Pro volleyball player Kerri Walsh Jennings is introducing the sport to San Diego.
When the San Diego franchise of the Pro Volleyball Federation opens in February, Kerri Walsh Jennings will serve as managing member.
Throughout her career as one of the most decorated volleyball players in history, Kerri Walsh Jennings has dreamed of a professional indoor league in the United States that would attract the best female players in the world.
The Santa Clara native, who has won two NCAA titles and three gold medals at the Olympics in beach volleyball, assisted in the announcement on Thursday that San Diego will be one of the teams participating in the Pro Volleyball Federation when the league’s first 16-match regular season begins in February.
“The idea for this has actually been in the works for about 12 years, and we’ve just had the last 18 months to see it come to fruition,” Walsh Jennings stated. Something like this requires a vision and the proper individuals to get things started. Being a part of this San Diego women’s sports scene’s next chapter excites me more than words can express.
In addition to Joe Burrow of the Cincinnati Bengals and Dan Devos, the chairman of the Orlando Magic of the NBA, Walsh Jennings is an equity stakeholder in the league. Walsh Jennings is the Managing Member of the San Diego team.
The principal owner of the San Diego team is Mitch Grossbach through his business, Someone Great Management, LLC.
In the upcoming weeks, a kickoff event will be conducted to reveal the team’s name, logo, head coach, and players for the starting lineup.
A home arena has not yet been determined.
Other already established franchises will represent Orlando; Atlanta; Grand Rapids, Michigan; Columbus, Ohio; and Omaha, Neb. The league is expected to add as many as two more teams.
The league is coming into existence at a good time given participation and interest in the sport.
According to the National Federation of State High School Associations, more than 454,000 girls played volleyball at the High School level during the 2021-22 school year. Television ratings for NCAA Division I national tournament matches have been solid on ESPN in recent years.
