Adidas is expanding its footprint in volleyball with a multiyear, multimillion-dollar partnership with League One Volleyball (LOVB), the largest youth volleyball business in the United States, with a pro women’s league launching in November.
Adidas will outfit players for LOVB’s inaugural professional season, slated to begin across six markets: Atlanta; Austin, Texas; Houston; Madison, Wis.; Omaha, Neb.; and Salt Lake City. The league will showcase some of the best players in the world, including Team USA Tokyo Olympics gold medalists Jordan Larson, Lauren Carlini, Jordyn Poulter, Justine Wong-Orantes and Chiaka Ogbogu.
This is not Adidas’s first volleyball partnership deal. In 2017, the German sports apparel giant entered a multiyear partnership with 16 USA Volleyball athletes, including Carlini and Larson, who were competing for spots on the 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games rosters.
As part of the partnership, LOVB and Adidas will also collaborate to re-envision the volleyball uniform and the next-generation volleyball shoe with athletes’ input.
“We were looking for a partner that shared our vision and dream, and Adidas does that,” said Rosie Spaulding, COO of LOVB Pro, in a video call. “We’re being intentional about how we build for the specific needs of women athletes, and they are keen to collaborate directly with our athletes to discern real performance insights for the upcoming season and beyond.”
Founded in 2020, LOVB raised $60 million to date, including $35 million in Series B funding last year in a round led by Left Lane Capital. The round also included support from Ares Management and individuals, including Olympic skiing gold medalist Lindsey Vonn, four-time NBA All-Star Jayson Tatum, Fenway Sports Group partner Linda Henry, comedian Amy Schumer and two-time WNBA MVP Candace Parker.
At the youth level, the Los Angeles-based venture has over 14,000 athletes competing in over 50 clubs across 22 states. Adidas will also outfit select junior clubs starting this year and is expanding to supply all LOVB youth athletes with custom uniforms and footwear throughout the partnership.
“[Volleyball] is the most participated sport at the high school level and continuing to grow,” Spaulding said. “That’s one of the reasons we started this organization, knowing that participation base is significant across the country, and there’s this tremendous pipeline of athletes coming up from the young level.”
Spaulding said there are more than 38 million current and former volleyball players in the U.S.
As part of the deal, LOVB and Adidas will also launch co-branded, officially licensed merchandise designed for younger players, their families and LOVB’s pro league fans.
