NIGP 96168: Sports Professionals Services (Including Sports and Recreational Programs and Referee/Umpire Services)

NIGP 96168 Sports Professionals Services (Including Sports and Recreational Programs and Referee/Umpire Services), an Item code, encompasses the full range of athletic officiating, instruction, programming, and event management that state and local governments procure for youth and adult recreation, intercollegiate athletics, and public facility operations. Recent solicitations show state and local buyers contracting for sports referees and assignors across multiple youth leagues, facility operators for athletic complexes and courts, athletic trainers for college programs, watersports instructors, enrichment and out-of-school-time sports programming, and venue sponsorship tied to sports marketing. The issuing bodies span city parks and recreation departments (DeBary, Olathe, Madison, Collier County, Salem), school districts (San Antonio ISD, Birdville ISD, Salt Lake City, Dysart USD, Fort Bend ISD, Fairfax County), county recreation authorities (Greenville County, Hays County, North Clackamas Parks District), transit and university systems (City Colleges of Chicago, Sam Houston State University, Georgia Tech), and state procurement offices (Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services). Repeat buyers include Salt Lake City School District, which has issued multiple RFQs for fundraiser vendors supporting school athletics and activities, and San Antonio Independent School District, which maintains continuous open solicitations for student activities and fundraising goods and services. The City of DeBary Parks and Recreation Department and West Valley City, Utah, have also issued multiple recent opportunities for sports facility improvements and officiating services.

Recent opportunities concentrate in Florida, Utah, Texas, Kansas, North Carolina, and Oregon. Representative solicitations include the City of Olathe, Kansas RFP 260087 seeking proposals for exclusive seasonal use and league operations at the Olathe Girls Softball Complex and Lone Elm Softball Complex, due October 7, 2026 (IFB); North Clackamas Parks and Recreation District's RFQ 2026-63 for youth basketball officiating services for the Hoopers Basketball League, due September 17, 2026 (RFQ); Fort Bend Independent School District RFP 27-008LB for out-of-school time enrichment programs serving PreK through 8th grade across 30 campuses, due November 10, 2026 (RFP); and Collier County's ITN 268681 for watersports instruction at Sugden Regional Park, due August 31, 2026, with local vendor preference of 10 evaluation points. The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services has issued multiple sole-source notices for sports marketing sponsorships tied to professional and collegiate athletics teams (Jacksonville Jaguars, Tampa Bay Lightning, Orange Bowl Committee, Daytona International Speedway, and Buccaneers), each in the $200,000 to $500,000 range through June 30, 2027. City Colleges of Chicago issued RFP WM2608 for six certified athletic trainers supporting intercollegiate athletics across six colleges with an estimated annual contract value of $315,000, proposals due July 15, 2026, with mandatory MBE and WBE participation goals of 25 percent and 7 percent respectively.