“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 second 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 inaugural 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 Gambler Days homestand took place at the state-of-the-art Moody Center on August 25-27, 2023, the fifth event of the 2023 PBR Team Series regular season. 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:
PBR Teams is an elite league launched in 2022 that features the world’s top bull riders competing on teams in five-on-five bull riding games during an 11-event season beginning in July and culminating in a Team Championship at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas in October. Teams competing in the 2023 season are: Arizona Ridge Riders (Glendale, AZ); Austin Gamblers; Carolina Cowboys (Greensboro, NC); Kansas City Outlaws (Kansas City, MO); Missouri Thunder (Ridgedale, MO); Oklahoma Freedom (Oklahoma City, OK); Nashville Stampede; and Texas Rattlers (Fort Worth). During the 10-event regular season each team hosts a three-day homestand. Two-day neutral-site events are held in Cheyenne, WY and Anaheim, CA, making for a 112-game regular season.
PBR Teams builds on the existing structure of professional bull riding with the same basic rules for judging and scoring qualified 8-second bull rides. Events are staged in a tournament-style format with all teams competing 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 Roster members. The team with the highest aggregate score of qualified rides among its riders is declared the winner of each game. The event winner is the team with the most game wins across an event.
All PBR Teams events are carried on either the CBS Television Network, streaming live on Paramount+, CBS Sports Network, or RidePass on Pluto TV. For more information, visit PBR.com, or follow on YouTube at YouTube.com/PBR.
Good luck with the finals, Gamblers! We’re cheering you on from Austin!
