LOVB employs 75% of USA Volleyball roster for Paris 2024 Olympics

The GIST: The U.S.’ Olympic women’s volleyball roster just dropped, and there’s a lot of love for League One Volleyball (LOVB). Nine of the 12 starters and two alternates on Team USA have already signed deals with LOVB Pro, an impressive feat considering the new pro volleyball league won’t begin play until November, well after the Games. A real medal detector.

The business model: LOVB is creating a rare, complete pipeline in women’s sports with offerings at the youth, college, and pro levels. Since its 2020 launch, LOVB has become the top U.S. youth club volleyball brand with 1.3K teams across 22 states. Its grassroots approach has also allowed LOVB to leverage youth popularity into NIL deals with athletes at top schools like Wisconsin and Nebraska.

• LOVB is building on that further through its pro arm, which notably features teams in college volleyball hotspots like Austin, Omaha, and Madison. When naming Austin as its sixth and final city (for now), LOVB credited UT’s devoted fandom, which ranks among the best in the nation for attendance.

• Additionally, recent business wins from LOVB include raising $35M in Series B funding last September, an all-star roster of athlete investors, and a partnership with smart gym brand Tonal. Stacks on stacks.

The calendar: LOVB Pro will begin with a November preseason, followed by a 14-week regular season set to spike the week of January 6th, 2025. While this does conflict with the competing Pro Volleyball Federation (PVF) that launched this January, Athlete Unlimited’s five-week pro volleyball tournament in October will likely end right before LOVB’s November 11th preseason tipoff.

Zooming out: Men’s sports leagues like the NBA, MLB, and NHL have had the cultural presence and resources to build full ecosystems that act as talent-feeders for elite teams. While pro women’s sports are accelerating, they are still playing catch-up in this regard: The WNBA and NWSL don’t actually own the pipelines for their sports, which is what makes LOVB different.

• Its widespread presence in the volleyball space is already paying off with Olympic talent, while its youth leagues will continue to foster grassroots development and lifelong fans of the game. You can’t buy loyalty, but you can grow it.