Hilliard-based company supplies volleyball nets
This year, the NCAA Division I Women’s Volleyball championships are being held at Nationwide Arena Dec. 16 and 18, and you may be wondering who is supplying the net — or maybe you’re a bit curious, now.
The answer isn’t far from home: It’s Hilliardbased Sports Imports, a woman-owned family business that has been supplying volleyball net systems around the country for decades.
Sports Imports was co-founded in 1976 by the late Ken Dunlap, former head coach for Ohio State University’s men’s volleyball team, Mark Watson and Doug Beal, former USA Volleyball CEO. It coins itself as the first floor-plate sleeve system in the U.S., which utilizes a hole drilled into the court to hold the net’s poles instead of using a traditional wire system.
The company started first as a volleyball equipment distributor for Japan-based Senoh, but since has expanded into own products. Sports Imports prides itself on having 75% of its products manufactured in the U.S.
Since its founding, Sports Imports has sold well
over 61,000 net systems, and the product is used in over 90% of all D1 volleyball programs as well as at every Olympic indoor and sand/beach volleyball competition.
The famous net system developed trust quickly, with endorsements from the founders and OSU, who each had helpful ties in the volleyball world, says CEO and owner Cyndie Dunlap.
Today, 1,192 Ohio institutions alone rely on Sports Imports. It also partners with USA Volleyball, the American Volleyball Coaches Association and more. In 2003, it partnered with the NCAA.
“We love being partners with the NCAA,” Dunlap says. “It is just fun to be at the pinnacle of our sport.”
Each year, Dunlap and her team highlight every team they serve on the NCAA tournament bracket, and typically by the time they're done, over 60 of 64 teams have been highlighted, she says. And with the championship games being held in Columbus, the team feels more hometown pride than ever.
The championship also could mean a lot to Columbus, with an economic impact north of 14 million, according to destination marketing company Simpleview. To Linda Logan, executive director of the Greater Columbus Sports Commission, having Sports Imports so close to home is invaluable.
“Sports Imports is a pioneer in selling this equipment,” Logan says. “It's known worldwide, and it's so great to have them in our own backyard.”
Sports Imports released its all-carbon pole in 2012, another first for the industry, Dunlap says. It's as strong as traditional steel poles but weighs 19 pounds, compared to a 55-pound steel pole, making for easier installation.
While business is continuously growing, it's taken an unusual amount of grit to lead the company. It was 1993 when founder Ken Dunlap suffered suddenly from a stroke, and at age 23, his son Dave Dunlap took over the company.
Dave, husband to Cyndie and father of their three daughters, led the company for a decade, helping formulate the partnership with the NCAA. But, the day before signing the paperwork, he passed away unexpectedly overnight.
In the handful of years that followed, Cyndie's late father, Ken Mackenzie, watched over Sports Imports while she helped her daughters recover. When she felt ready to run the business, she knew it was going to be hard — she's a dietitian by training. But she knew she could translate her ability to care for people to the business world.
“I started out just thinking, ‘OK, this has to be a great place to work, that's first and foremost.' And then I realized I could learn the other things.”
For Cyndie, having a great workplace is by having heart and passion, she says, values her husband and father-in-law instilled. Then, it's about motivating her team to wear it on their sleeves. All 25 employees care for the coaches they serve, oftentimes viewing them as friends, keeping up with career moves and lives.
Sports Imports gives back to a variety of causes, namely to the Dream Center on Greenwood Avenue, where the team has helped serve meals and donate to help homeless people.
On the future of Sports Imports, Cyndie says the focus is what it always has been—innovation. But her involvement looks a little different than it has in years past. A breast cancer survivor, she was most recently diagnosed with multiple myeloma, which has forced her to step away more often.
Following her diagnosis, she's appointed Danielle Calo president, and her team has continued to stay dedicated, nurturing a “yes, and” mentality. She is certain her team will continue pushing for her and the company, because she's watched them do it before, she says.
“I'm trying to treat it as, this is the adventure I'm on,” Cyndie says. “I also believe things happen for a reason. I think it's given me a new appreciation, and I've grown personally — I appreciate things more. I think that's helped me. As far as our team goes, we're so resilient.”