(August 6, 2002)                                                                                             Hot News Main Page

USPV Will Expand To Eight Teams In 2003
Size Of Women's Pro Volleyball League Doubled With Additions Of
Columbus, Dallas, Milwaukee And Philadelphia

OAKBROOK TERRACE IL (AUGUST 6, 2002) United States Professional Volleyball (USPV), the premier women's professional indoor volleyball league, today announced it will double in size from four to eight teams for the 2003 season.

Expansion teams in Columbus, Dallas, Milwaukee and Philadelphia will begin play in January, 2003.

Those new entries join charter members Chicago, Grand Rapids, Mich, St. Louis and Rochester, Minn. (2002 USPV Champion).

Team nicknames, logos, colors, venues, practice facilities, athlete rosters, local front office staffing, the 2003 schedule and additional information on the expansion teams will be announced in the upcoming weeks.

USPV officials are currently in the process of interviewing and hiring local front office staff and have also been investigating potential venues and practice sites in the expansion cities.

Columbus, Dallas, Milwaukee and Philadelphia were chosen from a group of 17 potential expansion cities. Cities not chosen for the 2003 expansion wave will be among those considered in upcoming seasons. The league, which has a main target audience of females 12-20, will have 20 teams in place by the 2005 season.

Expansion cities were chosen using a number of different criteria, including population, marketing demographics, facilities and volleyball interest in the market.

"Doubling the size of the league in our second season is a major step forward," said USPV President and CEO William J. Hawkins. "The four new cities are an ideal fit on all our key criteria. What ultimately separated these cities was the overwhelmingly positive response from both the volleyball and business communities."

The league, now in three of the top 10 media markets in the nation, is currently exploring national broadcast options for the 2003 season. In year' s past, the league has been seen nationally on ESPN and Fox Sports Net.

"The USPV is appealing to markets of all sizes," said Hawkins. "Our first season showed that our product is a hit not only in small markets like Rochester, Minnesota, but in big markets like Chicago as well."

Set under a single entity structure, the USPV, the first professional sports league in the U.S. to precede a men's league in the same sport, has an 8-figure financial backing, along with a 7-figure national sponsorship roster, which includes the likes of century-old insurance company Royal Neighbors of America, Wilson Sporting Goods, ASICS TIGER Corporation, Russell Athletic, Schelde North America and SportCourt.

In 2002, USPV rosters featured 27 collegiate All-American award honors and 23 athletes who have Olympic training experience. Twelve USPV athletes were on either the 2001 or 2002 U.S. National Women's Team roster (the team that trains for the Olympics).

With the additional teams, the regular season schedule will increase from 18 matches to 20 matches per team in 2003. With a 145 percent increase in the number of matches played league-wide, the start of the 2003 season will run from January to May. The league will likely break into two, four-team geographically-based conferences.

About the USPV
United States Professional Volleyball (USPV) is the premier women's professional indoor volleyball league. The USPV, the first United States-based professional sports league to precede a men's league in the same sport, featured 27 collegiate All-American honors and 23 athletes with Olympic training experience on its star-studded rosters in 2002. Fueled by an overwhelmingly successful inaugural season in 2002 that saw the Minnesota Chill win the league championship, the USPV will double in size to eight
teams in 2003 and will have 20 teams in place by the 2005 season. While not only showcasing the top women's volleyball talent in the world, the USPV is also providing positive role models for today's youth, as well as post-collegiate career opportunities for women.

To arrange an interview with USPV President and CEO William J. Hawkins and/or to obtain USPV action photos and expansion graphics, please contact USPV Director of Media Relations Mike Miazga at (630) 575-8827 (office), (847) 344-6554 (cell), mmiazga@uspv.net. For more information on the league, please visit the USPV on the web at www.uspv.com.

[Source: Mike Miazga, Director Media Relations, USPV, (630) 575-8827 (office); (847) 344-6554 (cell); mmiazga@uspv.net]