Major League Baseball announced a strategic investment in Athletes Unlimited Softball League (AUSL) on Thursday ahead of the league’s launch next month. This is MLB’s first investment in a women’s professional league.
MLB commissioner Rob Manfred and AUSL commissioner Kim Ng joined CBS Mornings on Thursday to discuss the “watershed moment for women’s sports.”
“This is a watershed moment for women’s sports and especially for softball. MLB’s investment will supercharge our efforts to build the sustainable professional league this sport has long deserved, and sends a powerful message about the value of female athletes and the importance of creating professional opportunities for them,” Ng said in a press release.
“Together, we’re going to reach new fans and inspire the next generation of softball players,” she added.
In 2020, Ng became the first woman to serve as general manager for an MLB club. Ng also held front office roles with the Dodgers, Yankees, White Sox, and Major League Baseball before accepting the role of AUSL commissioner last month.
AUSL is Athletes Unlimited’s fifth league since launching in 2020, when the organization launched an innovative single-site softball model. AUSL will operate as a more traditional softball model with each of its four teams having a home base beginning in 2026.
During the inaugural season, the league’s four teams — the Bandits, Blaze, Talons and Volts — will play a balanced schedule between June 7 and July 23 across 12 cities. A best-of-three series championship series take place from July 26-28 at the University of Alabama’s Rhoads Stadium. In August, 60 players will compete for the AUSL All-Star Cup, a 21-game competition.
“We’ve had a very thoughtful business plan that’s been laid out now, and I think it’s a business plan that MLB has bought into and believes in us,” Athletes Unlimited co-founder and CEO Jon Patricof told CBS Sports earlier this week.
“Today we are also announcing that MLB.TV is going to be broadcasting games for the first time ever, on their air,” Patricof said. “We’ve already been hard at work with the team at MLB, and they’ve been incredible.”
As part of the strategic investment, the two leagues will also collaborate on flagship MLB programs. The investment will also include collaborations in sales, marketing, as well as support for Athletes Unlimited operational costs and growth initiatives.
“Major League Baseball’s investment in the AUSL represents an opportunity to support softball’s long-term growth and expand our engagement with these outstanding athletes and their fans. As a part of our broader commitment to growing softball and creating more opportunities for women and girls in sports, this agreement reflects our confidence in Kim Ng’s leadership, the AUSL vision, and the incredible talent of its athletes,” Manfred said.
“During this extraordinarily exciting time for women’s sports, we want softball to thrive. MLB is committed to help build a sustainable and impactful league that drives fandom, serves the softball community, and benefits all female athletes.”
This news was originally published on this post .
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