LOVB Miami, the 10th franchise in the upstart women’s professional volleyball league, has announced its ownership group, a star-studded group of athletes, celebrities and institutional investors.
The cap table is headlined by Naismith Basketball Hall of Famer Lisa Leslie and Olympic track and field gold medalist Sha’Carri Richardson. The women are joined by a slew of past and present NFL talent, including Pro Football Hall of Famer Champ Bailey, Super Bowl champion Carlos Dunlap and New York Giants wide receiver Braxton Berrios, all of whom attended college at the University of Miami or the University of Florida.
The group also includes Super Bowl champion Ryan Clark; volleyball stars Aury Cruz, Phil Dalhausser and Tri Bourne; athletes turned broadcasters Melissa Ortiz, Anne O’Neil and Ros Gold-Onwude; comedian and internet personality Hannah Stocking; Grammy Award-winning hip-hop artist Pusha T; and owners from the NBA’s Charlotte Hornets, MLB’s Tampa Bay Rays and the NWSL’s North Carolina Courage (though specific individuals are not named).
The group is anchored by embedded operator Jett Sports; institutional investors Fifth Down Capital and Suprette; Jackie Garcia, the mother of UNC volleyball player Jackie Taylor; and Stephanie and Chase Coleman, who founded the $78 billion in assets under management Tiger Global and are worth an estimated $8.1 billion, according to Forbes.
LOVB was founded in 2020 by Katlyn Gao, Kevin Wong and Peter Hirschmann, initially as a grassroots network of clubs with plans to later expand into the professional ranks. The organization raised $160 million across multiple investment rounds, bringing on institutional outfits like Atwater Capital, Left Lane Capital and Ares Management, as well as star athletes such as Kevin Durant, Jayson Tatum, Candace Parker and Lindsey Vonn.
In 2025, LOVB Pro played its inaugural season with teams in Atlanta, Austin, Houston, Madison, Omaha and Salt Lake City. While those teams were initially owned and operated by the league, a consortium of David Blitzer, Peter J. Holt and Amy Griffin bought the Austin franchise in June of last year.
Since its first campaign, LOVB has been rapidly adding teams. Reddit co-founder and tech investor Alexis Ohanian backed a Los Angeles-based team last October, and the league announced a Minnesota team and the San Francisco Signal near the end the year. Miami, which bills itself as South Florida’s only women’s professional sports team, was tapped as the league’s first East Coast franchise in May, though a home venue has yet to be announced.
Volleyball has increasingly become a sought-after opportunity by investors seeking to tap into women’s sports, which is expected to generate global revenues exceeding $3 billion in 2026, according to a report from Deloitte. LOVB Miami did not disclose financial details in the announcement. But the league has announced the sale of stakes in seven of its 10 teams, with each deal fetching roughly $20 million.
By comparison, pharmaceuticals billionaire and Los Angeles Lakers co-owner Patrick Soon-Shiong agreed in May to buy an expansion franchise in the LOVB rival Major League Volleyball, which multiple people familiar with the matter told Sportico cost between $15 million and $20 million.
All four of LOVB’s new franchises, including Miami, are slated to debut during the 2026-27 season, which begins in December. The league plans on reorganizing to a new format that divides the 10 into two conferences.