Sports stats



Rawlings and ABA extend agreement for 10 years

August 17, 2004 - American Basketball Association (ABA) News Release


St. Louis, MO. Rawlings Sporting Goods Co. Inc., a division of K2, Inc. (NYSE: KTO) announced today that they have agreed to extend their partnership with the ABA for an additional ten years or until 2013.

"We are very excited about our partnership with the ABA. The same enteprenurial spirit that set the ABA apart in the '60's and '70's is very much alive in the ABA of today," said Jeff Rich, Business Unit Manager for Rawlings. "They are experiencing phenomenal growth and we are proud to be a part of their success."

Joe Newman, ABA co-founder explained, "Extending our agreement with Rawlings after less than a year was not a difficult decision. Rawlings has done everything it promised and more - providing the ABA with an exciting new ball of very high quality, affordably priced (fitting the ABA goals of affordability) and extraordinary distribution with outstanding companies. Who could ask more from a partner?"

Rich continued, "The 37 teams of the ABA will play with a distinctive red, white and blue Rawlings TEN panel ball. Rawlings has a long history with the ABA. We made the original red, white and blue ABA ball and we've now helped them to upgrade to the TEN panel technology. Instead of the traditional eight panels on most basketballs, the TEN adds two more panels and seams to help players improve their grip, control and shot."

"Aside from providing the official game ball, Rawlings also sells ABA licensed balls at retail," concluded Rich. "Currently there are several national retailers that carry the ABA TEN basketballs, including Target, Dick's, Sports Authority and Big 5. By the end of the year, several more retailers have committed to carrying the ABA balls as well. This has been a great success with consumers."

ABA TEN's are also available via the ABA website, www.abalive.com.

Note: OurSports Central no longer actively covers the American Basketball Association (ABA) as a professional league due in part to its inability to publish and play a schedule and the transitory nature of many of its teams. For information on professional minor leagues, please see OSC's basketball section.

• Discuss this story on the American Basketball Association message board...

American Basketball Association Stories from August 17, 2004


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.


Sports Statistics from the Stats Crew
OurSports Central