Rawlings joins USA Football as official uniform and football partner
Steve Alic, USA Football Mon, 09/12/2011 - 11:09pm
USA Football and Rawlings today announced a two-year partnership to serve both America’s national team program and its youth football community. USA Football, the sport’s national governing body in the United States, manages U.S. national teams in the sport and is one of 62 national federations spanning six continents dedicated solely to football.
Rawlings is the official uniform supplier and official football for USA Football and its national team program.
Rawlings will outfit U.S. national teams and provide footballs for Team USA’s competitions as well as the 2012 International Federation of American Football Under-19 World Championship. Rawlings also will be the official football of USA Football’s Player Academies, three-day age-specific youth football development camps conducted nationally teaching proper fundamentals to strengthen players’ skills.
Furthering Rawlings’ strong commitment to youth football, the company will produce high-quality USA Football-licensed uniform selections for youth leagues, which will be available through Rawlings dealers at usafootball.com in the coming weeks.
Independent nonprofit USA Football, based in Indianapolis, teaches the game’s fundamentals and inherent values through more than 80 annual football training events and innovative online development resources for youth football coaches and 3 million American children age 6-14 who play in organized leagues. More than 400,000 American adults volunteer their time to coach youth football, advancing youth physical fitness and the sport’s team-first qualities.
USA Football members – youth football coaches, players, league commissioners and game officials – reside in all 50 states and Washington, D.C. USA Football is the only organization in the NFL’s 91-year history to be selected as the league’s official youth football development partner. USA Football also holds this responsibility for each of the league’s 32 teams.
“Rawlings is proud to be the official uniform supplier and official football for USA Football and its national team program,” said MIKE THOMPSON, Senior Vice President of Marketing for St. Louis-based Rawlings. “USA Football is exactly the kind of organization we want to connect ourselves with as they develop players the right way through proper fundamentals and skill training. We are very happy to have USA Football players represent the Rawlings brand on the field.”
“We are very pleased to have an industry leader like Rawlings join the USA Football family and share our commitment to America’s favorite sport,” USA Football Executive Director SCOTT HALLENBECK said. “This partnership ensures that our U.S. national teams and youth football leagues across the country enjoy football and its universal values while wearing uniforms and playing with footballs that bear Rawlings’ timeless mark of quality.”
About Rawlings: Rawlings Sporting Goods Company, Inc. is a leading manufacturer and marketer of sporting goods in the United States. Since the company’s inception in 1887, Rawlings’ mission has always centered on developing and producing innovative, high-performance equipment and protective apparel for the professional player. With an assortment of baseball, basketball, football and softball game-related product lines, Rawlings is present everywhere team sports are played. Leagues and conferences of all skill levels integrate Rawlings’ unparalleled product portfolio into their sports: as the Official Baseball and Official Helmet to Major League Baseball®, the official baseball for the NCAA®, the official football for the NAIA®, the official basketball for the NAIA®, NJCAA® and AAU®, the approved baseball, basketball, football and softball of the National High School Federation®. For more information, please visit rawlingsfootball.com, Rawlings Football’s Facebook page or by phone at (314) 819-2800.
About USA Football: USA Football, the sport's national governing body in the United States, hosts more than 80 football training events annually offering education for coaches and game officials, skill development for players and resources for youth football league commissioners. The independent nonprofit is the official youth football development partner of the NFL and its 32 teams. USA Football manages U.S. national teams within the sport for international competition and awards $1 million annually in equipment grants to youth and high school football programs based on merit and need. Endowed by the NFL and NFL Players Association in 2002 through the NFL Youth Football Fund, USA Football is chaired by former NFL team executive Carl Peterson.
