Athlete Network

What Athlete Network does

Athlete Network, LLC is a privately held Overland Park, Kansas-based software company (founded 1998, 51-100 employees) that builds UNITE, a white-labeled SaaS platform purpose-built for collegiate athletics. UNITE is delivered as a progressive web app and deployed by athletic departments, letterwinners clubs, high schools, and national athletic associations as their own branded network (e.g., Penn State's Varsity 'S' Club Network, Rice's S.O.A.R. Network, Air Force's Letterwinners Club, LSU's National L Club, the Intercollegiate Tennis Association's College Tennis Alumni Network). The platform centralizes communications, mentorship workflows with automated matching, career resources, fundraising and giving-day tooling, an athlete directory, and Power BI-style reporting dashboards across NCAA Division I, II, III, NAIA, junior colleges, high school associations, and governing bodies.

The company's primary customer is the U.S. collegiate athletic department, with secondary segments including national sport-governing bodies (ITA), high school associations, and a third-party employer recruiting channel. Revenue is generated through quote-based annual SaaS subscriptions from institutions, subscription or pay-for-access fees from national employer partners (Federated Insurance, Enterprise Mobility, ESPN, Staples, Mohawk, Northwestern Mutual/RPS, Shiftive), optional premium athlete/alumni memberships (e.g., $72.58/year at Air Force), and managed-services revenue from donation processing and giving-day facilitation on the platform. The go-to-market is sales-led enterprise field sales with Calendly-scheduled demos, complemented by content marketing (case studies, SEO, webinars) and PR-driven partnership announcements.

As of June 25, 2025, Athlete Network operates as a portfolio company of Gravyty following an acquisition intended to layer AI-powered fundraising and engagement tooling onto the UNITE platform, serving 90+ partner institutions and approximately 1M+ current and former athletes.

Name

Athlete Network

Legal name

Athlete Network, LLC

Website

https://athletenetwork.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1998

Operating status

Acquired

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Athlete Network, founded in 1998 and headquartered in Overland Park, Kansas, provides UNITE, a white-labeled SaaS platform that U.S. collegiate athletic departments, athletic associations, and national employer partners use to engage current and former college athletes via branded networks covering communications, mentorship, fundraising, and career resources across 90+ institutions and 1M+ athletes.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Athletic Engagement Software

NAICS

Agents and Managers for Artists, Athletes, Entertainers, and Other Public Figures (7114), Promoters of Performing Arts, Sports, and Similar Events (7113)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

College Recruiting & Scholarship Advisory / Athlete Placement (HSADAEAL)

akta.pro secondary industry

Strength & Conditioning / Athletic Performance Training (HSADAEAB)

Keywords

• Athlete engagement software
• Alumni network platform
• Collegiate athletics software
• Letterwinners club network
• Athlete career services

Headquarters

HQ city

Kansas City

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. UNITE Software SaaS Subscriptions: Athlete Network licenses its branded UNITE software to collegiate athletic departments, high schools, and athletic associations as a recurring SaaS contract; features include customizable networks, dashboards, resource centers, communication tools, and analytics.
2. Employer Recruiting Access: Employer partners (e.g., Federated Insurance, Enterprise Mobility, ESPN, Staples, Mohawk, Northwestern Mutual/RPS Financial Group, Shiftive) pay for access to the athlete resume database and job posting capabilities to recruit current and former college athletes.
3. Premium Membership Fees: Optional premium network memberships sold to athletes/alumni (e.g., Air Force Letterwinners Club Network charges $72.58 annually for premium access).
4. Fundraising Facilitation & Donation Processing: Platform enables athletic associations to drive giving campaigns, giving days, and donation processing through UNITE, generating transactional/managed-services revenue as clients raise funds via the network.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion4 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

Athlete Network licenses UNITE Software, a white-label, progressive-web-app SaaS platform that collegiate athletic departments, high schools, and athletic associations rebrand as their own athlete network (e.g., Penn State Varsity 'S' Club, Rice Owls S.O.A.R., Air Force Letterwinners Club, LSU National L Club, Syracuse Athlete Network, ITA College Tennis Alumni Network). The platform centralizes athlete directories, automated mentorship workflows, career services, communications, fundraising/giving-day tooling, and 24/7 reporting dashboards, and is delivered to three audiences — Athletics departments, Athletes, and Employers — through a single branded hub.

Product overview

Athlete Network is a single, unified athlete engagement platform rather than a collection of disconnected modules. Its flagship offering is UNITE software, a white-label SaaS that athletics departments, letterwinners clubs, and associations rebrand as their own network (for example, Penn State's Varsity 'S' Club Network, Rice's S.O.A.R. Network, the Air Force Letterwinners Club Network, LSU's National L Club Network, Syracuse University Athlete Network, and the ITA's College Tennis Alumni Network). Three audience-specific experiences sit on top of this core: an Athletics solution for departments and associations, an Athletes solution for current and former college athletes, and an Employers solution for corporate talent acquisition partners. The platform is delivered as a progressive web app and, post the June 2025 acquisition by Gravyty, is positioned to integrate Gravyty's AI-powered fundraising and engagement tooling on top of the UNITE foundation.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• UNITE software: Branded athlete engagement software that enables athletics departments, teams, high schools, and associations to centralize, promote, and track the resources and services offered to current and former athletes in a branded athlete network.

Products and services

• Athlete Network Platform Unified athlete engagement software and online community platform connecting current and former college athletes, athletics departments, letterwinners clubs, and employer partners through profiles, networking, career services, content, and branded network hubs.
• UNITE Software White-label, branded SaaS platform that powers each institution's athlete network, providing a centralized hub for services, programs, communications, athlete directory, mentorship workflows, fundraising, careers, resource cards, and 24/7 dashboard reporting for athletics departments, teams, high schools, and associations.
• Athlete Network for Athletes Athlete-side product experience allowing current and former college athletes to create profiles, add interests, connect with their athletic department or association, network with teammates and other athletes, and access athlete-focused resources, career opportunities, and content.
• Athlete Network for Employers Employer-side product giving corporate talent acquisition teams access to a national network of current and former college athletes, supporting national partnerships, co-branded marketing, and direct outreach via Athlete Network staff and career coaches.

Named customers74 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core and minor.

• GravytyflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 25 June 2025Athlete Network was acquired by Gravyty on June 25, 2025. Gravyty is a provider of AI-powered engagement solutions for higher education. The acquisition aims to integrate Gravyty's fundraising and engagement solutions within Athlete Network's platform, enhancing services for athletic departments and associations.
• Federated InsuranceflagshipGTM or Marketing PartnerNational employer partner. Co-branded marketing efforts enable Federated Insurance to build interest and hire former student-athletes in locations across the country. Per Nick Lower, EVP & COO: 'Thanks to our National partnership and co-branded marketing efforts, we're able to build interest and hire former student-athletes.'
• Enterprise Mobility (Enterprise Holdings)flagshipGTM or Marketing PartnerNational employer partner that recruits former student-athletes. Per Marie Artim, VP Talent Acquisition: 'Enterprise is on pace to triple the amount of hires we've made from this great resource.' Also cited by Kledia Kyser, Corporate Talent Acquisition Manager.
• ESPN (Disney Campus Recruitment)coreGTM or Marketing PartnerEmployer partner that recruits from the Athlete Network member pool. Per Anne Labeaume Coleman, Sr. Manager, Disney Campus Recruitment: 'Athlete Network members are diverse, competitive and driven, exactly what we are looking for at ESPN.'
• StaplescoreGTM or Marketing PartnerEmployer partner recruiting from the Athlete Network member pool. Per Megan Houlker, Sr. Manager of Talent Acquisition: 'Highlighting the Staples brand to candidates who may not know the amazing range of opportunities we offer is huge.'
• Mohawk (Industries)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerEmployer partner; reported two hires within the first month of joining the Athlete Network platform. Per Paul White, Sr. Director of Talent Acquisition: 'This platform is a valuable addition to our recruiting toolbox.'
• Northwestern Mutual (RPS Financial Group)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerEmployer partner recruiting from the Athlete Network. Per Kaitlin Greene, Director of Internship Development & Recruiting Consultant, RPS Financial Group: 'I always find a ton of value in collaborating with Athlete Network!'
• Shiftive (Shift5)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerRecruiting partner leveraging the diversity of the student-athlete talent pool. Per Sarah Henning, Founder: 'No one has keener insight on how to recruit student-athletes than Athlete Network does.'
• Auburn University Harbert College of BusinessminorGTM or Marketing PartnerRecruiting partnership connecting MBA programs with vetted athlete candidates. Per Jim Parrish, Director of MBA Programs: 'We get great candidates from being a part of Athlete Network.'
• SIDEARM SportscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership referenced in a blog post titled 'SIDEARM Sports, Athlete Network Bring Engagement Solution To College Athletics,' indicating joint go-to-market alignment with a major collegiate athletics digital platform provider.
• Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA)flagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerITA partnered with Athlete Network to launch the College Tennis Alumni Network. The ITA, governing body for NCAA D-I, D-II, D-III, NAIA, and JUCO tennis, leverages Athlete Network's employer partners and platform features to engage tennis alumni. Per Dr. Timothy Russell, ITA CEO, and Corey Pegram, Director of Partnerships, Alumni and Membership.
• Higher Education Athletic Conferences (SEC, Big 12, Southern Conference, etc.)coreGTM or Marketing PartnerAthlete Network is recognized across multiple conferences: seventh SEC school (Alabama), seventh Big 12 school (Colorado), first Southern Conference school (UTC). These institutions serve as flagship references for the platform.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Teamworks: Teamworks is the dominant operating system for college athletics, providing athlete operations, communications, performance, and engagement software to athletic departments. It is the most directly comparable competitor to Athlete Network's UNITE platform in the same NCAA customer base.
• EverTrue: EverTrue is a leading alumni engagement and fundraising platform for higher education, overlapping directly with UNITE's letterwinner/alumni engagement and giving-day use cases at the same institutional buyers.
• Hivebrite: Hivebrite is a community and alumni engagement platform that powers branded networks for institutions and associations. It is closely comparable to UNITE's white-label, branded-network architecture.
• Graduway: Graduway provides alumni networking, mentoring, and career-engagement software to educational institutions, directly overlapping with Athlete Network's alumni engagement and mentorship workflow.

Emerging players

• PeopleGrove: PeopleGrove powers alumni mentorship, career networking, and donor engagement for universities, directly comparable to UNITE's mentorship workflow and career-services features.
• SIDEARM Sports: SIDEARM Sports powers official athletic websites, apps, and digital fan engagement for college athletics. It is a GTM partner of Athlete Network but overlaps on athletic-department digital engagement budgets and represents a natural adjacent competitor.
• Element451: Element451 is an AI-powered student engagement and CRM platform for higher education, addressing overlapping enrollment and engagement budgets at the same institutional buyers as Athlete Network.

Broad incumbents

• Learfield (Learfield IMG College): Learfield is the dominant college athletics media rights, sponsorship, and multi-platform content company. It touches the same athletic-department budgets and is a broad incumbent with overlapping sponsorship and alumni/athlete engagement ambitions.
• Stack Sports: Stack Sports provides a suite of sports technology platforms across registration, payments, websites, and engagement. It competes for the same college and youth athletic-organization software spend as Athlete Network.
• Gravyty: Gravyty, now Athlete Network's parent company, provides AI-powered fundraising and engagement tools for higher education. It is the most strategically adjacent peer given the June 2025 acquisition.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/AthleteNet
• Facebookfacebook.com/AthleteNetwork
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/athletenetwork

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds4 records

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Athlete Network