Athletes Unlimited

Rebel with a cause. 💪 • Yesterday, Rebel Girls (RG) — a digital media company created to inspire Gen Alpha girls — announced two major partnerships with emerging pro women’s sports leagues: League One Volleyball (LOVB) and Athletes Unlimited Softball League (AUSL). 👏 • The GIST chatted with RG CEO Jes Wolfe yesterday about why these leagues are the perfect place to meet the next generation of fans. 🎉 • Rebel Girls: In 2016, the brand sought to close the gender gap in children’s books by launching a Kickstarter campaign for its inaugural book spotlighting 100 inspirational women in history. Since then, RG has rapidly become a sprawling multiplatform brand that reaches 36M girls and their families globally with 11M books sold, 28M podcast downloads, and 37M views on YouTube. 👀 • Speaking of YouTube, did you know Gen Alpha girls spend an average of 84 minutes daily on the platform, with 69% of them getting their sports content there? 📺 • The partnerships: Thanks to yesterday’s signings, RG is now LOVB Omaha’s official jersey partner and will feature its athletes in cross-channel content. On the AUSL side, RG became its official media rights partner, with more details coming soon. Can’t wait. 🤩 • The alignment: It makes sense for these up and coming leagues to seek RG’s expertise on Gen Alpha, which encompasses anyone born between 2010 and 2024. Wolfe describes them as “the most diverse and the most educated generation in history” with almost 2B kids globally and a projected economic impact of $5T by 2029. 💜 • Zooming out: It’s a win that entities focused on empowering women can unite in a shared mission, but it’s also crucial for companies like RG looking to land sports opportunities at a lower price point. With the price of men’s sports sponsorship often out of reach, women’s sports have been a boon for niche, women-focused brands seeking distinct and mutually beneficial partnerships. On to the next. 🫶 • For more sports biz news like this, subscribe to our free, 3x-weekly sports biz newsletter over at the #linkinbio! 💌 #thegist ⁣ • #womensports #volleyball #pro and #pvf #lovb #ausports

We told you to stay tuned! 👀 The AUSL is officially taking shape, and we couldn’t be more excited to introduce the identities of our inaugural teams: Bandits, Blaze, Talons, and Volts! These teams will hit the field in spring 2025, touring cities across the U.S. before becoming city-based in 2026. These identities were created with intentionality, inspired by the history of softball, the values of Athletes Unlimited, and the fierce personalities of our athletes and fans. Here's a sneak peek into each team's story: 🤠 Bandits: A beloved name, reimagined with new colors and bold energy. 🔥 Blaze: Fast, fearless, and unstoppable. 🦅 Talons: Inspired by the strength and speed of the Peregrine Falcon. ⚡ Volts: Power, courage, and kinetic force. We’re also thrilled to pair our teams with an incredible roster of General Managers and Head Coaches, a group boasting nine Olympic medals, 11 NCAA championships, and 26 NCAA All-American honors. We look forward to celebrating this milestone with the softball community at the NFCA (National Fastpitch Coaches Association) Convention this week and can’t wait for fans to rally behind these teams. Let’s make 2025 a season to remember! Stay tuned for more updates and join us as we build the future of softball together. 🥎💪 Read more here: https://lnkd.in/e_qFeuMX #BeUnlimited #AUSL

Building up powerful women starts day one! #GWG50 x Cassidy Lichtman

Who's ready to make history? 🥎 We’re thrilled to announce the General Managers and Head Coaches who will lead the charge for the AUSL 2025 season. These legends bring unparalleled expertise, passion, and championship pedigrees to our league, setting the stage for a new era in professional softball. ✨ General Managers: - Lisa Fernandez - Jenny Dalton-Hill - Cat Osterman - Dana Sorensen ✨ Head Coaches: - Howard Dobson - Stacey Nuveman Deniz - Kelly Kretschman - Alisa Goler With an incredible roster of talent—including USA Softball stars Carley Hoover and Dejah Mulipola—and ESPN as our founding broadcast partner, the AUSL is ready to deliver world-class action starting in June 2025. We’re just getting started. Stay tuned for updates on team names, logos, and schedules coming soon. Read more here: https://lnkd.in/eM5zFGJg #BeUnlimited #AUSL

🏆 Athletes Unlimited is proud to be named one of Front Office Sports' Most Impactful Sports Organizations of 2024! This recognition celebrates the power of sports to drive meaningful change beyond the game. At Athletes Unlimited, we’re committed to setting new standards in: 🌟 Innovation 🤝 Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion 🌍 Sustainability ❤️ Community Engagement Thank you to Front Office Sports and Sports Innovation Lab for this recognition and for spotlighting organizations that make an impact. To everyone in the Athletes Unlimited community—this honor is yours too. You inspire us to keep pushing boundaries and to continue proving that sports can be a powerful force for progress. 💪 Read more: https://lnkd.in/eBDQHfEP #BeUnlimited #ImpactAward #SportsLeadership

🌟 We’re honored to be a Best Place to Work in Sports in 2024! 🌟 Athletes Unlimited is thrilled to announce that we’ve been named one of Sports Business Journal’s Best Places to Work in Sports for 2024! This recognition reflects our commitment to building a purpose-driven, inclusive, and empowering environment where both women’s sports and our team members thrive. With 65 employees, and growing, united by a shared vision, we’re proud to propel women’s sports forward while fostering a workplace where everyone feels valued, respected, and heard. Read more here: https://lnkd.in/eDJFMBUx #BeUnlimited #BestPlacesToWork #WomensSports

I gave this speech last Monday as our season closed, the day before a few other things shifted in the world. And I stand by it even more today. We need spaces built by and for women that allow for the fullness of their humanity. We need to see women's joy. We need to see women's aggression. We need to see women's ambition. We need to see women lose and then get up the next morning ready to fight again. We need to see women be silly. We need to see women be powerful. We need to see women be confident. We need to see women be unsure and to do it anyway. We need to see one woman be all of those things. We need to see women win. Because it’s amazing women like these, and those who make them visible, who are going to change this world. We have a lot of work left to do. Thank you to Athletes Unlimited for being that space and to all of these women for filling it.

🤠 AU Pro Hoops takes Nashville! We had an incredible "Welcome Week" in Nashville last week with so many inspiring moments-- a press conference, reception, basketball clinic with local youth, time spent with Vanderbilt University Women's Basketball, and meetings with local community and business leaders. Thank you so much to the city of Nashville, the Nashville Sports Council, and everyone we met with for the warm welcome! We can't wait to see you all there soon 👀 #BeUnlimited

Thank you Terri Carmichael Jackson and Sportico for inviting me to to speak at the RISE Women’s Sports event alongside Jayne Appel Marinelli , Jasmine Robinson , and Becca Roux. I was thrilled to join this incredible lineup and important conversation around the shifting landscape of women’s sports.

Coming off an incredible Athletes Unlimited Pro Basketball “Welcome Week” in Nashville and I’m more excited than ever that AU Pro Basketball is headed to Nashville in February. Let me tell you why… 🏅 We are going to be the first pro women’s sports leagues to operate in the city of Nashville! (Hard to believe that the 21st largest market in the U.S and one of the fastest growing in the country still does not have a women’s pro team) 🏀 Tennessee has one of the deepest and strongest connections to the sport of basketball, having been a hotbed for youth and college talent for decades. Being in Nashville, you are surrounded by women’s basketball history and so much passion for the sport. 📈 Nashville is a sports city and the appetite for women’s pro sports is just off the charts.   🏙️ The city is so organized in its civic efforts to engage with us.  From the Mayor on down, the city is so intentional about wanting to bring and embrace women’s pro sports. We felt all of that excitement, and more, this weekend, as our players and staff members met with so many new stakeholders, and community members. The way Nashville has greeted us, has been unprecedented. From our relationship with Mayor Freddie O'Connell and the Nashville Sports Council to local business leaders and community organizers, the city has embraced AU Pro Basketball with open arms and enthusiasm. Thank you especially to Scott Ramsey, Monica Fawknotson, Brenda Gadd, J. D., Adrienne Siemers, Nancy VanReece, Jacob Kupin, and Sheila Gibson. While women’s pro sports are growing, there is still so much more untapped demand. Of the top 30 markets in the U.S., only 18 have a pro women’s sports league operating in them. There is so much potential for women’s sports to enter untapped markets. And if there’s one thing we can clearly see from this last year alone, it’s that the interest and demand has always been there – it’s up to us to meet it with opportunity.