Rawlings Sporting Goods Co. Inc., St. Louis, recently announced it has reached an exclusive agreement with the NCAA to provide the official softball of NCAA Championships for the 2017-2021 seasons.
In addition to the softball being used on the field during NCAA Championship play, the five-year agreement grants exclusive rights to Rawlings to promote, market and sell the softball through its retail channels.
“As we expand our product portfolio to include softball equipment and apparel, we understand the importance of partnering with strong, established organizations such as the NCAA,” says Mike Thompson, executive vice president of marketing, Rawlings. “This strategic alliance reflects our shared commitment to providing high-quality and high-performance products that competitive softball athletes demand and deserve.”
Rawlings has long been the official baseball of both the NCAA and Major League Baseball. The company also has experience with softball manufacturing, having previously operated in conjunction with sister company Worth Sports.
This season, Rawlings Softball Advisory Schools — including the University of Oklahoma, University of Tennessee, University of Notre Dame, Mississippi State University, Oregon State University, Penn State University and Georgia Technical Institute of Technology — used Rawlings softball products as a preview of the line, which will be available for purchase this August.
For more information, visit rawlings.com. — J.L.