Need more proof that pickleball is the fastest-growing sport in America? Check out this news item from a company you might not necessarily associate with team sports.

Cap America has promoted Paige Mendenhall to sporting goods supervisor. Mendenhall, who has been with Cap America since 2014, will be responsible for the company’s newest division of its customer service department.

In keeping with a growing trend in both youth and higher level fast-pitch softball – and in a move that can lead to a lot of incremental sales for team dealers – the NCAA has approved a double first base experimental rule in softball for the 2022-23 academic year.

Marking another change in sponsorships, a company called Nobull has been named the National Football League’s official scouting Combine training partner and on-field supplier of apparel and headwear, effective in 2023.

In addition to its foray into the digital world [See story above] Rawlings Sporting Goods made a more basic move last month with the acquisition of the Jack Corbett Hollywood Bases brand from Schutt Sports, Inc., adding field bases and accessories to its list of officially licensed MLB categories.

In what could actually be viewed as a be a bit of positive news for team dealers and sporting goods retailers that sell back-to-school products, the annual survey recently released by the National Retail Federation and Prosper Insights & Analytics found that...

Two recent news items indicate that the shine may be off of major sponsorship deals involving team sports brands and various schools or professional leagues.

Illustrating the continued evolution of brick-and-mortar stores in a new retail environment, news came out last month that Olympia Sports, which at one time boasted more than 200 stores on the East Coast, is closing its remaining 35 locations.

Taking a major leap into the digital world, Rawlings Sporting Goods has made its first entry into the Web3 world. This new digital venture marks the first of its kind for the long-established baseball and softball brand...

Ida Sports, a sports footwear company based in Melbourne, Australia, led by co-founders Laura Youngson and Ben Sandhu with a mission to make the best shoes in the world for female athletes, has won The Sports and Fitness Industry Association (SFIA) 2022 Start-Up Challenge.

There’s a new player in the team sports game that is actually a totally revamped old player familiar to almost everyone in the business. It happened last year when SV Sports, formerly Schuylkill Valley Sporting Goods, was acquired by...

Oh, for the good old days of 2019. Prior to the pandemic, basketball was enjoying steady growth, but once the crisis set in during 2020-2021 the game experienced a more than two percent dip in participation, according to the SFIA’s 2022 Basketball Single Sport Report.

As if COVID-19 shutdowns, supply chain disruptions, runaway inflation and ever-present hiring challenges were not enough, on April 18, 2022, one of Augusta Sportswear’s four factories in Mexico was severely damaged by a fire.

The numbers clearly tell the story: 35 percent of Major League Baseball players, 74 percent of NFL players and 83 percent of NBA players are people of color. Yet the business of sporting goods is incredibly under-represented by this demographic.

Wilson’s 2023 A2K lineup brings six premium gloves to the diamond, offering patterns designed for professional-caliber players across all positions, including a new look for the brand’s classic A2K made with Pro Stock Select leather consisting...

Recognizing the retail power of women sports, BreakingT, the fan apparel maker based in Washington, DC, has entered into a licensed apparel agreement with the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL).

Flag football was recently played at an international, multi-sport event for the first time during this summer’s World Games in Birmingham, AL, and, according to an article posted online by Rob Maaddi, the NFL may be the sport’s biggest cheerleader.

Is this good news or bad news for team dealers and sporting goods retailers? Whichever it is, the fact is that as part of a long-term partnership with Nike to manufacture college sports fan apparel, starting mid-2024 Fanatics will begin...

A number of recent rules changes from the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) offer sales opportunities – and some challenges – for team dealers.

G-Form, the sports protection brand, recently unveiled its next-gen Pro-S Vento soccer shin guards for adults and kids for the 2022 season. Using G-Form’s patented SmartFlex Technology, the Pro-S Vento’s sculpted design offers flexibility and lighter weight.

Cliff Keen Athletic has entered into a marketing deal with 2022 U.S. Open champion and internationally ranked Cliff Keen Wrestling Club (CKWC) wrestler, Alec Pantaleo.

Team dealers already know this and have been promoting it for years, but now a new national study of 11,235 kids ages 9-to-13, conducted by the Public Library of Science (PLOS) journal, has found that their mental health is positively impacted when participating in team sports. 

As the sport of pickleball continues to surge in popularity, and as thousands of current and former professional athletes flock to the game, Cammy MacGregor, a former Top 75 professional tennis player on the WTA Tour, has re-signed a pickleball endorsement deal with Selkirk Sport.

The NCAA Softball Rules Committee has proposed the use of a double first base on an experimental basis for the 2022-23 academic year. The double first base would allow the fielder to use half the base and the batter-runner to use the other half.

In a major strategic move by both companies, BSN Sports recently entered into an agreement to acquire substantially all of the assets of the Eastbay Team Sales business from Foot Locker Retail, Inc....