Best Sports Services Companies in Illinois, United States
The 67 best Sports Services companies in Illinois, United States in 2026, ranked by funding and momentum. Funding, investors, founders, valuation, tech stack and live signals. Top: APP.
Our analysis of 50 Sports Services companies
$3.3b in tracked funding; 98% of the stack-profiled cohort runs cloud-native; funding activity peaked in 2025.
Ranked: Best Sports Services companies in Illinois
| # | Company | Disclosed funding | Last round | Stage | Founder | Founded | Tech stack | Patents & IP focus | Recent signals |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | APP Academy for pickleball enthusiasts offering news, resources, events, and development clinics 40Growth top 35%Tech top 46%Funding top 50%Talent bottom 49% All 7 signals ▾Growthtop 35% Techtop 46% Fundingtop 50% Talentbottom 49% Newsbottom 48% Globalbottom 29% Marketbottom 28% Growth: Fresh capital in last 24 mo Tech: 37 technologies across 5/8 capability areas · Cloud: Amazon S3, Amazon Web Services rank vs industry peers · Fliar Intelligence Index 40/100 | $7M | 16 mo ago | Series A | Ken Herrmann Founder | 2019 | WebflowTikTok PixelPinterest Conversion Tag+25 | — | — |
| 2 | Trajektory Provider of sports data assessment services 27Funding top 43%Market bottom 38%Global bottom 29% All 3 signals ▾Fundingtop 43% Marketbottom 38% Globalbottom 29% Funding: Raised $4.0M across 2 rounds · 2 rounds over 4 yrs (0.5/yr) Market: 26 employees rank vs industry peers · Fliar Intelligence Index 27/100 | $4M | 11 mo ago | Series A | — | 2019 | — | — | 1 launch |
| 3 | DubClub Provider of sports services | $3M | 43 mo ago | Series A | Andrew Daschbach Co-Founder | 2021 | SentryNode.jsSvelteKit+12 | — | — |
| 4 | Vision Quest Provider of multi-sports training courses | $3M | 68 mo ago | Seed | Robbie Ventura Founder & Owner | 2000 | Reactstyled-componentsGoogle Cloud+17 | 41 patents Customizable orthopedic/orthotic devices with adjustable q-angle and digital measurement ordering systems. | — |
| 5 | NewClub Operator of a golf club | $2M | 26 mo ago | Seed | Mark Colwell Co-Founder | 2005 | Cart FunctionalitySquarespace CommerceSquarespace+22 | — | 1 launch |
| 6 | Honest Game Provider of sports club services | $2M | 57 mo ago | Seed | Kim Michelson Co-Founder/CEO | 2019 | WordPressMySQLPHP+30 | — | 1 partnership |
| 7 | Global Golf Post Provider of golf training courses | $2M | 164 mo ago | Seed | Jim Nugent Founder | 2010 | WordPress Block EditorThrive ArchitectWordPress+26 | — | — |
| 8 | Bo Jackson's Elite Sports Indoor sports training center | $2M | 92 mo ago | Seed | Jim Thompson Founder & President | 2007 | WordPressMySQLPHP+24 | — | — |
| 9 | We Coach Provider of sports training services | $494K | 60 mo ago | Seed | Megan Bartlett Founder | 2017 | — | 34 patents Design and manufacturing of hand‑bag components, sports gear, and spray devices | — |
| 10 | Sports Field Holdings Developer of athletic facilities, sports complexes, and customized synthetic turf products | $450K | 133 mo ago | Deadpooled | Jeromy Olson CEO | 2012 | — | — | — |
| 11 | Fonseca Martial Arts Provider of martial arts instruction for all ages and abilities in multiple locations | $150K | 118 mo ago | Seed | John Fonseca Owner And Head Instructor | 2007 | WordPressMySQLPHP+19 | — | — |
Top 12 Sports Services companies in Illinois
#1
Series A · Chicago, Illinois · founded 2019 · 26 employees$4Mraised▾
Provider of sports data assessment services. It helps to clean, organize, and connect disparate data sources automatically into a view. It enables the analysis of partner performance, asset performance, and the performance of competitors.
- Jul 2025Series A$9.5M
- Nov 2022Seed$4M
#2
Series A · Chicago, Illinois · founded 2019$7Mraised▾
Association that brings together pickleball enthusiasts from around the world, providing them with news, resources, and events to elevate their game.
- Feb 2025Series A$6.5M
- May 2023Series A$7M
#3
Seed · Chicago, Illinois · founded 2005$2.1Mraised▾
Operator of a golf club. It offers golf opportunities on public and private courses, team and individual competitions, bucket-list trips, and a true golf community.
- Apr 2024Seed$1.2M
- Mar 2024Seed$964K
#4
Series A · Chicago, Illinois · founded 2021 · 25 employees$3.5Mraised▾
Developer of a sports platform intended for sports handicappers and their subscribers to win more together by game predictions. The company's platform is for handicappers to easily set up a messaging system that sends real-time plays and write-ups to their subscribers over text messages, email, or other preferred channels by subscribing to their channel, members receive plays right when they are published and can interact directly with the creator who has the sports channel, enabling both handicappers and subscribers to earn real money.
- Nov 2022Series A$3.5M
#5
Seed · Chicago, Illinois · founded 2000 · 17 employees$3.4Mraised▾
Operator of a chain of cycling training centers based in Chicago, Illinois. The company provides triathlon and cycling training services to fitness enthusiasts, sports athletes, triathletes and cyclists through its network of franchisees and also offers strength training classes with no equipment which are accessible through virtual live streams.
- Oct 2020Seed$3.4M
#6
Seed · Evanston, Illinois · founded 2019 · 18 employees$2Mraised▾
Provider of sports club services
- Sep 2021Seed$2M
- Mar 2020Grant (prize money)$50K
#7
Seed · Glenview, Illinois · founded 2010 · 10 employees$2Mraised▾
Provider of golf training courses
- Sep 2012Seed$70K
- Nov 2011Seed$600K
- Oct 2011Conventional Debt—
- Oct 2011Seed$287.5K
#8
Seed · Lockport, Illinois · founded 2007$1.6Mraised▾
Indoor sports training center
- Oct 2018Seed$1.6M
#9
Seed · Chicago, Illinois · founded 2017$494Kraised▾
Provider of sports training services
- Jun 2021Seed$494K
#10
Deadpooled · St Charles, Illinois · founded 2012 · 10 employees$450Kraised▾
Developer of athletic facilities, sports complexes, and customized synthetic turf products
- May 2015Post IPO$450K
#11
Seed · Chicago, Illinois · founded 2007 · 13 employees$150Kraised▾
Fonseca Martial Arts is a martial arts school with multiple locations in Illinois, offering classes for all ages and abilities in a positive, friendly, family atmosphere. They aim to help individuals discover their true potential and become champions in mind, body, and spirit.
- Aug 2016Seed$150K
#12
Funding Raised · Northbrook, Illinois · founded 1979 · 436 employees—raised▾
Provider of golf club services
- May 2022Unattributed—
Funding & investor landscape
Notable founders
Market landscape — 10 sub-themes by coverage
Share of Sports Services coverage by sub-theme.
Regulatory-risk over time rising
Funding & growth over time
funding rising · growth rising
How research on Sports Technology is moving in the United States
A read on the academic research around Sports Technology — which themes are gaining ground, the institutions and researchers driving them, and how the tone is shifting. Based on 197 United States-affiliated papers.
- East Tennessee State University9
- Harvard University5
- Lindenwood University4
- Texas A&M University4
- Boston Children's Hospital4
- Analytics7
- Human–computer interaction4
- Data science3
- Biomechanics3
- Usability3
- Athletes4→13
- Physical medicine and rehabilitation1→7
- Physical therapy2→6
- Analytics3→6
- Football2→4
- Athletes3→10
- Sports medicine2→4
Where sports tech is researched across United States
Location clusters by institution affiliation — each city's volume, stance tone, and a quick read on its hot topic, what's advancing, the opening opportunity, and the main concern.
Who's filing sports tech patents in the United States
United States sports tech patent filing is steady — 59 filings from 29 assignees (2016–2025), led by Stats, TRUE FORM, Cipher Genetics; annual filings 5→5.
- Stats17
- TRUE FORM11
- Cipher Genetics7
- Gamechanger Analytics6
- AR & NS Invest6
- Lucey Patrick6
- WEI Xinyu6
- SHA LONG6
Common questions
Rohit lives in the feed. He covers what's moving right now — the funding rounds, launches and shifts breaking across the trade press — and ties them back to where the sector is heading.