We carry on the rich heritage of our factory headquarters in Burlington, North Carolina USA, once known as the "Hosiery Center of the South" for its preeminence in textile production. American-made excellence lives on at our factory, where every custom sublimated garment is designed, cut, sublimated and sewn on site in our 40,000 square foot manufacturing plant.
The idea behind OT Sports formed when one of its co-founders, Scott Gollnick, was attending college in Prague (former Czechoslovakia) in 1992 and struggled to find any decent hockey souvenirs after attending an Extraliga game. As a result, Scott and Chris Gollnick began working in Prague to help meet the demand for Czech and Slovak hockey and soccer licensed fan jerseys and apparel. In the years to follow, OT Sports secured licensing agreements with various teams and leagues and began to supply jerseys and apparel to professional hockey and soccer teams in Czechoslovakia, Austria, Germany and Switzerland, including the Czech National Team in 1993 and a private label apparel line for former Olympic Gold Medal Hockey Coach Ivan Hlinka and the Pilsner Urquell brewery.
Incorporated in the United States in 1994 by its founders Al, Chris and Scott Gollnick, OT SPORTS turned its attention to the U.S. market in bringing sublimation technology to American sports teams. Since that time, OT SPORTS has been a leader in sublimation technology with over 25 years of experience to include screen print sublimation, electrostatic sublimation and digital sublimation, including the implementation of fluorescent inks. OT Sports secured licenses over the years with some of the top minor pro sports leagues around the country and introduced the idea of specialty theme jerseys to minor pro hockey and baseball teams.
Today, OT SPORTS presently supplies over 400 minor league professional teams and college teams throughout football, baseball, basketball, lacrosse, soccer and hockey with replicas, special event, and authentic player jerseys. In addition, OT SPORTS throughout its history has manufactured private label uniforms and/or apparel for companies to include Champion, New Balance, Russell Athletic, Brine, Warrior, Mizuno, Reebok, STX, CCM and Marucci.
Our technology and years of experiences have allowed us to provide unparalleled quality control and service, ensuring that we not only meet the expectations of the youth, amateur and pro athletes who wear our uniforms....we exceed them.
TIMELINE OF COMPANY EVENTS
1993 - Became the official Apparel Partner of the Czech National Hockey Team in the World Ice Hockey Championships and signed licensing agreements with teams in the Czech Extraliga for both hockey and soccer, supplied first game jerseys to FC Plzen and HC Vitkovice.
1994 - Incorporated in the USA and began sublimation printing in Norcross, Georgia using electrostatic printing technology
1995 - Signed a league licensing agreement with the East Coast Hockey League supplying its first game jerseys to the Louisville RiverFrogs, became exclusive game jersey provider to the Southern Hockey League (SHL) in their inaugural season
1996 - Became the exclusive jersey provider to the Western Professional Hockey League (WPHL) in their inaugural season, supplied first warm-up jerseys to Peoria Rivermen Carolina Monarchs in the American Hockey League (AHL)
1999 - Signed a license agreement with Minor League Baseball, International Hockey League (IHL) and Arena Football League (AFL), obtained first collegiate licenses with the Universities of Florida and Missouri
2000 - Signed league jersey supplier agreement with the United States Hockey League (USHL), Supplied Jerseys to the IHL All-Star Game in Houston
2001 - Signed league jersey supplier agreement with the Central Hockey League (CHL)
2004 - Signed league jersey supplier agreement with the North American Hockey League (NAHL)
2009 - Manufactured the MLL All-Star Game jerseys for New Balance, followed by five more seasons of MLL game uniforms
2015 - Formed first co-branded specialty theme jersey licensed partnership program with Nickelodeon
2016 - Supplied first NBA G-League teams with specialty theme night jerseys
2017 - Received on-field rights from MiLB to outfit the Durham Bulls, AAA affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays, Supplied Uniforms to the Big3, Ice Cube’s professional 3-on-3 basketball league, Became preferred supplier to United Soccer League (USL)
2020 - Converted factory to essential manufacturing for mask production in light of the COVID-19 pandemic
2021 - Signed 6-year exclusive on-field supplier agreement with Atlantic League of Professional Baseball
2022 - Signed 4-year deal to be supplier of Cape Cod League’s First Responders and Military Friday Night Red Game Jerseys
2023 - Signed licensed agreement with Warner Brothers as their pro sports licensed jersey and apparel partner
2024 - Signed partnership with Indoor Football League as exclusive provider of replicas and theme night jerseys