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| Founded | 2020 |
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| Founder | |
| Broadcasters |
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| Official website | auprosports.com |
Athletes Unlimited (also known by itsabbreviationAU) is awomen'sprofessional sports organization based in the United States that organizes and administers competitions in the sports ofbasketball,softball,volleyball, and formerlylacrosse. It was founded in 2020 byJon Patricof andJonathan Soros. Athletes Unlimited leagues employ formats in which individual players are crowned champions, with the exception of theAthletes Unlimited Softball League, which has traditionalteams.
Athletes Unlimited was founded byJon Patricof andJonathan Soros in 2020.[1]
There are no team owners, and league investors are capping their returns. Athletes share in the league profits, and are involved in the daily decision making.[2] Players are not committed to one team but switch teams every week of the season through a draft.[3] The top four players who earned the most points each week become captains for the next week and form new teams.[4] Players earn points based on both their team and individual performances, and are ranked accordingly. The champion is the player with the most points at the end of the season.[5][6]
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Athletes Unlimited Pro Basketball is played annually during winter. Its first season featured 44 players competing in a five-week season from January 26 to February 26, 2022, and took place inLas Vegas, Nevada.[7] The second season was played inDallas, Texas and ran from February 22 to March 26, 2023.[8] The 2025 edition was held on February 5 – March 2 at theNashville Municipal Auditorium inNashville, Tennessee. It featured forty players competing in 24 games – tenlivestreamed onESPN+, and fourteen simultaneously livestreamed on both theFanDuel Sports Network and theWNBA'smobile app.[9][10][11] It was won byMaddy Siegrist, who set an all-time record of 7,052 points.[12]
| Year | Date | Venue | Location |  Champion | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Points | ||||
| 2022 | Jan 26 – Feb 26 | Sport Center of Las Vegas | Enterprise, NV | Tianna Hawkins | 6,831 |
| 2023 | Feb 22 – Mar 25 | Fair Park Coliseum | Dallas, TX | NaLyssa Smith | 6,811 |
| 2024 | Feb 29 – Mar 23 | Allisha Gray | 6,918 | ||
| 2025 | Feb 5 – Mar 2 | Nashville Municipal Auditorium | Nashville, TN | Maddy Siegrist | 7,052 |
The AUSL All-Star Cup (formerly known as Athletes Unlimited Pro Softball) is played annually at theParkway Bank Sports Complex inRosemont, Illinois over four weeks during summer. It is preceded by a two-week competition known as Athletes Unlimited Pro Softball AUX (stylized as "AUX"). The Cup's inaugural season was played from August 20 to September 28, 2020. Two games were played each Saturday, Sunday, and Monday over the five week period, 30 games all together (15 per player). The top four players were named the medalists and Haylie McCleney was named the Defensive Player of the Year.[13]
The inaugural AUX competition featured 42 athletes playing 18 games and took place from June 13 to 26, 2022, coinciding with the 50th anniversary ofTitle IX on June 23.[14]Danielle O'Toole won the inaugural AUX softball competition with 1,436 points.[15]Rachel Garcia won the 2023 AUX competition with 1,392 points.[16]Bubba Nickles won the 2024 AUX competition with 1,344 points.[17]
| Year | Date | Venue | Location | Champion | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Points | ||||
| Athletes Unlimited Pro Softball / AUSL All-Star Cup | |||||
| 2020 | Aug 29 – Sep 28 | Parkway Bank Sports Complex | Rosemont, IL | Cat Osterman | 2,408[13] |
| 2021 | Aug 28 – Sep 27 | Aleshia Ocasio | 2,096[18] | ||
| 2022 | Jul 29 – Aug 28 | Dejah Mulipola | 1,782[19] | ||
| 2023 | Jul 28 – Aug 27 | Odicci Alexander | 1,994[20] | ||
| 2024 | Jul 26 – Aug 5 | Amanda Lorenz | 1,800[21] | ||
| 2025 | Aug 2–31 | Parkway Bank Sports Complex | Rosemont, IL | Kayla Kowalik | 1,570[22] |
| Ting Stadium | Holly Springs, NC | ||||
| Joyner Family Stadium | Greenville, NC | ||||
| Athletes Unlimited Pro Softball AUX | |||||
| 2022 | Jun 13–25 | SDSU Softball Stadium | San Diego, CA | Danielle O'Toole | 1,436[15] |
| 2023 | Jun 9–25 | Parkway Bank Sports Complex | Rosemont, IL | Rachel Garcia | 1,392[16] |
| 2024 | Jun 10–25 | Wilkins Stadium | Wichita, KS | Bubba Nickles | 1,344[17] |
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The AU Pro Volleyball Championship (formerly Athletes Unlimited Pro Volleyball) is played annually during fall. Its inaugural season was played in 2021.[23][24]
| Year | Date | Venue | Location | Champion | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Points | ||||
| 2021 | Feb 27 – Mar 29 | Fair Park Coliseum | Dallas, TX | Jordan Larson | 4,569 |
| 2022 | Mar 16 – Apr 16 | Bethania de la Cruz | 4,652 | ||
| 2023 | Oct 6 – Nov 6 | Arizona Athletic Grounds | Mesa, AZ | Leah Edmond | 4,313 |
| 2024 | Oct 3 – Nov 4 | Brittany Abercrombie | 4,521 | ||
| 2025 | Oct 1 – Nov 2 | Liberty First Credit Union Arena | Ralson, NE | Future tournament | |
| Alliant Energy Center | Madison, WI | ||||
Athletes Unlimited Pro Lacrosse was played annually during summer, between 2021 and 2024. Michelle DeJulius, who had founded and was the CEO of the now defunct Women's Professional Lacrosse League was named the Senior Director of Lacrosse.[25] Athletes Unlimited Pro Lacrosse features a "short-form, fast-paced" format. It is played 10-a-side rather than 12-a-side. The field length is shorted to 90 yards as opposed to the traditional 110 yards. The field width remains at 60 yards. There is a 60-second shot clock, and layers can score two-point goals by scoring goals from outside of an 8-meter perimeter. The games are also 10-minute quarters.[25][26][27][28] The game has also been described as more physical, with less fouls called compared to other levels of the game. There are also no shooting space calls (shooting space being a penalty where a defender cannot stand between the goal and a player looking to shoot unless actively guarding another player).[26][28]
The inaugural 2021 season took place from July 19 to August 22 inBoyds, Maryland atMaureen Hendricks Field.[29] The 2022 season took place from July 21 to August 14 atWilliam G. Tierney Field inBaltimore, Maryland,[30][31] and returned there for the 2023 season from July 20 to August 13.[32] Goalie Taylor Moreno became the first player to win two Athletes Unlimited championships.[33][34] After the conclusion of the 2024 season, Athletes Unlimited suspended its lacrosse operations, citing the "availability of the sport's most elite athletes during the summer months over the next few years" as its primary reason for doing so.[35][36]
| Year | Date | Venue | Location | Champion | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Points | ||||
| 2021 | Jul 23 – Aug 22 | Hendricks Field | Boyds, MD | Taylor Cummings | 1,943[37] |
| 2022 | Jul 21 – Aug 14 | Tierney Field | Sparks, MD | Taylor Moreno | 1,798[38] |
| 2023 | Jul 20 – Aug 13 | Taylor Moreno | 1,679[33] | ||
| 2024 | Jul 18 – Aug 11 | Sam Apuzzo | 1,852 | ||
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