United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee
The federally chartered nonprofit organization that represents and supports the United States in the Olympic and Paralympic Movements.
Last updated August 21, 2026
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Overview
The United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC) is the National Olympic Committee and National Paralympic Committee for the United States. It selects, supports and oversees American teams competing at the Olympic Games, Paralympic Games, Youth Olympic Games, Pan American Games, Parapan American Games and Junior Pan American Games. It also acts as the principal steward of the Olympic and Paralympic Movements in the United States, coordinating the work of national governing bodies, athlete representatives and other sporting organizations. The organization originated in 1895, shortly after the creation of the International Olympic Committee, when American Olympic representatives established a committee to organize participation in the first modern Olympic Games. Its institutional structure and name changed several times. It became the American Olympic Association in 1921, used the names United States of America Sports Federation and United States Olympic Association during the 1940s, and adopted United States Olympic Committee in 1961. On June 20, 2019, it became the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee, making it the first national Olympic committee to place “Paralympic” in its name. Unlike most national Olympic committees, the USOPC does not receive general direct funding from the federal government. It operates as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation and relies primarily on sponsorships, broadcast-related revenue, philanthropy, licensing and contributions. Federal support exists for selected Paralympic military programs. Under the Ted Stevens Olympic and Amateur Sports Act, the committee has distinctive statutory rights in the United States concerning Olympic and Paralympic marks, terminology and commercial authorization. It licenses these rights to sponsors and uses the resulting revenue to support teams, athletes and programs. The USOPC works with national governing bodies that administer individual sports, train and develop competitors, conduct domestic competition and nominate athletes for national teams. It also maintains athlete, governing-body and multisport advisory structures. Its Paralympic responsibilities include team selection, athlete support and community programs. U.S. Paralympics, a USOPC division established in 2001, expanded this work, including programs for wounded service members and broader participation initiatives. The committee has operated from Colorado Springs since 1978 and moved into its present downtown headquarters in 2010. The city also houses a U.S. Olympic Training Center and the United States Olympic & Paralympic Museum, which opened in 2020. The USOPC remains both a sports-governance institution and a prominent national brand associated with Team USA, athlete representation, elite competition, Olympic and Paralympic education, and commercial partnerships.
History
The USOPC traces its origins to 1895, when the two American members of the newly formed International Olympic Committee, James Edward Sullivan and William Milligan Sloane, organized a committee to send U.S. athletes to the 1896 Athens Olympics. The organization became more formally structured in 1921, when it adopted a constitution and bylaws as the American Olympic Association. Avery Brundage served as president from 1928 to 1953 and later became the only American to serve as IOC president. During the 1940s and 1950s, the organization changed names as its legal and institutional framework developed. It became the United States of America Sports Federation in 1940 and the United States Olympic Association in 1945. Federal action in 1950 enabled it to solicit tax-deductible contributions as a private nonprofit corporation. Constitutional revisions connected to its federal charter led to the United States Olympic Committee name in 1961. The Amateur Sports Act of 1978, later renamed the Ted Stevens Olympic and Amateur Sports Act, substantially reorganized American Olympic governance. It designated the USOC as the coordinating body for Olympic-related athletic activity and gave it responsibilities for supporting international teams, promoting fitness and participation, and protecting athlete interests. The act also granted important statutory protections and exclusive authorization rights for Olympic-related words, symbols and commercial uses in the United States. The committee moved its headquarters from New York City to Colorado Springs on July 1, 1978. The Paralympic role developed gradually. A 1998 Paralympic Amendment integrated the Paralympic Movement into the committee by congressional mandate. U.S. Paralympics was created as a USOPC division in 2001 to manage teams and support domestic Paralympic participation. In 2006, the committee created a Paralympic Military Program to use sport in the rehabilitation of injured service members. The USOPC hosted Warrior Games from 2010 through 2014 before the Department of Defense assumed responsibility for the event in 2015. The committee’s facilities and public presence also expanded. Its Colorado Springs headquarters moved to a downtown location in April 2010, while the earlier site continued as a training center. A training facility in Chula Vista, California, was temporarily closed after the 2007 Harris Fire. In 2010, the USOPC convened a Working Group for Safe Training Environments and subsequently created the Safe Sport program to address abuse, bullying, hazing and other misconduct in sport. Governance and financing have been recurring themes. The organization is a federally chartered nonprofit rather than a government ministry and receives no general federal operating appropriation. Its revenues come chiefly from corporate sponsorship, broadcasting arrangements, licensing, philanthropy and donations. This model produced disputes with the IOC over the USOPC’s share of global sponsorship and U.S. broadcast revenues. A revised revenue-sharing agreement was signed in 2012. The USOPC has also faced criticism over unequal support for Paralympic athletes and over allegations concerning historical drug-test decisions. A lawsuit brought by Paralympic athletes from 2003 to 2008 challenged differences in benefits, stipends and medal awards. The Supreme Court declined to review the case in 2008; during the litigation, Paralympic funding increased substantially, and in 2018 the USOPC announced that Operation Gold medal awards for Paralympic athletes would be aligned with Olympic awards. Scott Blackmun became chief executive in 2010 and retired in 2018, when Sarah Hirshland succeeded him. Lawrence F. Probst III chaired the board from 2008 until 2019 and was succeeded by Susanne Lyons. On June 20, 2019, the organization adopted its current name. The United States Olympic & Paralympic Museum opened in Colorado Springs on July 30, 2020. Today, the USOPC coordinates U.S. participation across multiple international events and works with national governing bodies, athletes and sponsors under the Team USA identity.
- 2020
United States Olympic & Paralympic Museum opens
[1]The museum opened in Colorado Springs as a public institution devoted to Olympic and Paralympic history.
- 2019
Current name adopted
[1]The United States Olympic Committee became the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee.
- 2010
Safe Sport initiative developed
[1]Following a safe-training working group, the committee created a program addressing abuse and misconduct in sport.
- 2001
U.S. Paralympics division established
[1]The committee created a dedicated division for Paralympic teams and domestic programs.
- 1998
Paralympic Movement integrated by congressional mandate
[1]The Paralympic Amendment formally integrated Paralympic responsibilities into the USOPC structure.
- 1978
Amateur Sports Act reorganizes the committee
[1]Federal legislation established the committee’s modern coordinating role and statutory trademark authority.
- 1978
Headquarters move to Colorado Springs
[1]The committee relocated from New York City to Colorado Springs.
- 1921
American Olympic Association adopts formal constitution
[1]The organization established a more formal constitution and set of bylaws.
- 1895
American Olympic committee formed
[1]American IOC members organized a committee to prepare U.S. participation in the first modern Olympic Games.
Products and positioning
A national sports-governance and athlete-support institution representing the United States across the Olympic and Paralympic Movements, positioned around athlete excellence, national representation, inclusion and the Team USA identity.
National team platform
Team USA
The public-facing national team identity used across U.S. Olympic, Paralympic and related international sporting delegations. It encompasses athlete representation, team communications, partnerships, merchandise and fan engagement rather than a conventional consumer product.
Paralympic program · 2001
U.S. Paralympics
A USOPC division responsible for supporting U.S. Paralympic teams and encouraging Paralympic sport participation. Its work includes athlete development, community programs and selected military sports initiatives.
Museum and visitor experience · 2020
United States Olympic & Paralympic Museum
A Colorado Springs museum presenting Olympic and Paralympic history through exhibitions, athlete stories and interactive experiences. It serves as an educational and cultural extension of the USOPC’s national mission.
Controversies
2003
Paralympic funding lawsuit
Paralympic athletes Tony Iniguez, Scot Hollonbeck and Jacob Heilveil sued the USOPC, alleging that Paralympic athletes received less favorable health coverage, training stipends and medal awards than Olympic athletes. Courts upheld the committee’s discretion over its nonprofit funds, and the Supreme Court declined review in 2008. The dispute coincided with later increases in Paralympic support.
2003
Allegations over historical drug-test decisions
Former USOC drug-control administrator Wade Exum provided documents to Sports Illustrated alleging that American athletes who had failed drug tests between 1988 and 2000 were sometimes cleared to compete. The allegations involved the committee’s historical anti-doping administration and named prominent athletes.
Marketing campaigns
- 2011Play Asterisk Free
United States
A continuation of the committee’s anti-steroid effort, encouraging young people to pursue sport without performance-enhancing drugs.
Outcome. Extended the earlier youth-focused anti-doping message through public-service advertising.
- 2008Don’t Be An Asterisk
United States
An anti-steroid public-awareness campaign developed with the Ad Council and aimed particularly at teenagers, using the idea of an asterisk to represent achievement compromised by banned performance-enhancing substances.
Outcome. The campaign was later relaunched under the name Play Asterisk Free.
Brand decisions
2019
Rename the organization to include ParalympicStrategyBackground
The committee sought to express the institutional integration of Olympic and Paralympic sport in its public identity.
Action taken
It adopted the name United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee.
Aftermath
The name change reinforced a combined Team USA identity and made the Paralympic mission visible in the organization’s title.
2018
Equalize Operation Gold awardsStrategyBackground
Criticism and litigation had highlighted differences between Olympic and Paralympic athlete awards.
Action taken
The USOPC announced that U.S. Paralympic medalists would receive Operation Gold awards equal to those earned by Olympic medalists.
Aftermath
The decision publicly aligned the committee’s medal-award policy across the two movements.
2012
Reach a new IOC revenue-sharing agreementOtherBackground
The IOC and USOPC had disputed the committee’s long-standing share of global sponsorship and U.S. broadcast-related revenue.
Action taken
The parties signed a revised agreement governing revenue sharing.
Aftermath
The agreement reduced a major source of institutional conflict, although the committee’s distinctive self-funding model remained central to the debate.
1998
Integrate Paralympic responsibilitiesStrategyBackground
Congressional action sought to place the Paralympic Movement fully within the national Olympic committee structure.
Action taken
The Paralympic Amendment integrated Paralympic governance and responsibilities into the USOPC.
Aftermath
The organization later expanded U.S. Paralympics and military, community and athlete-support programs.
1978
Adopt the coordinating role created by the Amateur Sports ActStrategyBackground
Federal legislation reorganized American Olympic governance and assigned the committee responsibility for coordinating Olympic-related athletic activity.
Action taken
The committee became the central federally chartered nonprofit coordinator for U.S. Olympic sport and received statutory authority over Olympic-related marks and terminology.
Aftermath
The framework remains the legal foundation for the organization’s governance, athlete protections and licensing model.
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