Varsity Brands

Varsity Brands is an American company founded in 1972 that works in youth and school sports, providing team athletic gear and spirit merchandise through two divisions: BSN SPORTS and Varsity Spirit. The company employs more than 8,000 people and reaches more than 55 million young people through partnerships nationwide. It is owned by the private equity firm KKR.

BSN SPORTS is the largest team sporting goods equipment and apparel distributor in America. It supplies schools and athletic programmes with customised uniforms, footwear, fanwear, equipment and facility branding. Varsity Spirit serves the global cheerleading, dance team, performing arts and yearbook industries, running competitions and camps and providing apparel, training services and yearbook publishing.

The range of work covers customised uniform and apparel manufacturing, team sporting goods distribution, facility branding, cheerleading and dance competition production, camp and training programme delivery, yearbook publishing, and character education and professional development programme design. The IMPACT programme develops character education, philanthropic and professional development resources for the communities the company serves.

Varsity Brands describes its mission as elevating student experiences through sport and spirit, with an emphasis on fostering youth participation and building school pride. Operations are concentrated in the United States, while Varsity Spirit's reach in cheerleading, dance, performing arts and yearbooks extends globally.