission has been a fantastic home for the NBC for the past four years, and for me being a part of both organizations over last decade, I have seen the impact of that relationship and those partnerships,” he said, “Being at a point in 2024 where the NBC is ready to take off on its own again is exciting for me personally, and for the Wichita sports community as a whole. For both organizations, there is such great potential for the future.”
The NBC Baseball Foundation 501c3 (EIN: 46-3773723) connects communities through baseball with youth programming, alumni engagement, historical preservation and operation of the NBC World Series, a summer collegiate championship that has been played in Wichita since 1935. To learn more about the National Baseball Congress, visit nbcbaseball.com.
The Wichita Sports Commission has a mission to enrich the quality of life through sporting events, creating powerful partnerships with local officials, facilitators and enthusiasts in an effort to promote sports in our community. To learn more about board membership or upcoming events, visit wichitasports.com.
