Terrence Murphy Sr. (back row, fourth from left) met with players and coaches for LOVB Salt Lake to announce his acquisition of operating rights for the team. (Courtesy Synergy Sports Capital)
LOVB Salt Lake, the women’s professional volleyball team, has received a major investment from a private equity group. Former NFL player Terrence C. Murphy Sr. and his Synergy Sports Capital firm has acquired operating rights for the team, part of Synergy’s continued focus on investing in emerging leagues and teams.
Murphy came to Salt Lake City in late March to meet with the team members and coaches and announce his firm’s plan. Fellow NFL player Reggie Bush is also part of the Synergy firm.
Murphy, who owns property in Park City and is designing a home there, proudly calls himself “a volleyball dad” and credits his daughter Teryn for “putting volleyball on my radar. Going to youth tournaments and seeing the excitement of these young ladies, you can clearly see why women’s volleyball is the fastest-growing sport in America for those under 18. It’s great and exciting to watch, and it’s a lot like football in that it teaches you a lot of lessons for life. We use sports as those drivers to teach life’s lessons.”
Teryn plays with LOVB’s Houston Skyline-The Woodlands developmental team.
League One Volleyball (LOVB) is the nation’s first professional league built from the club up, Murphy said. Unlike traditional sports leagues, LOVB operates a fully integrated volleyball ecosystem, connecting youth clubs, collegiate recruiting pathways and professional competition under one national brand. The model allows athletes to develop through elite club systems, compete at the collegiate level, and pursue professional careers in the U.S., while current pro athletes reconnect with youth clubs as mentors to the next generation.
“When we look for owners, we look for leaders who see what this league can become, not just what it is today,” said Sandra Idehen, commissioner of LOVB Pro. “Terrence, Reggie and the Synergy team understand the journey of elite athletes, the cultural power of sports, and how to build businesses that last. Their investment in LOVB and leadership of the Salt Lake team strengthens our foundation as we build the next great professional league in America.”
“We love Salt Lake,” Murphy said. “I played there a couple of times while I was in college at Texas A&M and we played at Utah. That was my first exposure to the area. Then we got a place there in Park City, a piece of land where we’ve been designing a property, and we get up there once or twice a year. … Obviously we’ll try to get there a lot more now. It’s just a beautiful area.”
He called Utahns “some of the kindest, most genuine people in the United States. That’s kind of where it started, and then I began looking at LOVB volleyball. I’ve been really passionate about it for some time. When I looked at Salt Lake as an emerging sports capital, from a sports and general market, I think Salt Lake has a lot of upside. I love the culture the team is building and it really resonated with me personally.”
He said Bush shares a lot of that passion, and they even wore the same number as college players, number 5, with Murphy playing at Texas A&M and Bush at USC.
“We were both versatile in college — not just one position in football,” Murphy said. So the Swiss Army knives like Reggie and myself, we kept up with each other. His passion for emerging leagues and teams in joining my firm just made sense. I told him I’ve been really engulfed in this volleyball world as a volleyball dad. When I went over my vision for Synergy Sports Capital, I knew he wanted to be a part of that.”
Murphy’s long-term goals for the team and the organization are aggressive — including the building of a venue specifically for LOVB Salt Lake.
“For me, being a real estate guy which is where I cut my teeth in real estate development, my vision is to have our own facility and to do some make use projects in stadium districts, practice facilities around our LOVB Salt Lake team. Obviously, I really need to get there with boots on the ground and get connected with the cities and movers and shakers of the area. I want to create an ecosystem for our athletes. I want to create an atmosphere in our home stadium where it’s really tough for opponents to play in because of our fans, the noise, the excitement rockin’ it. It’s like Lambeau Field, where I played as a Green Bay Packer.”
The team just finished its regular season and will compete in the league playoffs that start April 10.