Buckle up

The GIST: Yesterday, leading volleyball brand LOVB Pro announced a first-of-its-kind partnership with Revolve, the designer clothing platform beloved by Gen Z and Millennial shoppers. The deal makes Revolve the league’s official online fashion retail partner and highlights innovative ways the clothing industry can appeal to young consumers via sport. Fit-ting.

The details: The partnership involves a campaign featuring five young LOVB players and a Revolve jersey patch on all six teams’ jerseys. The brand is also sponsoring a “Timeout Fancam Fit Check” at LOVB games, as well as a runway-inspired tunnel walk experience for athletes.

• Tunnel walks have been an easy way for companies to activate around women athletes, from Woody Creek Distillers sponsoring PWHL walk-ins to Google advertising its AI-powered image search with what WNBA stars wear. Walk, walk, fashion, baby.

The why: For fashion brands that predominantly cater to girls and women, it makes sense to partner with women’s leagues, especially when women’s sports fans are 2.8x more likely to purchase products endorsed by women athletes compared to other influencers.

• And if companies want to reach teenage girls specifically, it’s smart to utilize the volleyball space since LOVB attracts Revolve’s core demographic: Gen Z girls and women. Volleyball is the top team sport for high school girls by participation, and LOVB is the largest club volleyball community in the U.S. with over 16K players, 95% of whom are Gen Zers.

Zooming out: Revolve clearly has its finger on the pulse of what appeals to young consumers, but it’s not the only brand focused on growing its Gen Z audience through volleyball. Adidas — which has been looking to make further inroads with Zoomers — inked its own LOVB partnership in June that saw the apparel giant design uniforms with athlete input.

• Brands looking to target Gen Z — which is expected to be the largest, richest, and highest-spending generation globally — should cozy up to LOVB before tipoff. Smooth like butter.

The GIST: It seems every U.S. city wants in on the WNBA’s 16th franchise. As of yesterday, there’s one more contender: An Austin, Texas, bid led by former Houston Comets player and Shark Tank alumna Fran Harris. Giddy up.

The cities: While Harris has been working on Austin’s bid for at least a year, it’s only the latest city to throw its hat into the ring. Last month, WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert confirmed there are around 12 cities in the running, but now there’s an estimated 15 including Philadelphia, Denver, Nashville, Orlando, and Miami, not to mention another possible Texas bid.

The bid: Harris has deep Texas ties as a Dallas native and a basketball player, including helping the University of Texas (UT) win a championship in 1986. But she’s also built a business empire as CEO of sports drink Electra and owner of Dallas-based sports multiplex The Athletic Club. According to Harris, she’s spent the past year raising capital and bolstering Austin’s submission.

• Texas once hosted the Houston Comets and is home to the nearby Dallas Wings, but Austin boasts winning upside. Though it only has one pro sports team (MLS’ Austin FC), it’s been tapped for its location, facilities, potential for corporate sponsorship, and fervent UT fanbase, which was a factor in its selection as one of LOVB’s six volleyball franchises.

The growth: Harris says when she began chatting with the W in 2023, there were only about five other cities interested, compared to over a dozen now. This increased demand is expected to drive up the price for expansion fees — Portland paid $125M for the 15th franchise, and the winning bid for No. 16 may pay anywhere between $150M to $200M. Sheesh.

Zooming out: As far as we know, the 16th bid could be anyone’s. And while it makes sense for major NBA spots like Philly to want to bolster its fanbase, mid-sized cities often land women’s sports franchises, such as Louisville or Portland, which just announced 7.5K season ticket deposits ahead of its 2026 tipoff.

With the NWSL playoffs officially here, we want to give you the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to witness this historic season’s grand finalé: the championship game. Goals.

• We're giving away four VIP tickets to the NWSL title game on Saturday, November 23rd. The match will be played at Kansas City's CPKC Stadium, the world's first soccer stadium built specifically for a women's professional team.

Don’t you want to be part of history? Enter to win today — and have your friends enter to double or triple your chances of winning. No matter who hoists the trophy, it’s going to be an electrifying day. LFG.

At just 19 and coming off an incredible season, JuJu Watkins is already regarded as a stand-out talent in women's basketball and is poised to be the next big thing to emerge from the University of Southern California.

• For their October Cover Story, the young phenom sat down with Boardroom to discuss everything from the endless accolades of her freshman season to how she puts on for her city every time she suits up in garnet and gold.