Current season, competition or edition: 2025 LOVB Pro season | |
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| Sport | Volleyball |
|---|---|
| Founded | October 19, 2021; 3 years ago (2021-10-19) |
| 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 |
LOVB Pro (pronounced "love" and commonly referred to asLeague One Volleyball) is a women's professionalindoor volleyball league in the United States. The league is owned by League One Volleyball (LOVB), a volleyball body founded in 2020. Itsfirst season began in January 2025.
League One Volleyball (LOVB) was founded in 2020 by Katlyn Gao, Peter Hirschmann, and OlympianKevin 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 asAtlanta, Georgia, andHouston, 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 announcedFabiana Claudino andKelsey Robinson-Cook, and Houston announcedMicha Hancock andJordan Thompson.[4] On April 27, a team was added inMadison, Wisconsin, with founding athleteLauren Carlini.[5] On June 5, the fourth city was announced asSalt Lake City, Utah, led by founding athletesJordyn Poulter andHaleigh Washington.[6] On August 16,Omaha, Nebraska was announced as the fifth host city with founding athletesJordan Larson andJustine 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 ofSun Prairie.[8] A week later, the league announced its final city asAustin, Texas, with founding athleteCarli Lloyd.[9]
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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 inKansas City, Missouri, with the finals held in April.[10]
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 |
On September 28, 2022, LOVB raised $16.75 million in aSeries A funding round, headlined byBillie Jean King andKevin Durant.[11] A year later, LOVB raised $35 million in aSeries B round that included investments fromLindsey Vonn,Jayson Tatum, andCandace Parker.[12]
On June 17, 2024, LOVB andAdidas signed an apparel partnership that would make Adidas the uniform supplier of LOVB Pro.[13] Two days later, LOVB announced a partnership withSpanx, the apparel brand's first sports partnership, to provide apparel and support league initiatives for LOVB's youth and professional circuits.[14]
On May 9, 2024, LOVB andESPN announced an international media rights agreement that would see 10 matches broadcast on ESPN networks and an additional 18 streamed onESPN+ in the United States for the 2025 season.[15] Alongside ESPN, Women's Sports Network, afree ad-supported streaming network, will air sixteen matches, most of which will be Saturday doubleheaders. The streaming serviceDAZN 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]
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