SPALDING® BECOME OFFICIAL BALL OF AAU

ORLANDO, Fla. (March 29, 2017) – The Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) and Spalding announced today a multi-year partnership in which the premier sporting goods provider will serve as the official ball for AAU Indoor and Beach Volleyball.

“We are thrilled to strengthen our partnership with the AAU as they share our philosophy around competitive sports and enabling athletes to play their best game,” said Paul Sullivan, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Spalding. “We are proud to be the official volleyball of this leading organization.”

Spalding® has been the official ball of the AAU for basketball, baseball, football and softball since 2015. The indoor ball is a custom VB5 AAU product with the red, white and blue color scheme of the AAU, and the beach ball is a custom KOB AAU ball that has a similar red, white and blue pattern.

“The AAU has enjoyed a very successful and mutually beneficial partnership with Spalding over the last two years,” said Dr. Roger J. Goudy, President/CEO of the AAU. “We are very pleased to expand our alignment with Spalding to provide our athletes with a best possible event experience, including top-line equipment that enables our athletes to play their best.”

The partnership will also provide the AAU and Spalding with co-branded marketing and retail opportunities across advertising, digital and grassroots platforms.

Visit www.aauvolleyball.org for more information.

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ABOUT THE AAU:

The Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) is one of the largest non-profit volunteer sports organizations in the country. As a multi-sport organization, the AAU is dedicated exclusively to the promotion and development of amateur sports programs. Founded in 1888 to establish standards and uniformity in sports, the AAU philosophy of “Sports For All, Forever” is now shared by nearly 700,000 members and 150,000 volunteers across 35 sports programs and 55 U.S. districts. For more information, visit www.aausports.org. 

ABOUT SPALDING:

Spalding is the largest basketball equipment supplier in the world, and America's first baseball company. 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. For more information, visit www.spalding.com.