Olive Garden, NFHS Network partner to celebrate team moms and high school athletes

New campaign debuts GoTeamMoms.com and local high school partnerships

Olive Garden and the NFHS Network, the nation's leading high school sports media company, are teaming up to recognize team moms and the high school athletes they support. This partnership includes the launch of GoTeamMoms.com, which will serve as a resource and destination to recognize team moms.

Team moms volunteer to assist coaches and often lead team communications, fundraising, travel coordination and more. The website will feature team mom's best-kept secrets and game-day highlights from high schools around the nation. In addition, coaches, athletes, family members and the community are invited to contribute shout-outs or photos of their favorite team mom using #GoTeamMoms on Twitter and Instagram to be featured on the website.

"The goal of the NFHS Network is to serve and support both the athletes and their fans," said Christopher Young, senior vice president of sales for the NFHS Network. "There's no bigger fan than a team mom, and no better partner for the NFHS Network than Olive Garden, which resonates so deeply with our audience and shares our same commitment to families and the local community."

To further assist team moms, each Olive Garden restaurant in the U.S. will be paired with a local high school to support through two national Spirit Night events and Olive Garden VIP passes that give teams access to exclusive discounts. With dining options that include ToGo and catering, Olive Garden is often the choice for feeding an entire team.

"Our restaurants are excited to support their hometown high schools and give back to their communities," said Jose Duenas, executive vice president of marketing for Olive Garden. "This partnership allows us to thank team moms nationwide, as well as give families and teams chances to connect over meals and create memories during the busy sports season."

Visit GoTeamMoms.com to view photos, videos and team mom tips and tricks. To find the nearest Olive Garden restaurant and to order your meal online ToGo, visit OliveGarden.com. Visit NFHSNetwork.com for live streaming of high school events.

Olive Garden is the leading restaurant in the Italian dining segment with more than 800 restaurants, more than 96,000 employees and more than $3.8 billion in annual sales. Olive Garden is committed to making a difference in the lives of others in the local community. As part of this commitment, Olive Garden restaurants have donated more than 34 million pounds of food to local community food banks across the country. For more information, visit www.olivegarden.com. Connect with us on Facebook.com/OliveGarden, Twitter.com/OliveGarden and Instagram.com/OliveGarden.

The NFHS Network (www.nfhsnetwork.com) captures the passion, pride and energy of the high school experience by delivering live high school sports and events to family members and fans whenever they want, wherever they are. The NFHS Network celebrates and showcases the unique accomplishments of high schools students, including the student-athletes participating in 27 different sporting events and the student broadcasters from schools around the country that produce events through the School Broadcast Program. The NFHS Network also broadcasts state playoff and championship events in 46 states. Follow the NFHS Network on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Instagram at @NFHSnetwork for the latest news and event information. 

Since the beginning of the partnership, Olive Garden restaurants nationwide have donated more than $570,000 and access to team dining discounts to partner high schools.

Local Spirit Night events (Olive Garden locations, 4-10 p.m. April 12)