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Athletes Unlimited (also known by its abbreviationAU) is a women'sprofessional sports organisation based in the United States that organizes and administers competitions in the sports of basketball, softball, volleyball, and formerly lacrosse. It was founded in 2020 by Jon Patricof and Jonathan Soros. Athletes Unlimited leagues employ formats in which individual players are crowned champions, with the exception of the Athletes Unlimited Softball League, which has traditional teams.
There are no team owners, and league investors are capping their returns. Athletes share in the league profits, and are involved in the daily decision making. Players are not committed to one team but switch teams every week of the season through a draft. The top four players who earned the most points each week become captains for the next week and form new teams. Players earn points based on both their team and individual performances, and are ranked accordingly. The champion is the player with the most points at the end of the season.
The first season of Athletes Unlimited's women's basketball league featured 44 players competing in a five-week season from January 26 to February 26, 2022, and took place in Las Vegas, Nevada. The second season was played in Dallas, Texas and ran from February 22 to March 26, 2023.
Formerly known as Athletes Unlimited Pro Softball, its inaugural season was played in Rosemont, Illinois from August 20 to September 28, 2020. Two games were played each Saturday, Sunday, and Monday over the five week period, 30 games all together (15 per player). The top four players were named the medalists and Haylie McCleney was named the Defensive Player of the Year.
On June 4, 2024, Athletes Unlimited announced the plan to launch the Athletes Unlimited Softball League (AUSL) in May 2025. The AUSL will feature four teams playing a 30-game season in a traditional format, complementing the existing AU Pro Softball Championship season. ESPN has signed on as a founding broadcast partner. The AUSL will become a city-based league beginning in 2026, while the inaugural season in 2025 will be touring with games in six to eight different cities. The average salary for a player will be $40,000–45,000, with salaries up to $75,000 achievable through bonus payments.
On December 21, 2021, Athletes Unlimited Softball announced a new two-week competition titled AUX Softball. The competition will provide more playing opportunities and compensation to athletes. The inaugural competition featured 42 athletes playing 18 games and took place from June 13 to 26, 2022, coinciding with the 50th anniversary of Title IX on June 23. Danielle O'Toole won the inaugural AUX softball competition with 1,436 points. Rachel Garcia won the 2023 AUX competition with 1,392 points. Bubba Nickles won the 2024 AUX competition with 1,344 points.
On October 20, 2020, Athletes Unlimited announced that they would be adding women's lacrosse as its third league. Michelle DeJulius, who had founded and was the CEO of the now defunct Women's Professional Lacrosse League was named the Senior Director of Lacrosse. Athletes Unlimited Pro Lacrosse features a "short-form, fast-paced" format. It is played 10-a-side rather than 12-a-side. The field length is shorted to 90 yards as opposed to the traditional 110 yards. The field width remains at 60 yards. There is a 60-second shot clock, and layers can score two-point goals by scoring goals from outside of an 8-meter perimeter. The games are also 10-minute quarters. The game has also been described as more physical, with less fouls called compared to other levels of the game. There are also no shooting space calls (shooting space being a penalty where a defender cannot stand between the goal and a player looking to shoot unless actively guarding another player).
The inaugural 2021 season took place from July 19 to August 22 in Boyds, Maryland at Maureen Hendricks Field. The 2022 season took place from July 21 to August 14 at William G. Tierney Field in Baltimore, Maryland, and returned there for the 2023 season from July 20 to August 13. Goalie Taylor Moreno became the first player to win two Athletes Unlimited championships. After the conclusion of the 2024 season, Athletes Unlimited suspended its lacrosse operations, citing the "availability of the sport's most elite athletes during the summer months over the next few years" as its primary reason for doing so.
