Sports Connection

Sports Connection is a Sporting Goods Store in Emporia, KS, located at 2721 W 15th Ave. The business supplies sports equipment and clothing for teams, schools, corporations, and non-profits. It serves a wide range of sports including baseball, soccer, tennis, football, basketball, softball, hockey, gymnastics, pickleball, volleyball, track and field, cross country, wrestling, swimming, cheerleading, golf, and disc golf. The store provides team uniforms, equipment such as bats, helmets, gloves, balls, and rackets, as well as corporate promotional materials like personalized shirts, hats, and bags. It holds a rating of 4.20 based on customer reviews.

The store offers screen printing and embroidery services to add logos, messages, or team spirit to apparel. It provides customization options for items including duffle bags, aprons, hats, T-shirts, polos, sweatshirts, hoodies, fan gear, and school gear. Customers can access online stores for simplified ordering, allowing faculty and staff to manage apparel without gathering orders. The business delivers uniforms and apparel timely to ensure teams do not miss games. It also provides customized trophies, plaques, medals, ribbons, and name plates.

Sports Connection was established in 1978 by Mike Shane, a former coach and teacher at Emporia High School, who started with a trophy shop. He expanded into a full line of sports equipment as Mike’s Sporting Goods. In 1980, Larry Houdek, an All-American athlete from Kansas Wesleyan University, founded Sports Connection in Salina, Kansas. In 1985, Shane and Houdek joined forces with USA Inc. They owned stores in Garden City, Bartlesville, Oklahoma, Salina, and two locations in Emporia. Eric Hirsch, who worked for Mike Shane for over 20 years, bought the company in 2017.

The business consolidates to one location in Emporia after retirements from the original owners. It operates Monday through Friday from 9:00 AM to 7:00 PM and Saturday from 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM. The store maintains a focus on in-person, face-to-face sales and customer service. It works with industry vendors to provide high-quality fabrics and customization options. Sports Connection serves the Emporia community with specialized team gear and recognition items.

Located on W 15th Ave in Emporia, the business sits about a tenth of a mile from the Flint Hills Learning Center and the Flint Hills Mall. It is also near Industrial Road and within a few blocks of the Emporia Fire Department Station 2.

BizScoreAI awards Sports Connection a Technical score of 94 out of 100, ensuring the website is secure and readable for search engines. The business also receives a Discoverability score of 75 out of 100, which allows AI crawlers to find every page and enables AI assistants to recommend the store.