SPALDING NAMES HEDGPETH TO BASKETBALL MARKETING STAFF

Springfield, MA, February 7, 2005
Christy Hedgpeth has joined Spalding, a division of Russell Corporation, as senior manager for basketball marketing. Hedgpeth, who had been on the marketing team for Russell Athletic since 2001, will now spearhead all marketing and product management decisions as they pertain to the National Basketball Association (NBA), the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) and the National Basketball Development League (NBDL).

Hedgpeth, quite familiar with Spalding's strongest category, basketball, played for nationally recognized Stanford University before playing professionally for the American Basketball League. At Stanford, she was a Pac-10 All-Academic selection from 1992 -1994 and served as team captain in 1994. In addition to earning All Pac-10 Team honors and her team's Most Inspirational Player Award in 1994, she was nominated for an ESPN ESPY Award in 1993. She played in two Final Fours (1991, 1992) including the 1992 NCAA Basketball Championship which Stanford won.

Professionally, Hedgpeth earned one of 80 roster spots in the ABL's inaugural season (1996) and played for the Seattle franchise until 1999, after serving as manager of the ABL's player development during the league's startup phase.

"Christy's knowledge and passion for the game of basketball is a welcome addition to our already solid team, particularly with the recent eight-year extension of our agreement with the NBA and WNBA," stated Dan Touhey, vice president of marketing. "Because basketball is the fastest growing sport in the world and a category we're focused on, Christy's presence will help us maximize our partnership with the NBA and WNBA to ensure that an increasing number of fans are playing with a Spalding basketball and a Huffy Sports backboard," said Touhey.

Hedgpeth, a 1994 graduate of Stanford University, earned an MBA in Business Administration from Duke University in 2001.

ABOUT SPALDING

Springfield, MA-based Spalding is a leading producer and marketer of basketballs, footballs, volleyballs and soccer balls under the Spalding brand name and softballs under the Dudley brand. Spalding is the official basketball supplier of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA), the official volleyball of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and American Volleyball Association (AVA), the official soccer ball of the Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL) and the official football of the American Football League (AFL) and Pop Warner. Spalding was acquired by Russell Corporation in May 2003. Spalding and Russell's other business units, American Athletic (AAI) and Huffy Sports brands, collectively combined, are now part of the largest basketball equipment provider in the country. AAI is the leading seller of gymnastics equipment in the country as well as institutional basketball backboards, and Huffy Sports, is a leader in basketball backboard systems.