Showcasing our commercial partners

In 2023, an exciting new venture gave local businesses the opportunity to team up with the University’s elite Essex Rebels programmes.

The Essex Rebels are made up of professional Basketball and Volleyball Teams, with both the men and women’s teams competing at the highest level of British competition. Many of the players, alongside their studies at Essex, are even playing at a national level. Our role has been to support their commercial activity, and we’ve so far secured over £100,000 across both teams to grow the franchises and widen participation in the local community.

Read more about the Essex Rebels' success:

• Rebels Volleyball stars called up for England
• More international volleyball success for Essex
• Great Britain call up for Essex Rebels star 

Our headline commercial partner is Elavon, a leading international card payment solutions and merchant services providers, with local private hospital The Oaks being our secondary partner. They are supported by another 18 commercial partners of varying levels, all providing the much-needed financial support that continues to allow the Rebels to compete against the very best in the UK.

Dave Parry, Director of Sport at the University of Essex said:

“I am immensely proud of what the Essex Rebels activities have become, and I would like to thank all of our commercial partners for their ongoing support. Our teams are comprised of University of Essex students and on top of their studies, they compete in the top leagues in the country which draw large audiences from the local community to our family-friendly game days.

"Outside of the courts, our players are role models to the thousands of children and young people in local schools and communities who engage in our outreach work.  As such, Essex Rebels has become something significant and special, not just for the University of Essex, but also for the wider community.  This success is very much dependent on the commercial partners who support our work, and without which we would not have been able to achieve so much in such a short period of time.”

Among our twenty commercial partners is Showcase Interiors, an independent furniture dealer based in Ongar, Essex. Showcase have been supplying furniture solutions to the University for many years, and recently undertook a high-spec renovation of the Rebels changing rooms and installing a state-of-the-art Coaching and Performance Suite which allows our coaches to analyse performance like never before.

Our professional relationship has now developed into a commercial relationship, with Showcase Interiors becoming a named commercial partner and their logo proudly displayed on players shorts.

Essex Rebels Commercial Partners enjoy a suite of bespoke benefits, including exclusive marketing asset rights, and a general ticket allocation. If you would be interested in discussing a commercial partnership with the Rebels, please contact James Martin at jrmartin@essex.ac.uk.