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. The league held its first season in 2025.
Current season, competition or edition: 2025 LOVB Pro season | |
 | |
| Sport | Volleyball |
|---|---|
| Founded | October 19, 2021 |
| First season | 2025 |
| Owner | League One Volleyball |
| President | Rosie Spaulding |
| No. of teams | 6 |
| Country | United States |
| Headquarters | Los Angeles, California, United States |
| Most recent champion | LOVB Austin |
| Most titles | LOVB Austin (1st title) |
| Broadcasters | ESPN USA Network |
| Streaming partners | ESPN Victory+ |
| Official website | LOVB.com |
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 July 2025[update], LOVB's youth business includes 77 club locations in 28 states, with over 22,000 youth athletes and 3,500+ 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, 2024.[10] The 2025 season featured 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, would be held alongside the Triple Crown NIT youth invitational in February in Kansas City, Missouri. The LOVB Finals would be held in April,[10] with LOVB Austin claiming the crown.
Teams
Future teams:
- LOVB Los Angeles7
- LOVB Minnesota8
- LOVB San Francisco9
LOVB Pro teams do not have traditional city-nickname team names, but are only referred to as "LOVB" followed by the city, state, or region they represent.
| 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 Nebraska | 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 |
Logos
Future
| Team | Location | Venue | Capacity | Joining |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LOVB Los Angeles | Los Angeles, California | TBA | 2027[11] | |
| LOVB Minnesota | Twin Cities, Minnesota | TBA | 2027[12] | |
| LOVB San Francisco | San Francisco, California | TBA | 2027[13] | |
League sponsorship, funding, and ownership
On September 28, 2022, LOVB raised $16.75 million in a Series A funding round, headlined by Billie Jean King and Kevin Durant.[14] A year later, LOVB raised $35 million in a Series B round that included investments from Lindsey Vonn, Jayson Tatum, and Candace Parker.[15]
On June 17, 2024, LOVB and Adidas signed an apparel partnership that would make Adidas the uniform supplier of LOVB Pro.[16] 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.[17]
LOVB Pro owned and operated each of the six franchises that played its inaugural 2025 season. In June 2025, LOVB announced its first sale of a franchise, with a group headed by David Blitzer, Peter Holt (investing through his San Antonio-based Spurs Sports & Entertainment), and Amy Griffin purchasing the LOVB Austin franchise as well as acquiring an equity stake in the league.[18] In August 2025, it was announced that LOVB Omaha would be acquired by a group headlined by former Nebraska Cornhuskers volleyball star Jordan Larson; it coincided with a team rebrand to LOVB Nebraska.[19]
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. Alongside ESPN, Women's Sports Network, a free ad-supported streaming television (FAST) network, would air 16 matches, most of which were Saturday doubleheaders.[20] Another streaming service, DAZN, also aired 16 matches both in the U.S. and globally.[21]
Outside the U.S., 28 LOVB matches in 2025 aired on ESPN networks in Brazil, Canada, the Caribbean, Mexico, Dominican Republic, Central America, Spanish-speaking South America, Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Islands. SPOTV also aired all 60 LOVB matches to audiences in Southeast Asia.[21]
For the 2026 season, ESPN returned as a broadcaster for 28 matches. In addition, LOVB reached an agreement with USA Network to broadcast Wednesday night matches, the LOVB Playoffs and the LOVB Championships. The remaining matches 22 matches will stream on FAST network Victory+.[22]