Like his University of Virginia teammates, Conor Burns arrived in Atlanta for November’s national club pickleball championships focused solely on returning to Charlottesville with the grand prize.
But something happened during UVA’s three-day run to the Dynamic Universal Pickleball Rating Collegiate National Championship win that turned Burns’ attention beyond just obtaining a trophy for the club. He sensed a business opportunity.
“We noticed how the tournament was sponsored by some of the bigger names in pickleball,” Burns said, “and that’s when it made sense. Like, ‘OK, let’s try to do something here.’”
Burns was then the club’s president. Nine months later, the rising fourth-year student has a new title within the pickleball club: head of sponsorships and partnerships.
When UVA begins defense of its championship this fall – tryouts begin at the end of the month – it’ll do so with sponsored paddles (ProXR), shoes (Head), balls (Vulcan), socks (Thorlo), ball machine (Lobster Sports), nets (Har-Tru), recovery products (Hyperice), hydration drinks (Roar) and energy drinks (Reign). This week, the club signed a one-year men’s and women’s apparel deal with premium sportswear brand Sergio Tacchini.
Burns had a hunch in Atlanta and then acted on it. The McIntire School of Commerce student has since assembled, from the UVA pickleball club roster, a five-member sponsor team that includes UVA Law student Nicholas Rushing, who handles legal and compliance duties around the various contracts, as well as fourth-year student Scotland Reynolds (in charge of public relations) and second-year students Alex Peskin and Vivianne Ngo.
UVA club pickleball, at this point, is a fully operating, student-run business.
“The group is super impressive,” said Sam Flaxman, a strategic adviser for Topnotch Management, the largest agency in the sport, who has worked with Burns and UVA since February. “Conor himself, he’s a bulldog. He’s just a natural salesman, a special talent. He connects with people on a personal level and makes them feel comfortable in the conversation.”
With Burns leading the charge, UVA pickleball credits two main attributes for its instant success in attracting sponsorships: a championship resume and roster depth.
The 2023 national title confirmed its status as the top club in the country. Add on the fact it boasts more than 700 members – with 24 competing on its tournament team, with the others part of the general, social club – and that’s a winning combination for brands, Burns said.
“We have a larger tournament team than anybody else,” Burns said of the college competition. “Our demographic is very much in line with what these companies are looking for. We have the 18-31 demographic, which is exactly what these companies want to target. And they see the college space as just a whole new demographic and market for pickleball – apparel, paddles, everything.”
While UVA’s tournament team has the most access to the sponsored products, all club members use the Vulcan balls and can receive discounts on the other branded material, Burns said.
Topnotch’s association with UVA makes it the only college pickleball club in the country to have agency representation. Flaxman’s role is to help Burns and company find and negotiate sponsor deals.
Flaxman, a former tennis player at Wagner College in New York, said in addition to its on-court success, UVA’s overall reputation has played a major role in brands wanting to collaborate with the pickleball club.
“They have great brand recognition with the University of Virginia,” Flaxman said. “It’s one of the best collegiate institutions in the country. It’s within a great power conference in the ACC.
“So that brand recognition is huge. Like, you can just tell people, ‘Hey, we’re the University of Virginia pickleball club.’ Boom. That already resonates with so many brands off the bat because it’s just a well-known, well-respected college.”
Burns said the sponsor money will fully fund the club’s ambitious fall schedule that includes trips to Ohio, Dallas and Virginia Beach. The national tournament begins Nov. 1 in Dallas.
For the reigning champs, the 2024 season, in more ways than one, expects to be another huge step in the ascension of UVA pickleball. The club was only founded four years ago.
“I really want to ensure that we’re capitalizing on this emerging space as clear market leaders,” Burns said, “and I know there’s room for more brand deals down the line.
“Our team would never have imagined working with such recognizable brands and are grateful to engage with these companies that allow us to further the sport of pickleball and create further opportunity for collegiate pickleball players.”
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Article Information
December 21, 2024
