試すGOLD- Free

Can Cathy Engelbert Handle the Pressure?
Fortune US|October - November 2024
The WNBA commissioner and ex-Deloitte CEO is leading the league through a season of historic highs, but critics wonder if her game plan is good enough to seize the moment.
- Emma Hinchliffe
Can Cathy Engelbert Handle the Pressure?

IN JULY, Cathy Engelbert walked onto the court at Phoenix's Footprint Center, beaming before the crowd of 18,000 that watched the WNBA All-Star Game. The WNBA commissioner was not-so-secretly thrilled that Team WNBA which bore her league's name-notched a 117-109 upset over Olympic-bound Team USA, also made up of WNBA players. "This is going to get great reviews," says Engelbert, 59.

The All-Star Game was just one in a string of resounding successes for the league in 2024. Fan numbers have been swelling. ESPN viewership climbed 170% to 1.2 million per game; teams sold 400,000 tickets in one month; and 21 games garnered more than 1 million viewers each-18 of which featured the Indiana Fever and their No. 1 draft pick, Caitlin Clark.

These stats seemed unattainable five years ago, when Engelbert arrived. She left a job overseeing $20 billion in revenue and 100,000 employees as U.S. CEO of consulting firm Deloitte, and inherited a staff of 12 and, months later, a pandemic-induced existential crisis at a league with little financial cushion to save it from missing a season.

Former Iowa star Clark, with her record-setting passing skills and logo threes, and Chicago Sky rookie Angel Reese pulled off a feat no one in the WNBA had cracked over 27 seasons: They brought fans of women's college basketball with them to the pro league, thanks to a combination of star power and a world finally ready to respect the women's game. The arrival of generational talent has stoked a period of hyper-growth for the league. It has also unleashed a cacophony of opinions that clang around the sports world. For Engelbert, it's raised the stakes on what was already a balancing act between serving players, owners, fans, and the WNBA's main behind-the-scenes stakeholder: the NBA.

この記事は Fortune US の October - November 2024 版に掲載されています。

7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。

この記事は Fortune US の October - November 2024 版に掲載されています。

7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。

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