Spalding and the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) announced a multi-year partnership designating the company as the official provider of balls for AAU basketball, baseball, football and softball, including championship play.
The partnership will also provide Spalding and the AAU with co-branded marketing and retail opportunities across advertising, digital and grass roots platforms.
“Our alignment with AAU is a natural fit given our shared philosophy of competitive play and passion for sport,” said Paul Sullivan, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Spalding. “With more than 670,000 participants, AAU assembles some of the nation’s most elite amateur competitors and presents a great opportunity for Spalding to expand its reach with an important demographic.”
The AAU is one of the largest, non-profit, volunteer, sports organizations in the United States. A multi-sport organization, the AAU is dedicated exclusively to the promotion and development of amateur sports and physical fitness programs.
“We are pleased to align with Spalding, an iconic and innovative sporting goods brand because we are committed to providing our athletes with a best in class experience including equipment that enables them to play their best game. Spalding delivers across multiple categories,” said Dr. Roger Goudy, president of AAU.
Spalding is the official basketball of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA), the official backboard of the NBA and NCAA, the official baseball of the Little League World Series and the official volleyball of the King of the Beach Volleyball Tour. In addition to being the leading producer and marketer of basketballs, footballs, volleyballs and soccer balls, Spalding produces softballs under the Dudley brand. The Spalding and Dudley trademarks are owned by Russell Brands, LLC.
Founded in 1888, the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) is one of the largest, non-profit, volunteer, sports organizations in the United States. The AAU annually sanctions more than 34 sports programs, 250 national championships, and over 30,000 age division events.
