LOVB Pro

Last updated

LOVB
Current season, competition or edition:
Volleyball current event.svg 2025 LOVB Pro season
LOVB Pro logo.png
Sport Volleyball
FoundedOctober 19, 2021;3 years ago (2021-10-19)
First season2025
Owner(s)League One Volleyball
CEO Katlyn Gao
No. of teams6
Country United States
Headquarters Los Angeles, California, United States
TV partner(s) ESPN
Streaming partner(s) ESPN+
Official website LOVB.com

LOVB Pro (pronounced "love" and commonly referred to as League One Volleyball) is an American women's professional indoor volleyball league. The league is owned by League One Volleyball (LOVB), a volleyball body founded in 2020. Its first season began in January 2025.

Contents

History

League One Volleyball (LOVB) was founded in 2020 by Katlyn Gao, Peter Hirschmann, and Olympian Kevin Wong as a network of youth volleyball clubs across the United States with the intent of eventually creating and sustaining a professional league. [1] As of August 2024, LOVB's youth business includes 60 club locations in 24 states, with over 14,000 youth athletes and 3,000 coaches. These clubs provide volleyball coaching and preparation for team competition for youth ages 12-18 interested in playing travel volleyball. [2]

On October 19, 2021, LOVB formally announced the creation of its professional league, branded as LOVB Pro. [3]

On March 9, 2023, LOVB announced its first professional cities as Atlanta, Georgia, and Houston, Texas. [4] Upon announcement, each team also announced their first player or players (all of whom have won Olympic medals), dubbed their "founding athletes"; Atlanta announced Fabiana Claudino and Kelsey Robinson-Cook, and Houston announced Micha Hancock and Jordan Thompson. [4] On April 27, a team was added in Madison, Wisconsin, with founding athlete Lauren Carlini. [5] On June 5, the fourth city was announced as Salt Lake City, Utah, led by founding athletes Jordyn Poulter and Haleigh Washington. [6] On August 16, Omaha, Nebraska was announced as the fifth host city with founding athletes Jordan Larson and Justine Wong-Orantes. [7] In December, the league announced it would be building a dedicated training facility for LOVB Madison and area LOVB youth squads in the Madison suburb of Sun Prairie. [8] A week later, the league announced its final city as Austin, Texas, with founding athlete Carli Lloyd. [9]

Inaugural season

LOVB Madison's inaugural match against LOVB Salt Lake (January 17, 2025 at the Wisconsin Field House) LOVB Salt Lake at LOVB Madison IMG 5685 (1).jpg
LOVB Madison's inaugural match against LOVB Salt Lake (January 17, 2025 at the Wisconsin Field House)

Team venues and schedules for the 2025 season were announced on July 18. [10] The 2025 season features four matches per week; a single head-to-head match and a homestand-style "Weekend with LOVB", where one team will host two others for three total matches. An in-season tournament, the LOVB Classic, will be held alongside the Triple Crown NIT youth invitational in February in Kansas City, Missouri, with the finals held in April. [10]

Teams

LOVB Pro
Invisible Square.svg
Invisible Square.svg
Mapscaleline.svg
1200km
820miles
6
5
4
3
2

LOVB teams do not have traditional team names, and instead compete as "LOVB" followed by the city name.

LOVB Pro teams
TeamLocationVenueCapacityJoined
LOVB Atlanta College Park, Georgia Gateway Center Arena 3,5002025
LOVB Austin Austin, Texas H-E-B Center
Strahan Arena 		8,700
10,000		2025
LOVB Houston Rosenberg, Texas Fort Bend Epicenter 10,0002025
LOVB Madison Madison, Wisconsin Wisconsin Field House
Alliant Energy Center 		7,540
7,432		2025
LOVB Omaha Omaha, Nebraska Liberty First Credit Union Arena
Baxter Arena 		4,600
7,898		2025
LOVB Salt Lake Salt Lake City, Utah Lifetime Activities Center
Maverik Center 		5,000
12,500		2025

Sponsorship and funding

On September 28, 2022, LOVB raised $16.75 million in a Series A funding round, headlined by Billie Jean King and Kevin Durant. [11] A year later, LOVB raised $35 million in a Series B round that included investments from Lindsey Vonn, Jayson Tatum, and Candace Parker. [12]

On June 17, 2024, LOVB and Adidas signed an apparel partnership that would make Adidas the uniform supplier of LOVB Pro. [13] Two days later, LOVB announced a partnership with Spanx, the apparel brand's first sports partnership, to provide apparel and support league initiatives for LOVB's youth and professional circuits. [14]

Broadcasting

On May 9, 2024, LOVB and ESPN announced an international media rights agreement that would see 10 matches broadcast on ESPN networks and an additional 18 streamed on ESPN+ in the United States for the 2025 season. [15] Alongside ESPN, Women's Sports Network, a free ad-supported streaming network, will air sixteen matches, most of which will be Saturday doubleheaders. The streaming service DAZN will also globally air sixteen matches. [16]

In Brazil, Canada, the Caribbean, Mexico, Dominican Republic, Central America, Spanish speaking South America, Australia, New Zealand and the Pacfific Islands, ESPN networks will air twenty-eight matches. In South East Asia, SPOTV will air all 60 matches. [16]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Association of Volleyball Professionals</span> Professional American volleyball league

The Association of Volleyball Professionals (AVP) is the biggest and longest-running professional beach volleyball tour in the United States. Founded in 1983, the AVP is headquartered in Newport Beach, California. The AVP operates as a 3-tiered development system with AVPFirst, a youth program; AVPNext, a developmental circuit; and the AVP Pro Beach Volleyball Tour itself.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Volleyball in the United States</span>

Volleyball is a popular sport in the United States with both male and female participants of all ages. Almost all high schools and colleges in the United States have female volleyball teams, and most regions of the country have developmental programs for girls of all ages as well. While many areas of the country are forming male teams and development programs, there are still fewer opportunities for young male athletes to play volleyball in the United States than for young female athletes. Men's volleyball is a fast-growing sport among high schools, with 36 states having male volleyball programs. Most men's seasons are in the spring while women's seasons take place primarily in the fall; however, there are a few men's teams such as in Wisconsin, Virginia, and New York who play in the fall as well.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jordan Larson</span> American volleyball player (born 1986)

Jordan Quinn Larson is an American professional volleyball player who plays as an outside hitter for the United States women's national volleyball team. A four-time Olympian, Larson earned the USA its first-ever gold in women's volleyball at the 2020 Summer Olympics. She also has two silver medals from the 2012 and 2024 Summer Olympics and a bronze medal from the 2016 Summer Olympics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lauren Carlini</span> American volleyball player (born 1995)

Lauren Nicole Carlini is an American volleyball player. She plays for the United States women's volleyball team. She won the 2016 Sullivan Award as America's best amateur athlete.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Women's National Football Conference</span> Womens American football league

The Women's National Football Conference (WNFC) is a semi-pro full-contact Women's American football league in the United States. With teams across the United States, the WNFC had its first game in 2019 with fourteen regular teams and one exhibition team.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Castore</span> British multinational sportswear manufacturer

J. Carter Sporting Club Limited, operating as Castore, is a British manufacturer of sportswear and athletic clothing, headquartered in Manchester, England. The company's products are now sold worldwide and have sponsorship deals with association football teams, cricket teams, rugby union teams, Formula One teams, and tennis players.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jordyn Poulter</span> American volleyball player

Jordyn Ashley Poulter is an American volleyball player. As a member of the United States women's national volleyball team, she has earned several international titles, including the program's first-ever Olympic gold medal at the 2020 Summer Olympics and a silver medal at the 2024 Summer Olympics. Poulter played collegiate volleyball with the University of Illinois Fighting Illini from 2015 to 2018.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">USL Super League</span> Professional womens soccer league in the United States

The USL Super League (USLS) is a professional women's soccer league in the highest level of the United States league system, alongside the National Women's Soccer League. Organized by the United Soccer League (USL), it operates as its premier league for women above the pre-professional USL W League.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Overtime (sports network)</span> American sports media company

Overtime is a sports media company geared towards Generation Z sports fans. The company distributes original sports content on social media outlets, including Facebook, Snapchat, and YouTube and sells apparel with its logos and branding. In 2021, Overtime launched Overtime Elite, a professional basketball league for 16-19 year-olds. In 2022, Overtime launched OT7, a low-contact, seven-on-seven American football league. In August 2023, Overtime held its first Overtime Boxing (OTX) matches at Overtime Elite Arena in Atlanta.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anna Hall (volleyball)</span> American volleyball player (born 1999)

Anna Elise Hall is an American professional volleyball player who plays as a middle blocker for the United States women's national volleyball team and LOVB Pro professional team LOVB Madison.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dani Drews</span> American volleyball player (born 1999)

Danielle Drews is an American professional volleyball player who plays as an outside hitter for the United States women's national volleyball team and LOVB Pro team LOVB Salt Lake.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pro Volleyball Federation</span> Womens volleyball league in the United States

The Pro Volleyball Federation (PVF) is a women's professional indoor volleyball league in the United States. The league was announced on November 17, 2022, and began play in 2024.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">LOVB Austin</span> American volleyball team

LOVB Austin is an American professional women's indoor volleyball team based in Austin, Texas. It is a member of LOVB Pro, which will begin play in January 2025.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">LOVB Atlanta</span> American volleyball team

LOVB Atlanta is an American professional women's indoor volleyball team based in Atlanta, Georgia. It is a member of LOVB Pro, which will begin play in January 2025.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">LOVB Houston</span> American volleyball team

LOVB Houston is an American professional women's indoor volleyball team based in Houston, Texas. It is a member of LOVB Pro, which will begin play in January 2025.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">LOVB Madison</span> American volleyball team

LOVB Madison is an American professional women's indoor volleyball team based in Madison, Wisconsin. It is a member of LOVB Pro, which will begin play in January 2025.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">LOVB Omaha</span> American volleyball team

LOVB Omaha is an American professional women's indoor volleyball team based in Omaha, Nebraska. It is a member of LOVB Pro, which will begin play in January 2025.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">LOVB Salt Lake</span> American volleyball team

LOVB Salt Lake is an American professional women's indoor volleyball team based in Salt Lake City, Utah. It is a member of LOVB Pro, which will begin play in January 2025.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Major League Volleyball (2026)</span> Womens volleyball league in the United States

Major League Volleyball (MLV) is a planned professional women's indoor volleyball league in the United States, owned by MLV Holdings. Formed from the secession of the Omaha Supernovas from the Pro Volleyball Federation following a conflict over the league's ownership, the MLV plans to commence play with ten teams in January 2026.

References

  1. ↑ "USA Volleyball and League One Volleyball Announce Partnership". USA Volleyball. Retrieved May 9, 2024.
  2. ↑ Pimental, Joseph (March 11, 2023). "Are you ready for some volleyball? A new women's pro league hopes the answer is yes". Spectrum News.
  3. ↑ Chappell, Bill (October 19, 2021). "Are you ready for some volleyball? A new women's pro league hopes the answer is yes". NPR.
  4. 1 2 "LOVB, eyeing 2024 pro volleyball season, announces Atlanta and Houston locations". Volleyballmag.com. March 9, 2023. Retrieved April 24, 2024.
  5. ↑ Jacques, Mike; Nijhawan, Shaina (April 27, 2023). "Professional volleyball coming to Madison". WMTV-TV . Retrieved April 24, 2024.
  6. ↑ Page, Jared (June 5, 2023). "LOVB invites Salt Lake City to host new pro women's volleyball team". Gephardt Daily. Retrieved August 3, 2024.
  7. ↑ Krueger, Adam (August 16, 2023). "Omaha named new team in League One Volleyball". KMTV-TV . Retrieved August 3, 2024.
  8. ↑ Jacobs, Kylie (December 4, 2023). "LOVB Madison to open first pro facility; announce first pro player". WMTV-TV . Retrieved April 24, 2024.
  9. ↑ Jones, Kimberley (December 11, 2023). "A New Women's Pro Volleyball League Is Launching in Austin in 2024". The Austin Chronicle . Retrieved August 3, 2024.
  10. 1 2 Feinswog, Lee (July 18, 2024). "League One Volleyball announces 2025 pro venues, six-team schedule". Volleyballmag.com. Retrieved July 25, 2024.
  11. ↑ Smith, Chris (September 28, 2022). "League One Volleyball looks to accelerate growth after Series A funding round". Sports Business Journal. Retrieved April 24, 2024.
  12. ↑ Feldman, Jacob (September 27, 2023). "League One Volleyball Raises $35 Million to Serve Growing Fanbase". Sportico.com. Retrieved April 24, 2024.
  13. ↑ Pelit, Asli (June 17, 2024). "Adidas, League One Volleyball Ink Multiyear Partnership". Sportico.com. Retrieved August 3, 2024.
  14. ↑ Hendriksz, Vivian (June 19, 2024). "Spanx partners with League One Volleyball to support young volleyball players". FashionUnited. Retrieved August 3, 2024.
  15. ↑ Cahillane, Mollie (May 9, 2024). "League One Volleyball signs media deal with ESPN ahead of debut". Sports Business Journal. Retrieved May 9, 2024.
  16. 1 2 "LOVB Announces Season Broadcast and Streaming Schedule for Inaugural Pro Season". LOVB. December 10, 2024. Retrieved January 15, 2024.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.