DICK’S led the $120M round of investment, obtaining a minority stake alongside other new investors Dynasty Equity, LionTree, Miller Sports & Entertainment and existing investor The Chernin Group (TCG)

NEW YORK, May 6, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Unrivaled Sports, the nation’s leader in youth sports experiences, today announced a strategic investment by DICK’S Sporting Goods (NYSE: DKS), which led the company’s latest funding round. The strategic investment will help fuel Unrivaled Sports’ mission — to create unrivaled sport experiences for young athletes everywhere — by continuing to deliver and expand best-in-class experiences, programs and destinations for young athletes across the nation.

“DICK’S Sporting Goods has become the undisputed leader in serving young athletes as they gear up to play the sports they love. Their mission-driven approach to youth sports has been at the center of their ecosystem, from their early days as a small family business to their growth into the nation’s leading sporting goods retailer to the grants they provide to youth programs through the Sports Matter initiative, and now, their partnership with us at Unrivaled Sports,” said Unrivaled Sports Chairman & CEO Andy Campion. “We are thrilled to build the future of youth sports together with DICK’S Sporting Goods, and with the support of our other new strategic partners.” 

Unrivaled Sports and DICK’S Sporting Goods coming together marks the powerful alignment of two organizations committed to creating experiences and environments that unlock the magic of youth sports and create lifelong memories for girls and boys of all ages and their families. The investment comes from DSG Ventures, the corporate venture capital fund of DICK’S.

“We’re incredibly excited to invest in and partner with Unrivaled Sports,” said Michael Stack, Vice President of Strategy and Corporate Development at DICK’S Sporting Goods. “They share our core belief that sports have the power to change lives, and the impact they’ve made in just one year has been incredibly impressive. We are fully aligned to their vision for transforming youth sports for the better by investing in the fields, spaces and events where memories are made, friendships are formed and life lessons are instilled. We look forward to working together to create more sports experiences that build fun, excitement and community in the moment, and that have lasting impact over a lifetime.”

Unrivaled Sports will leverage this new partnership and investments to:

• Expand access to more young athletes and their families across the country by further acquiring, building and diversifying destinations and programming that deliver unrivaled experiences to girls and boys of all ages.
• Elevate experiences by further investing in upgrading the fields of play, programming and athlete experiences from quality officiating to facilities and services that support the athlete and their fans.
• Increase amenities across all Unrivaled Sports properties such as lodging, food and beverage, and retail to better serve guests and foster community.

Unrivaled Sports operates a growing portfolio of iconic youth sports destinations and programming — including Cooperstown All Star Village, Ripken Baseball Experiences, Rocker B Ranch, Diamond Nation, Unrivaled Flag, and Under the Lights Flag Football, among others.

Over the past year, Unrivaled Sports has invested significantly in growing and elevating its experiences including:

• Building a national footprint across 30 states through acquisition, now hosting over 600,000 young athletes and nearly 2 million family members and fans.
• Meaningfully enhancing capacity and experiences at owned properties, including:
  • Expanding bunk lodging in the Players Village and upgrading fields at Cooperstown All Star Village to increase weekly team capacity, while also upgrading the design and amenities across the entire property. Cooperstown All Star Village will set another consecutive record high in annual attendance in 2025.
  • Re-turfing and building new fields across flagship properties and regional facilities including Rocker B Ranch (TX), Diamond Nation (NJ), and more.
  • Investing in a multi-million dollar renovation and enhancement of West Coast properties, Big League Dreams Las Vegas and Big League Dreams Manteca.
• Growing flag football by significantly increasing participation — over 30% in the last year alone — for both girls and boys through the national flag football league Under the Lights. Unrivaled Sports also hosted the Youth Flag World Championship at Disney which featured 715 teams, including 220 girls’ teams and 100+ international teams. This summer, Unrivaled Sports will host two major national flag football events: the Unrivaled Flag High School Girls Nationals and the NFL Flag Championship at the Unrivaled Sports’ ForeverLawn Complex in Canton, Ohio.

Additionally, Unrivaled Sports is committed to continuing to grow sports participation and expand access for underserved young athletes. With much more to come, Unrivaled Sports is proud of the impact Ripken Baseball has made to-date, from hosting free clinics nationwide to providing scholarships and free tournament access to young athletes and teams in underserved communities across the country. 

David Blitzer and Josh Harris who co-founded and maintain majority ownership of Unrivaled Sports along with existing investor, TCG, welcome new minority investors DSG Ventures, Dynasty Equity, LionTree and Miller Sports & Entertainment — partners who believe in helping Unrivaled Sports deliver on its long-term vision for youth sports.

About Unrivaled Sports

Unrivaled Sports, the nation’s leader in youth sports experiences, delivers best-in-class experiences for young athletes, their families and communities through a diverse set of brands across youth sports venues, properties and programming. Unrivaled Sports has welcomed some of the most iconic names in youth sports into its growing family of brands including Cooperstown All Star Village, Ripken Baseball Experiences, Rocker B Ranch, Diamond Nation, Unrivaled Flag, We Are Camp action sports camp and more. From hosting destination tournaments to powering hometown leagues, Unrivaled Sports is committed to delivering formative, memory-making experiences to hundreds of thousands of young athletes and their families across the country. Learn more at unrivaledsports.com @unrivaled.sports. 

About DICK’S Sporting Goods

DICK’S Sporting Goods (NYSE: DKS) creates confidence and excitement by inspiring, supporting and personally equipping all athletes to achieve their dreams. Founded in 1948 and headquartered in Pittsburgh, the leading omnichannel retailer serves athletes and outdoor enthusiasts in more than 850 DICK’S Sporting Goods, Golf Galaxy, Public Lands and Going Going Gone! stores, online, and through the DICK’S mobile app. DICK’S also owns and operates DICK’S House of Sport and Golf Galaxy Performance Center, as well as GameChanger, a youth sports mobile platform for live streaming, scheduling, communications and scorekeeping.

Driven by its belief that sports have the power to change lives, DICK’S has been a longtime champion for youth sports and, together with its Foundation, has donated millions of dollars to support under-resourced teams and athletes through the Sports Matter program and other community-based initiatives. Additional information about DICK’S business, corporate giving and employment opportunities can be found on dicks.com, investors.dicks.com, sportsmatter.org, dickssportinggoods.jobs and on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook and X.

About Dynasty Equity 

Dynasty Equity is a global sports investment firm, co-founded and led by Jonathan M. Nelson and K. Don Cornwell, focused on strategic investments across the sports ecosystem in assets that are resilient, compelling, and differentiated. Dynasty’s founders have deep expertise in sector specific private equity and long histories in the business of sports, media, and entertainment. Integral to Dynasty’s investment approach is a commitment to enduring partnerships. For more information, visit www.DynastyEquity.com or follow the firm on LinkedIn.

About LionTree 

LionTree is a global investment and merchant banking firm focused on the media, technology, telecom and consumer sectors. Founded in 2012, LionTree works across offices in New York, San Francisco, and London to serve our clients and community through strategic M&A, capital raising, and investments across the globe that capture opportunity and provide best-in-class execution. Since its formation, the Firm has advised on over $850 billion in transactions by bringing capital together with ideas, investing in and alongside our relationships to accelerate growth and innovation. LionTree invests minority, non-controlling capital in partnership with leading, long-term investors and provides additional value through our relationships, sector and thematic expertise and transaction capabilities. LionTree and its affiliates have active principal investments in early venture, growth, and mature companies across key sectors of the digital economy.

About TCG

The Chernin Group (TCG) is a preeminent growth equity firm investing in sports, media and passion-driven businesses. TCG partners with exceptional founders and management teams to grow and optimize market-leading brands in specific consumer categories with passionate followings. The firm leverages decades of operating experience and deep connectivity to the media, sports and technology ecosystems in service of its portfolio companies.

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SOURCE Unrivaled Sports

New Partnership Extension Includes Live Streaming Coverage of More Than 10,000 Games on SportsEngine Play, with Select Games Streaming Live on Peacock

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. (May 6, 2025) – The five-year extension of SportsEngine Play’s official streaming partnership with the Puma NXT and Puma Pro16 youth basketball circuits announced today will deliver live coverage of more than 10,000 games during the current 2025 season and includes a selection of top games to be streamed on Peacock.

Operated by NXTPRO Sports, the Puma NXT and Pro16 circuits showcase some of the highest-ranked college basketball prospects in the U.S. During the 2025 season, which began on March 29, more than 44 of the nation’s top recruits expected to advance to the highest levels of Division I basketball will compete. Some of the more notable prospects over the first two years of the PRO16 circuit and their college choices include:Asa Newell (Georgia), Isaiah Brown (Florida), L.J. Cason (Michigan), Chris Cenac (Houston), Nikolas Khamenia (Duke), Eric Reibe (UConn), Xavion Staton (BYU). Brown, Cenac and Khamenia either play on or are committed to three of the Final Four teams in the 2025 NCAA Championship.

In just two short years, NXTPRO/PRO16 League has emerged as the largest grassroots basketball circuit in the U.S., hosting more than 500 programs across its boys’ and girls’ divisions. The circuit also has quickly become a global hub for elite talent and diverse teams from countries, including Australia, China, Japan, Europe, Mexico, Philippines, and Canada.

Many of the 50-plus facilities hosting NXTPRO Sports tournaments this season are pre-equipped with intelligent cameras installed by SportsEngine Play through existing partnerships, with more facilities to follow throughout the season. The latest AI camera technology incorporated by SportsEngine Play follows game competition seamlessly to deliver a more immersive experience for viewers.

Additionally, the extended agreement will feature 10 select games each season streamed live on Peacock, which also features premier basketball from the Big Ten and BIG EAST, the NBA – returning to NBCUniversal platforms this fall – the Olympics, and more.

“The growth of NXTPRO Sports and the Puma circuit continues to set the standard in high-level youth basketball competition. We’re extremely excited to stream the new season on SportsEngine Play for families, fans and the athletes, themselves,” said Nick Busto, SportsEngine’s Vice President of Video Operations. “Connecting a premier partner like NXTPRO with our growing list of partner facilities to stream thousands of games is fantastic, but also having the relationship with an industry leading platform like Peacock to showcase select games is why this deal sets the stage for the future of youth sports broadcasting.”

As the Official Streaming and Video Partner of the Puma NXT and PRO16 leagues since 2023, SportsEngine Play provides coverage of every tournament game, which will total 53 tournaments comprising more than 10,000 games in 2025. NXTPRO Sports utilizes SportsEngine’s best-in-class video technology to enhance their members’ overall experience through an online viewing destination for both circuits, offering live and on-demand video streaming via internet-connected devices. The SportsEngine Play website also includes a tournament portal, featuring game highlights and video-on-demand tools for parents to create and compile highlight reels for their athletes.

“We are very thrilled to be growing our relationship with SportsEngine Play, Peacock, and the NBC family,” said Matt Reynolds, President of NXTPRO. “This opportunity gives our athletes the chance to be on a grand stage.”

As part of SportsEngine’s leading youth sports technology brands, SportsEngine Play launched in October 2023 as the first-of-its-kind subscription streaming service for amateur sports, connecting millions of families and fans with events, games and tournaments featuring young athletes. The platform serves a constantly growing list of more than 10,000 facilities, including preeminent competition venues like LakePoint Sports, Arizona Athletic Grounds, Homefield, and Emerald Acres Sports Connection. Also serving sports organizations, tournaments and teams, the platform gives these organizations and individuals, including sports families, the ability to capture and stream video of sports events on just about any device – from sophisticated AI cameras mounted at sporting venues to personal smartphones, and features editing tools for reel and highlight creation. SportsEngine Play also is constantly adding new competitive content through the acquisition of streaming rights to elite amateur sports that will entertain and inspire.

In addition to live and on-demand event streaming, SportsEngine Play’s All Access subscription tier offers a growing library of video that provides a comprehensive look at individual sports, from rules and equipment to training and skills to mental health, fitness and more. The plan features exclusive instructional videos from world-class athletes like Michael Phelps, Larry Fitzgerald, Shaun White, Kerri Walsh Jennings, and others, who offer video collections featuring tips and techniques highlighting their training regimens, as well insight on leadership and mental health.

SportsEngine technology serves more than 27,000 small and medium-sized youth sports organizations, tournaments, the Governing Body community, professional sports leagues, and over 1,000 municipalities with its cutting-edge suite of technology solutions to dramatically reduce the time they spend on administration and communication, allowing them to focus more time on developing their athletes.

About SportsEngine

SportsEngine creates powerful technology and services to simplify and grow youth sports, making it easier for organizations to connect with coaches, families, athletes and fans. SportsEngine technology serves more than 45,000 youth sports organizations, clubs, studios, franchises, tournaments, teams, National Governing Bodies, professional sports leagues and thousands of municipalities; and equips more than 30 million coaches, families, athletes and fans with technology products that help simplify their sporting lives. The SportsEngine family of brands includes SportsEngine HQ, an industry leader in youth sports club, league and team management technology; SportsEngine Play, a first-of-its-kind subscription streaming service for capturing and viewing live and on-demand video of youth and amateur sporting events, and offering the industry’s most comprehensive collection of player development and training content; SportsEngine Motion, an all-inclusive management software specifically developed for studio and class-based sports, as well as sports that conduct camps and clinics; SportsEngine Tourney, a youth sports tournament management software; SportsEngine AES, a competition management software designed specifically for volleyball. Many of these offerings also provide technical integrations, making the youth sports experience more connected and simpler than ever before. SportsEngine also owns and operates the National Center for Safety Initiatives (NCSI), which provides youth sports background screenings to nearly 1 million coaches and volunteers to help keep youth sports experiences for young athletes safe and positive.

-SportsEngine-

DICK’S led the $120M round of investment, obtaining a minority stake alongside other new investors Dynasty Equity, LionTree, Miller Sports & Entertainment and existing investor The Chernin Group (TCG)

NEW YORK, May 6, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Unrivaled Sports, the nation’s leader in youth sports experiences, today announced a strategic investment by DICK’S Sporting Goods (NYSE: DKS), which led the company’s latest funding round. The strategic investment will help fuel Unrivaled Sports’ mission — to create unrivaled sport experiences for young athletes everywhere — by continuing to deliver and expand best-in-class experiences, programs and destinations for young athletes across the nation.

“DICK’S Sporting Goods has become the undisputed leader in serving young athletes as they gear up to play the sports they love. Their mission-driven approach to youth sports has been at the center of their ecosystem, from their early days as a small family business to their growth into the nation’s leading sporting goods retailer to the grants they provide to youth programs through the Sports Matter initiative, and now, their partnership with us at Unrivaled Sports,” said Unrivaled Sports Chairman & CEO Andy Campion. “We are thrilled to build the future of youth sports together with DICK’S Sporting Goods, and with the support of our other new strategic partners.” 

Unrivaled Sports and DICK’S Sporting Goods coming together marks the powerful alignment of two organizations committed to creating experiences and environments that unlock the magic of youth sports and create lifelong memories for girls and boys of all ages and their families. The investment comes from DSG Ventures, the corporate venture capital fund of DICK’S.

“We’re incredibly excited to invest in and partner with Unrivaled Sports,” said Michael Stack, Vice President of Strategy and Corporate Development at DICK’S Sporting Goods. “They share our core belief that sports have the power to change lives, and the impact they’ve made in just one year has been incredibly impressive. We are fully aligned to their vision for transforming youth sports for the better by investing in the fields, spaces and events where memories are made, friendships are formed and life lessons are instilled. We look forward to working together to create more sports experiences that build fun, excitement and community in the moment, and that have lasting impact over a lifetime.”

Unrivaled Sports will leverage this new partnership and investments to:

• Expand access to more young athletes and their families across the country by further acquiring, building and diversifying destinations and programming that deliver unrivaled experiences to girls and boys of all ages.
• Elevate experiences by further investing in upgrading the fields of play, programming and athlete experiences from quality officiating to facilities and services that support the athlete and their fans.
• Increase amenities across all Unrivaled Sports properties such as lodging, food and beverage, and retail to better serve guests and foster community.

Unrivaled Sports operates a growing portfolio of iconic youth sports destinations and programming — including Cooperstown All Star Village, Ripken Baseball Experiences, Rocker B Ranch, Diamond Nation, Unrivaled Flag, and Under the Lights Flag Football, among others.

Over the past year, Unrivaled Sports has invested significantly in growing and elevating its experiences including:

• Building a national footprint across 30 states through acquisition, now hosting over 600,000 young athletes and nearly 2 million family members and fans.
• Meaningfully enhancing capacity and experiences at owned properties, including:
  • Expanding bunk lodging in the Players Village and upgrading fields at Cooperstown All Star Village to increase weekly team capacity, while also upgrading the design and amenities across the entire property. Cooperstown All Star Village will set another consecutive record high in annual attendance in 2025.
  • Re-turfing and building new fields across flagship properties and regional facilities including Rocker B Ranch (TX), Diamond Nation (NJ), and more.
  • Investing in a multi-million dollar renovation and enhancement of West Coast properties, Big League Dreams Las Vegas and Big League Dreams Manteca.
• Growing flag football by significantly increasing participation — over 30% in the last year alone — for both girls and boys through the national flag football league Under the Lights. Unrivaled Sports also hosted the Youth Flag World Championship at Disney which featured 715 teams, including 220 girls’ teams and 100+ international teams. This summer, Unrivaled Sports will host two major national flag football events: the Unrivaled Flag High School Girls Nationals and the NFL Flag Championship at the Unrivaled Sports’ ForeverLawn Complex in Canton, Ohio.

Additionally, Unrivaled Sports is committed to continuing to grow sports participation and expand access for underserved young athletes. With much more to come, Unrivaled Sports is proud of the impact Ripken Baseball has made to-date, from hosting free clinics nationwide to providing scholarships and free tournament access to young athletes and teams in underserved communities across the country. 

David Blitzer and Josh Harris who co-founded and maintain majority ownership of Unrivaled Sports along with existing investor, TCG, welcome new minority investors DSG Ventures, Dynasty Equity, LionTree and Miller Sports & Entertainment — partners who believe in helping Unrivaled Sports deliver on its long-term vision for youth sports.

About Unrivaled Sports
Unrivaled Sports, the nation’s leader in youth sports experiences, delivers best-in-class experiences for young athletes, their families and communities through a diverse set of brands across youth sports venues, properties and programming. Unrivaled Sports has welcomed some of the most iconic names in youth sports into its growing family of brands including Cooperstown All Star Village, Ripken Baseball Experiences, Rocker B Ranch, Diamond Nation, Unrivaled Flag, We Are Camp action sports camp and more. From hosting destination tournaments to powering hometown leagues, Unrivaled Sports is committed to delivering formative, memory-making experiences to hundreds of thousands of young athletes and their families across the country. Learn more at unrivaledsports.com @unrivaled.sports. 

About DICK’S Sporting Goods
DICK’S Sporting Goods (NYSE: DKS) creates confidence and excitement by inspiring, supporting and personally equipping all athletes to achieve their dreams. Founded in 1948 and headquartered in Pittsburgh, the leading omnichannel retailer serves athletes and outdoor enthusiasts in more than 850 DICK’S Sporting Goods, Golf Galaxy, Public Lands and Going Going Gone! stores, online, and through the DICK’S mobile app. DICK’S also owns and operates DICK’S House of Sport and Golf Galaxy Performance Center, as well as GameChanger, a youth sports mobile platform for live streaming, scheduling, communications and scorekeeping.

Driven by its belief that sports have the power to change lives, DICK’S has been a longtime champion for youth sports and, together with its Foundation, has donated millions of dollars to support under-resourced teams and athletes through the Sports Matter program and other community-based initiatives. Additional information about DICK’S business, corporate giving and employment opportunities can be found on dicks.com, investors.dicks.com, sportsmatter.org, dickssportinggoods.jobs and on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook and X.

About Dynasty Equity 
Dynasty Equity is a global sports investment firm, co-founded and led by Jonathan M. Nelson and K. Don Cornwell, focused on strategic investments across the sports ecosystem in assets that are resilient, compelling, and differentiated. Dynasty’s founders have deep expertise in sector specific private equity and long histories in the business of sports, media, and entertainment. Integral to Dynasty’s investment approach is a commitment to enduring partnerships. For more information, visit www.DynastyEquity.com or follow the firm on LinkedIn.

About LionTree 
LionTree is a global investment and merchant banking firm focused on the media, technology, telecom and consumer sectors. Founded in 2012, LionTree works across offices in New York, San Francisco, and London to serve our clients and community through strategic M&A, capital raising, and investments across the globe that capture opportunity and provide best-in-class execution. Since its formation, the Firm has advised on over $850 billion in transactions by bringing capital together with ideas, investing in and alongside our relationships to accelerate growth and innovation. LionTree invests minority, non-controlling capital in partnership with leading, long-term investors and provides additional value through our relationships, sector and thematic expertise and transaction capabilities. LionTree and its affiliates have active principal investments in early venture, growth, and mature companies across key sectors of the digital economy.

About TCG
The Chernin Group (TCG) is a preeminent growth equity firm investing in sports, media and passion-driven businesses. TCG partners with exceptional founders and management teams to grow and optimize market-leading brands in specific consumer categories with passionate followings. The firm leverages decades of operating experience and deep connectivity to the media, sports and technology ecosystems in service of its portfolio companies.

SOURCE Unrivaled Sports

Unrivaled Sports, the growing roll-up of youth sports operators and facilities, has closed a new $120M investment round led by Dick’s Sporting Goods. The round included a further commitment from founding investor The Chernin Group as well as new investments from Dynasty Equity, LionTree and Miller Sports & Entertainment.

Unrivaled Sports Chairman & CEO Andy Campion, who previously spent 17 years at Nike, raved about the role Dick’s plays within youth sports and stressed that the transaction was primarily about bringing on a large-scale partner that has the same fundamental vision as Unrivaled: The more kids playing sports, the better.

“The mission of [Dick’s], dating all the way back to the founding of the company, is around the positive impact sports can have on a kid’s life. That was the real goal here, to bring in Dick’s,” Campion said. Dick’s, which invested via its in-house DSG Ventures fund, also owns youth sports tech platform GameChanger, which Campion hopes can be further integrated into Unrivaled’s operations.

Beyond adding a key strategic partner, Campion detailed how the new funding will be critical for Unrivaled to continue scaling its business, whether organically or through further acquisitions.

“Our goal is to expand access to more young athletes by acquiring, building and diversifying the destinations and programming we deliver,” Campion said. “Our ambition is pretty massive, so we plan to use the capital we’ve raised to execute on that mission.”

Campion declined to comment on Unrivaled’s revenue, valuation or other financial details, but he noted that the business is “sustainably profitable,” and that the $120M investment, in the aggregate, still represents a minority position.

Unrivaled managed the funding process in-house without leaning on an external bank. The round was closed in recent weeks, just over a year after the company launched in March 2024 with backing from David Blitzer and Josh Harris, who remain the majority owners.

The Miller family’s involvement was tipped last month following its acquisition of Real Salt Lake from Blitzer. In announcing that deal, Miller Sports & Entertainment noted that it would partner with Unrivaled to further develop Utah’s youth sports landscape.

Campion highlighted the extensive industry expertise of Dynasty Equity’s leadership, namely cofounders Jonathan Nelson and Don Cornwell. LionTree, meanwhile, brings strategic insight thanks to formerly having been an investor in Unrivaled portfolio company Ripken Baseball, to say nothing of its other extensive work across youth sports.

In its first year, Unrivaled has amassed a portfolio that includes Ripken Baseball, Cooperstown All Star Village, Under the Lights Flag Football and Rocker B Ranch, among others. The company now has a footprint across 30 states and hosts more than 600,000 athletes annually.

Unrivaled has thus far largely focused on establishing a leading position in baseball/softball and flag football, the latter of which saw a 30% year-over-year participation gain. Campion sees opportunities to not only build on those strong starts — he pointed specifically to girls’ flag participation, noting Unrivaled will host the first high school girls’ national championship this summer — but also to expand into new sports.

“Other sports that we see emerging within our portfolio include soccer, to some extent lacrosse and, I believe based on all of the relationships we have, including those that were forged during my time at Nike, it’s inevitable that we will establish position in basketball over time,” Campion said.