Promoted by more than 100 national and local influencers with the goal to get 50 million kids physically active by 2030 through school and community physical activity programs, PHIT America, the national charity dedicated to improving children’s health and academic performance...

Decisions on fall sports by schools in America are all over the place as states and local school districts struggle to reopen schools and schedule fall sports in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. Michigan is one of the latest states to move high school football to the spring and...

So many suppliers to the team sports business responded with impressive efforts to help their communities – and their customers –deal with the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. One of them, Founder Sport Group, was among the first to recognize the need to join in the fight...

Among many revelations during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, one that sticks out is just how much we rely on technology in our everyday lives in 2020. Just think how much more disconnected we would all feel if we didn’t at least have the “luxury” of Zoom meetings for...

Maintaining its reputation as a socially conscious, forward-thinking brand, Under Armour this week unveiled its first hijab for female Muslim athletes. Under development for several years, Under Armour says several athletes helped with development of the product, including...

LifeBridge Health, a regional health care organization based in Baltimore, MD, has partnered with Under Armour in some mask research and development. Now, as COVID-19 stay-at-home orders ease and athletes of all levels consider returning to their pre-pandemic workouts, it is dealing with...

Due to many recent decisions for elementary and secondary schools to not meet in person in the fall of 2020, 72 percent of sporting goods and team sports companies now anticipate that sales will not return to pre-COVID-19 numbers until 2021, and 53 percent report not until...

As it looks to get kids back on the football field this fall, Pop Warner Little Scholars, the nation’s oldest and most prominent youth football, cheer and dance organization, has entered into two partnerships aimed at making the player and fan experience a little better and safer.

The National Operating Committee on Standards for Athletic Equipment (NOCSAE) held its Summer Standards meeting virtually on July 27 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Among the changes (report provided by NSGA): The standard performance specification for...

The trend continues to spread across America as four states – Arizona, Florida, Illinois and South Dakota – are adding girls’ wrestling to their high school sports lineups. This brings the total number of states to sanction girls high school wrestling to 26.

In response to longstanding concerns regarding the wearing of goggles in high school field hockey, the NFHS Board of Directors recently approved a change in the eyewear rule that will take effect with the upcoming 2020 season.

As the fall sports season tentatively gets underway and schools around the country undertake their own reopening plans, team dealers are increasingly turning to their key vendors for assistance in getting the right product to the right places at the right time during this school year...

Reflecting the increasing role the team business is playing within the National Sporting Goods Association (NSGA), Pat Donnelly, of Donnelly Sports, recently began a three-year term as chair of the association. Donnelley is the owner/partner of Donnelley Sports, a team dealer that has been in...

Roundtable: The Team Insight Headwear Roundtable explores the different cap needs of a season like no other.

Citing “unprecedented times” but reaffirming its “endless appreciation and gratitude for … our loyal community of customers,” Schuylkill Valley Sports CEO and president Jason Lutz announced in a letter on its website this week that...

With the hope that there will be fall sports of some sort this school year, the NFHS Network, which provides streaming live and on-demand high school sports, has launched its High School Support Program. In it NFHS allocates more than $200 million for any of the...

BSN Sports, along with its sister companies Varsity Spirit and Herff Jones, this week launched a campaign it is calling “Impact Now” to help schools return to the classrooms and playing fields this fall.

In a move that can potentially benefit the team business, the Sports & Fitness Industry Association (SFIA) this week launched a campaign to promote the Personal Health Investment Today (PHIT) Act (H.R.1679/S.680) as a consumer-driven economic stimulus.

The $60,000 – or multi-million dollar – question for the team business this summer is, “Will there be fall sports in 2020?My answer is, yes. And you can hold me to that — although certainly let’s check back next month to see how things are going.

Wilson Sporting Goods has appointed Joe Dudy, a 25-year veteran of the company, as president. Previously Wilson’s VP–finance, Dudy had been appointed acting leader of the brand in October 2019, upon Michael Dowse’s departure.

With an eye on servicing the increasingly eco-conscious young athletes, SanMar is partnering with Allmade to be the exclusive supplier of Allmade’s ethically and environmentally conscious blank apparel to the promotional apparel and imprinted sportswear industries.

In even more welcome news for team dealers, USA Football has said loud and clear that it plans to play football this year and it recently circulated a document based on phased reopening guidelines from the CDC. Of course, much depends on local city or...

Will there be school sports in the fall? That’s the multi-million dollar question for team dealers and vendors, and the answer will go a long way to determining whether they pass or fail this school year. Most districts around the country seem to be making plans to...

In what should worry team dealers already battling the biggest player in the sports business, Nike this week announced that it is cutting jobs. Thar’s not the real news, though, The bigger impact is that the cuts are being made as the Swoosh refocuses on selling directly to consumers.

In news that will probably make many team sports vendors breathe a little easier – and make waiting those 180 days for payments seem a little shorter – Varsity Brands, the parent of BSN Sports, recently raised a total of approximately $185 million in new capital.