Madison Reed is a brand charting new territory in the NCAA and WNBA.
Founded in 2013 by Amy Errett, the prestigious multimillion-dollar beauty brand has revolutionized the hair color industry as we know it over the past decade, and just recently announced the expansion of its unique and groundbreaking partnership with NCAA and WNBA all-stars for the second year, ahead of the 2025 ESPY Awards in Los Angeles. Building on the recent success of its 2024 Team ColorWonder partnership with all-stars Azzi Fudd and Paige Bueckers, as well as UConn athletics and the UConn Women’s basketball team, the brand is continuing to change the game and elevate women athletes nationwide.
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We chatted with Errett to discuss year two of Madison Reed’s Team Color Wonder, why the VC-backed hair color brand is prioritizing sports partnerships, her personal connection with this collaboration and additional exciting announcements the brand has in the pipeline.
SN: Thanks for chatting with us! We’ll start by asking about the recent work the brand just did for this year’s ESPY Awards.
Errett: Timed to the nomination of UConn Women’s Basketball for Team of the Year, Madison Reed announced the expansion of their groundbreaking partnerships across Women’s basketball. In addition, Madison Reed hosted the team at its Los Angeles-area Madison Reed Hair Color Bar for a fun, confidence-fueled Get Ready With Me private event offering professional hair styling, including color, gloss, treatments and blowouts for all UConn players and coaches who attended the event.
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SN: How did you begin working in the women’s sports space?
Errett: I founded Madison Reed because I believed women deserved better—in their hair color and their lives. Empowering women has been the heart of our brand since the beginning. The partnerships with women athletes embody Madison Reed’s commitment to unleashing women’s unstoppable confidence—more than 90% of C-suite women played collegiate sports and our 360-degree partnerships in women’s basketball are an opportunity to have a powerful impact for the next generation.
Our approach to NIL partnerships has been to redefine what it means to support women athletes – offering more than just endorsement, but real opportunities to support their educational and entrepreneurial growth including: providing Team ColorWonder with equity stake in the Madison Reed business; opportunities for internships with Madison Reed for class credit at UConn; and exposure to Madison Reed’s internal and external networks, and opportunities to franchise a Madison Reed Hair Color Bar in the future
I can tell you anecdotally from working with a range of athlete representation that the kind of agreements we are making with athletes is not typical—and we hope to change that—to be an example of how other brands can think about partnership with women in sports.
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SN: Can you share more on your partnerships with Azzi and Paige?
Errett: We are excited to continue our work with Paige Bueckers and Azzi Fudd as they enter their second year of the partnership as Impact Advisors and Brand Ambassadors to celebrate the unstoppable power of women through sports, business, beauty and beyond via campaigns, events, content, and – of course – hair color transformations. As part of our partnership with UConn and Team ColorWonder, we have had a vision to offer an internship with the brand for college credit and as Azzi works toward completing her MBA, we are working to bring this to life in the upcoming school year. In addition, Madison Reed also sponsored the ninth year of Fudd’s Hooping for a Cure basketball camp, further supporting her leadership development.
It’s been powerful to support Paige as she has flourished with her graduation from UConn to her inaugural professional basketball season in Dallas. We are launching a partnership with WFAA in Dallas with a new advertisement and sponsorship of WFAA’s halftime coverage with “Empower Plays” and a 4th quarter “Game Changer” segment. And we will have much more to come as we build on our shared commitment to celebrating the unstoppable power of women through sports, business, beauty and beyond.
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Our agreements with both Paige and Azzi also include Madison Reed equity stakes—truly positioning them as pioneers in the athlete-entrepreneur space.
SN: Tell me more about Year Two of Madison Reed’s Team ColorWonder
Errett: Building on the success of the inaugural Team ColorWonder campaign, we are excited to continue our mission to boldly change the game for women with the expansion of our groundbreaking partnership with UConn women’s basketball. Team ColorWonder is returning for the 2025-26 season with an expanded roster as UConn athlete KK Arnold joins the team, representing a new generation of strong female players joining Azzi Fudd and returning Team ColorWonder members Ice Brady and Morgan Cheli, who helped bring the original Team ColorWonder vision to life.
Also, as part of our holistic partnership with UConn Women’s Basketball, we are entering the second year of sponsorship of UConn’s historic Gampel Pavilion and PeoplesBank Arena—the first female-founded, grad-founded brand with court naming rights at UConn. Madison Reed’s broader partnership with UConn Athletics and its Women’s Basketball team will include the return of our popular campus and game-day activations, plus alumni events and experiences—we are looking forward to creating more high-impact, unforgettable moments this season.
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SN: What is your personal connection with this collaboration?
Errett: At its heart, it comes down to the alignment of Madison Reed’s commitment to inspiring women to be their most confident, unstoppable selves with the power of women’s sports to both celebrate powerful, strong women and empower the next generation of leaders on and off the court. We were inspired by the long history the University has in recruiting and developing female athletes who are trailblazers pushing the boundaries that Paige Bueckers, Azzi Fudd and the UConn team embody.
And, UConn is a powerhouse with a highly engaged audience. And as I am an alum, it is exciting to be the first female-founded, grad-founded brand with court naming rights at UConn.
SN: Any other exciting announcements the brand has in the pipeline?
Errett: Women’s sports is a thriving industry which will only continue to grow and we are constantly thinking about the best ways we can bring to life our commitment to empowering women through sport, whether through how we approach our existing relationships or build new ones.
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