LOVB Pro

{{Infobox sports league

| title = LOVB

| current_season = 2025 LOVB Pro season

| logo = LOVB Pro logo.png

| logo_upright = 0.8

| sport = Volleyball

| founded = {{Start date and age|2021|10|19}}

| owner = League One Volleyball

| inaugural = 2025

| ceo = Katlyn Gao

| commissioner =

| teams = 6

| headquarters = Los Angeles, California, United States

| country = United States

| champion = LOVB Austin

| champ_season =

| most_champs = LOVB Austin (1st title)

| TV = ESPN

| streaming = ESPN+

| website = {{url|https://www.lovb.com/pro-league|LOVB.com}}

}}

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.

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.{{Cite web |title=USA Volleyball and League One Volleyball Announce Partnership |url=https://usavolleyball.org/story/usa-volleyball-and-league-one-volleyball-announce-partnership/ |access-date=2024-05-09 |website=USA Volleyball |language=en-US}} {{As of|August 2024}}, 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. {{Cite web |last=Pimental |first=Joseph |date=March 11, 2023 |title=Are you ready for some volleyball? A new women's pro league hopes the answer is yes |url=https://spectrumnews1.com/ca/la-west/news/2023/03/10/lovb-sets-groundwork-for-women-s-pro-volleyball-league- |website=Spectrum News}}

On October 19, 2021, LOVB formally announced the creation of its professional league, branded as LOVB Pro.{{Cite web |last=Chappell |first=Bill |date=October 19, 2021 |title=Are you ready for some volleyball? A new women's pro league hopes the answer is yes |url=https://www.npr.org/2021/10/19/1046097636/women-volleyball-pro-league-one-new-lovb |website=NPR}}

On March 9, 2023, LOVB announced its first professional cities as Atlanta, Georgia, and Houston, Texas.{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=2023-03-09 |title=LOVB, eyeing 2024 pro volleyball season, announces Atlanta and Houston locations |url=https://volleyballmag.com/lovb-announces-atlanta-houston-030923/ |access-date=2024-04-24 |website=Volleyballmag.com |language=en-US}} 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. On April 27, a team was added in Madison, Wisconsin, with founding athlete Lauren Carlini.{{Cite web |last1=Jacques |first1=Mike |last2=Nijhawan |first2=Shaina |date=2023-04-27 |title=Professional volleyball coming to Madison |url=https://www.wmtv15news.com/2023/04/27/profession-volleyball-coming-madison/ |access-date=2024-04-24 |website=WMTV-TV |language=en}} On June 5, the fourth city was announced as Salt Lake City, Utah, led by founding athletes Jordyn Poulter and Haleigh Washington.{{Cite web |last=Page |first=Jared |date=2023-06-05 |title=LOVB invites Salt Lake City to host new pro women's volleyball team |url=https://gephardtdaily.com/sports/lovb-invites-salt-lake-city-to-host-new-pro-womens-volleyball-team/ |access-date=2024-08-03 |website=Gephardt Daily |language=en-US}} On August 16, Omaha, Nebraska was announced as the fifth host city with founding athletes Jordan Larson and Justine Wong-Orantes.{{Cite web |last=Krueger |first=Adam |date=2023-08-16 |title=Omaha named new team in League One Volleyball |url=https://www.3newsnow.com/sports/omaha-named-new-team-in-league-one-volleyball |access-date=2024-08-03 |website=KMTV-TV |language=en}} 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.{{Cite web |last=Jacobs |first=Kylie |date=2023-12-04 |title=LOVB Madison to open first pro facility; announce first pro player |url=https://www.wmtv15news.com/2023/12/04/lovb-madison-open-first-pro-facility-annouce-first-pro-player/ |access-date=2024-04-24 |website=WMTV-TV |language=en}} A week later, the league announced its final city as Austin, Texas, with founding athlete Carli Lloyd.{{Cite news |last=Jones |first=Kimberley |date=2023-12-11 |title=A New Women's Pro Volleyball League Is Launching in Austin in 2024 |url=https://www.austinchronicle.com/daily/sports/2023-12-11/a-new-womens-pro-volleyball-league-is-launching-in-austin-in-2024/ |access-date=2024-08-03 |website=The Austin Chronicle |language=en-US}}

=Inaugural season=

File:LOVB Salt Lake at LOVB Madison IMG 5685 (1).jpg's inaugural match against LOVB Salt Lake (January 17, 2025 at the Wisconsin Field House)]]

Team venues and schedules for the 2025 season were announced on July 18.{{Cite web |last=Feinswog |first=Lee |date=2024-07-18 |title=League One Volleyball announces 2025 pro venues, six-team schedule |url=https://volleyballmag.com/lovb-arenas-schedule-071824/ |access-date=2024-07-25 |website=Volleyballmag.com |language=en}} 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.

Teams

{{OSM Location map | coord={{coord|37|-98}} | zoom=3 | width=280 | height=200 | mark-size1=16 | shape1=n-circle | shape-color1=#47D3DF | caption={{div col|small=yes|colwidth=11em}}{{Ubl

| {{#invoke:overlay|icon|1|#47D3DF}} LOVB Atlanta

| {{#invoke:overlay|icon|2|#47D3DF}} LOVB Austin

| {{#invoke:overlay|icon|3|#47D3DF}} LOVB Houston

| {{#invoke:overlay|icon|4|#47D3DF}} LOVB Madison

| {{#invoke:overlay|icon|5|#47D3DF}} LOVB Omaha

| {{#invoke:overlay|icon|6|#47D3DF}} LOVB Salt Lake

}}{{div col end}}

| mark-title1 = LOVB Atlanta

| mark-description1 =

| mark-coord1 = {{Coord|33.4456|-84.2324}}

| mark-title2 = LOVB Austin

| mark-description2 =

| mark-coord2 = {{Coord|30.162|-97.4435}}

| mark-title3 = LOVB Houston

| mark-description3 =

| mark-coord3 = {{Coord|29.4546|-95.2259}}

| mark-title4 = LOVB Madison

| mark-description4 =

| mark-coord4 = {{Coord|43.0429|-89.2303}}

| mark-title5 = LOVB Omaha

| mark-description5 =

| mark-coord5 = {{Coord|41.1531|-95.5615}}

| mark-title6 = LOVB Salt Lake

| mark-description6 =

| mark-coord6 = {{Coord|40.4539|-111.5328}}

}}

LOVB teams do not have traditional team names, and instead compete as "LOVB" followed by the city name.

class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" \|+LOVB Pro teams !scope="col"\| Team !scope="col" class="unsortable" \| Location !scope="col" class="unsortable" \| Venue !scope="col"\| Capacity !scope="col"\| Joined
scope="row"\| LOVB Atlanta \| College Park, Georgia \|\| Gateway Center Arena \|\| 3,500 \|\| 2025
scope="row"\| LOVB Austin \| Austin, Texas \|\| H-E-B Center Strahan Arena \|\| 8,700 10,000 \|\| 2025
scope="row"\| LOVB Houston \| Rosenberg, Texas \|\| Fort Bend Epicenter \|\| 10,000 \|\| 2025
scope="row"\| LOVB Madison \| Madison, Wisconsin \|\| Wisconsin Field House Alliant Energy Center \|\| 7,540 7,432 \|\| 2025
scope="row"\| LOVB Omaha \| Omaha, Nebraska \|\| Liberty First Credit Union Arena Baxter Arena \|\| 4,600 7,898 \|\| 2025
scope="row"\| LOVB Salt Lake \| Salt Lake City, Utah \|\| Lifetime Activities Center Maverik Center \|\| 5,000 12,500 \|\| 2025

class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders"

|+LOVB Pro teams

!scope="col"| Team

!scope="col" class="unsortable" | Location

!scope="col" class="unsortable" | Venue

!scope="col"| Capacity

!scope="col"| Joined

scope="row"| LOVB Atlanta

| College Park, Georgia || Gateway Center Arena || 3,500 || 2025

scope="row"| LOVB Austin

| Austin, Texas || H-E-B Center
Strahan Arena || 8,700
10,000 || 2025

scope="row"| LOVB Houston

| Rosenberg, Texas || Fort Bend Epicenter || 10,000 || 2025

scope="row"| LOVB Madison

| Madison, Wisconsin || Wisconsin Field House
Alliant Energy Center || 7,540
7,432 || 2025

scope="row"| LOVB Omaha

| Omaha, Nebraska || Liberty First Credit Union Arena
Baxter Arena || 4,600
7,898 || 2025

scope="row"| 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.{{Cite web |last=Smith |first=Chris |date=2022-09-28 |title=League One Volleyball looks to accelerate growth after Series A funding round |url=https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Daily/Issues/2022/09/28/Leagues-and-Governing-Bodies/League-One-Volleyball.aspx |access-date=2024-04-24 |website=Sports Business Journal |language=en}} A year later, LOVB raised $35 million in a Series B round that included investments from Lindsey Vonn, Jayson Tatum, and Candace Parker.{{Cite web |last=Feldman |first=Jacob |date=2023-09-27 |title=League One Volleyball Raises $35 Million to Serve Growing Fanbase |url=https://www.sportico.com/leagues/other-sports/2023/league-one-volleyball-funding-teams-launch-1234739900/ |access-date=2024-04-24 |website=Sportico.com |language=en-US}}

On June 17, 2024, LOVB and Adidas signed an apparel partnership that would make Adidas the uniform supplier of LOVB Pro.{{Cite web |last=Pelit |first=Asli |date=2024-06-17 |title=Adidas, League One Volleyball Ink Multiyear Partnership |url=https://www.sportico.com/leagues/other-sports/2024/adidas-league-one-volleyball-multiyear-partnership-1234784271/ |access-date=2024-08-03 |website=Sportico.com |language=en-US}} 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.{{Cite web |last=Hendriksz |first=Vivian |date=2024-06-19 |title=Spanx partners with League One Volleyball to support young volleyball players |url=https://fashionunited.com/news/business/spanx-partners-with-league-one-volleyball-to-support-young-volleyball-players/2024061960488 |access-date=2024-08-03 |website=FashionUnited |language=en}}

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.{{Cite web |last=Cahillane |first=Mollie |date=2024-05-09 |title=League One Volleyball signs media deal with ESPN ahead of debut |url=https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Articles/2024/05/09/espn-league-one-volleyball |access-date=2024-05-09 |website=Sports Business Journal |language=en}} 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.{{Cite web |date=December 10, 2024 |title=LOVB Announces Season Broadcast and Streaming Schedule for Inaugural Pro Season|url=https://www.lovb.com/news/lovb-announces-inaugural-pro-broadcast-streaming-schedule |access-date=January 15, 2024 |website=LOVB |language=en}}

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.