LOS ANGELES, CA – June 17, 2024 – League One Volleyball (LOVB) – the largest brand in youth volleyball with its professional volleyball league launching in the U.S. later this year – today announced that it has entered into an exclusive multi-year partnership with adidas. The relationship will start with the iconic brand outfitting LOVB’s pro and club athletes for the upcoming season, while LOVB and adidas
work together to re-envision the volleyball uniform to meet the needs of today’s modern athletes. As volleyball continues to be the fastest growing sport for girls in the United States, this partnership is centered around providing both club juniors and seasoned professionals with apparel and footwear that can elevate individual and team performance.
“LOVB is on a revolutionary path to grow the sport of volleyball in the US, from club to pro, and we could not be more excited to build the future vision of volleyball together,” said Christine Shelby, Director of Volleyball at adidas. “With more than 38 million current and former volleyball players in the US alone, we are thrilled to partner with LOVB to outfit today and tomorrow’s athletes. Growing sport at the grassroots levels is one of our brand’s primary missions, so this partnership made perfect sense for us.”
LOVB and adidas will enlist LOVB’s Athlete Council – who have 14 Olympic medals and multiple World Champions titles amongst them – to provide direct input into the pro uniform design process, while both LOVB pro athletes and club juniors will be invited into designing the next generation volleyball shoe.
“Since our inception five years ago, LOVB has centered around the unique power of a youth-to-pro community and making meaningful impacts for girls and women through the sport of volleyball. In adidas, we could not be more excited to work with a company who has proven they share that same commitment, and is as passionate as we are about creating better experiences and more support for our young players and pro athletes,” said LOVB CEO and CoFounder, Katlyn Gao.
In the first year of the partnership, LOVB pro athletes will be outfitted in adidas uniforms starting with the league’s inaugural season, which is set to launch later this year after the Paris Olympics with pre-season in November. LOVB’s first season will feature teams in six volleyball-obsessed markets: LOVB Atlanta, LOVB Austin, LOVB Houston, LOVB Madison, LOVB Omaha and LOVB Salt Lake.
“In designing our professional league, we’re being intentional about how we build for the specific needs of women athletes, and in adidas, we have found a partner who is as passionate about uplifting women athletes as we are. It’s not about just doing right by our athletes, but also providing them with apparel that will enable them to reach new professional heights,” said Rosie Spaulding, COO of LOVB Pro. “As we sat down with adidas, it became instantly clear that the brand not only deeply understood our vision for the future of the sport, but was keen to collaborate directly with our athletes to discern real performance insights, for the upcoming season and beyond.”
In addition, adidas’ partnership with LOVB includes outfitting select junior clubs for this upcoming season, and expanding to supplying all LOVB youth athletes with custom uniforms and footwear over the course of the partnership. As the largest footprint of youth volleyball clubs in the country, LOVB has more than 14,000 athletes competing from clubs across 22 states. These clubs include Atlanta’s A5, Houston Skyline and Premier Nebraska, which all rank in the top-10 nationally, and who annually see players go on to be recognized as NCAA champions and All-Americans.
With junior volleyball club tournaments seeing significant growth across the country, the partnership will also include co-branded and officially licensed merchandise designed for both young players and their families, as well as the fans of LOVB’s pro league.
