LOVB Pro
American women's volleyball league From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
LOVB Pro (pronounced "love" and commonly referred to as League One Volleyball) is a women's professional indoor volleyball league in the United States. The league is owned by League One Volleyball (LOVB), a volleyball body founded in 2020. Its first season began in January 2025.
Current season, competition or edition: 2025 LOVB Pro season | |
 | |
| Sport | Volleyball |
|---|---|
| Founded | October 19, 2021 |
| First season | 2025 |
| Owner(s) | League One Volleyball |
| CEO | Katlyn Gao |
| No. of teams | 6 |
| Country | United States |
| Headquarters | Los Angeles, California, United States |
| TV partner(s) | ESPN |
| Streaming partner(s) | ESPN+ |
| Official website | LOVB.com |
History
Summarize
Perspective
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[update], 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
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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 teams do not have traditional team names, and instead compete as "LOVB" followed by the city name.
| Team | Location | Venue | Capacity | Joined |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LOVB Atlanta | College Park, Georgia | Gateway Center Arena | 3,500 | 2025 |
| LOVB Austin | Austin, Texas | H-E-B Center Strahan Arena | 8,700 10,000 | 2025 |
| LOVB Houston | Rosenberg, Texas | Fort Bend Epicenter | 10,000 | 2025 |
| 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
References
External links
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