Varsity Spirit and CaptainU Announce Partnership

CaptainU Named the College Recruiting Software Partner for Varsity Spirit

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Apr 29, 2020, 12:17 ET

MEMPHIS, Tenn., April 29, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Varsity Spirit—the global leader in cheerleading, dance team and band apparel, camps and competitions, and a division of Varsity Brands, the market leader in team sports, school spirit and achievement recognition—today announced a new partner, CaptainU, a self-managed recruiting software tool that connects high school athletes and college coaches across the country based in Plano, Texas.

Varsity Spirit has been a steward for cheerleading and dance teams in its 45 years as a company, serving over a million athletes each year through its educational training camps, apparel and accessories, and competitive experiences. With a focus on driving school spirit and building student engagement, Varsity Spirit has a deep commitment to the health and well-being of the young athletes who participate, as well as the opportunities available to them in their lives.

CaptainU takes what can often be a confusing recruiting experience for athletes and makes it easy. With the most comprehensive suite of online recruiting tools, CaptainU boosts the athlete's exposure to college coaches.

Through this partnership, Varsity Spirit athletes will receive a free CaptainU bronze recruiting profile account, which allows them to post skills and highlight videos, store academic information, and search for college coaches to identify the programs that best suit them. Additionally, the CaptainU recruiting ecosystem assists college coaches in managing the recruiting process, identifying talent and building championship teams.

"We are proud to welcome CaptainU as the college recruiting software partner for Varsity Spirit's cheer and dance athletes," says John Newby, Executive Vice President of Corporate Partnerships. "Like us, they value the athleticism, skill and dedication that go into being an athlete. We have been looking for the right partner in the college recruiting space for some time, and CaptainU's successful track record of helping over 2 million athletes get recruited to participate at the collegiate level across all sports speaks for itself."

"We're excited to partner with Varsity Spirit to provide cheer and dance athletes the resources they need to get recruited and connect with coaches at the collegiate level," said Tanner Highlen, General Manager of CaptainU. "Our mission has always been to assist athletes and college coaches with the recruiting process, and by working together with Varsity Spirit, we have the unique opportunity to create an entire college recruiting ecosystem for spirit athletes and coaches."

CaptainU joins a prestigious list of Varsity Spirit partners, including Gatorade, Fabletics, BAND, EZ Flex Sports Mats and more. For more information about Varsity Spirit partnerships, please visit varsity.com.

About Varsity Spirit
Memphis-based Varsity Spirit has been a driving force behind cheerleading's dynamic transformation into the high-energy, athletic activity it is today, and the leading global source for all things cheerleading and dance. A division of Varsity Brands, Varsity Spirit is a leader in uniform innovation and educational camps, clinics and competitions, impacting nearly a million athletes each year. Focused on safety, entertainment and traditional school leadership, Varsity Spirit's 5,000 employees have been helping raise cheerleading's influence and profile since 1974. For more information about Varsity Spirit, please visit varsity.com.

About Varsity Brands
With a mission to inspire achievement and create memorable experiences for young people, Varsity Brands elevates the student experience, promotes participation and celebrates achievement through three unique but interrelated businesses: BSN SPORTS, a Varsity Sport Brand; Varsity Spirit; and Herff Jones, a Varsity Achievement Brand. Together, these assets promote personal, school and community pride through their customizable products and programs to elementary and middle schools, high schools, and colleges and universities, as well as church organizations, professional and collegiate sports teams and corporations. Through its 9,000 dedicated employees and independent representatives, Varsity Brands reaches its individual and institutional customers each year via catalog, telesales, e-commerce sites and direct sales channels. For more information about Varsity Brands, please visit varsitybrands.com.

About CaptainU
CaptainU empowers athletes to take their game to the next level through recruiting and discovery tools to connect with clubs, events and colleges. More than 3 million high school athletes, college coaches, club coaches and tournament directors use CaptainU tools to network, build relationships, and build championship teams. CaptainU was founded in 2008 and acquired by Stack Sports in 2017. To learn more about CaptainU, visit CaptainU.com

About Stack Sports
With nearly 50 million users in 35 countries, Stack Sports is a global technology leader in SaaS platform offerings for the sports industry. The company provides world-class software and services to support national governing bodies, youth sports associations, leagues, clubs, parents, coaches, and athletes. Some of the largest and most prominent sports organizations including the U.S. Soccer Federation, Little League Baseball and Softball, and Pop Warner Little Scholars rely on Stack Sports technology to run and manage their organizations. Stack Sports is headquartered in Dallas and is leading the industry one team at a time focusing on three key pillars -- Play, Improve, and Engage. To learn more about how Stack Sports is transforming the sports experience, please visit www.stacksports.com.

Contact: Samantha Coulombe, [email protected]

SOURCE Varsity Spirit