“When the Austin Gamblers were created in 2022, we immediately knew we wanted to partner with local brands and Tecovas was at the top of our list,” said Austin Gamblers CEO, J.J. Gottsch. “The Austin Gamblers and Tecovas brands both share the same ideals, namely the desire to forge new frontiers through dedication to our craft and hard work.”
As part of the partnership, the Tecovas logo and branding will be featured on the Austin Gamblers uniforms and the team will be offering co-branded merchandise so fans can rep their favorite team and boot brand. Additionally, fans will be able to meet their favorite Austin Gamblers riders during rodeo season at the Tecovas stores in Austin and other PBR Teams markets. The two Austin-based organizations will also be partnering on various charitable efforts throughout our partnership.
“We are thrilled to announce our partnership with the Austin Gamblers as their official Western boot partner and presenting sponsor," said Tecovas CEO David Lafitte. "As an Austin-based brand, we couldn't be more proud to support our local PBR team and be part of the excitement surrounding the Austin Gamblers. This partnership represents our shared commitment to the enduring spirit of the West and our passion to find partners who take risks while blazing new trails. As we like to say-- Don't Go Gently, Go in Tecovas.”
PBR Teams begins its third season coming off the heels of the highly-rated Prime Video docuseries The Ride (definitely worth a watch!!). The Ride gives viewers a first-of-its-kind, behind-the-scenes look at one of the world’s fastest-growing sports and follows an ensemble cast of bull riders and coaches (including the Austin Gamblers) as they navigate the league’s 2022 season, with all the budding rivalries, exhilarating highs, and challenging lows of PBR’s newest team-based competition.
ABOUT AUSTIN GAMBLERS:
The Austin Gamblers are based in Austin, Texas, where the team’s third annual Gambler Days homestand will take place at the state-of-the-art Moody Center on August 23-25, 2024. The team is coached by PBR legend and world champion Michael Gaffney. Under the leadership of JJ Gottsch as CEO, the Austin Gamblers are owned by Egon and Abby Durban. Both originally from Texas, Egon is Co-CEO of Silver Lake, the global leader in technology investing, and serves on the board of directors of Dell Technologies, whose founder, Michael Dell, is also a minority investor in the Gamblers.
ABOUT PBR TEAMS:
The PBR Camping World Team Series is an elite league featuring the world’s top bull riders competing on teams in five-on-five games during a 12-event regular season leading to a Team Championship at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. During the 2024 season, the league’s third, each of the 10 teams – Austin Gamblers of Austin, TX; Arizona Ridge Riders of Glendale, AZ; Carolina Cowboys of Greensboro, NC; Florida Freedom of Sunrise, FL; Kansas City Outlaws of Kansas City, MO; Nashville Stampede of Nashville, TN; New York Mavericks of Brooklyn, NY; OK; Oklahoma Wildcatters of Oklahoma City, OK; Missouri Thunder of Springfield, MO; and Texas Rattlers of Fort Worth, TX – will host a homestand and two Neutral-site games are planned in Anaheim, CA and Duluth, GA.
PBR Teams, launched in July 2022, builds on the existing structure of professional bull riding with the same basic rules for judging and scoring qualified 8-second bull rides. In events staged in a tournament-style format, all teams compete in head-to-head matchups against a different opponent each day. Each game features five riders per team squaring off against another team. Full team rosters are comprised of seven riders on the Protected Roster and five Reserve riders. The team with the highest aggregate score of qualified rides among its riders is declared the winner of each game.
All PBR Teams events are carried on either CBS Television Network, streaming live on Paramount+, and Merit Street Media/Merit+. For more information, visit PBR.com, or follow on Facebook at Facebook.com/PBR, Twitter at Twitter.com/PBR, and YouTube at YouTube.com/PBR.
PBR is part of Endeavor, a global sports and entertainment company. For more information, visit PBR.com, or follow on Facebook at Facebook.com/PBR, Twitter at Twitter.com/PBR, and YouTube at YouTube.com/PBR.
Good luck with the finals, Gamblers! We’re cheering you on from Austin!