Get all your news in one place.
100's of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Fortune
Fortune
Emma Hinchliffe, Nina Ajemian

WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert's balancing act

WNBA Commssioner Cathy Engelbert poses in front of basketballs. (Credit: Mackenzie Stroh for Fortune)

Good morning, Broadsheet readers! Karen Lynch's CVS considers a break up, women boomers are flooding into the stock market, and the job of WNBA commissioner is complicated as the league soars in popularity. Have a terrific Thursday!

- Play ball. Cathy Engelbert arrived at the WNBA in 2019 to a moment she called "existential." The former U.S. CEO of Deloitte, Engelbert had left a job overseeing $20 billion in revenue and 100,000 employees for a staff of 12 as the WNBA's first commissioner. When the pandemic hit months after her arrival, five to six teams out of 12 in the league would have folded without a season, she estimated.

This year, the WNBA has risen to highs that would have seemed near-impossible at that low point four years ago: 21 regular season games with more than 1 million viewers, 400,000 tickets sold in one month, and a rush of sponsors—all driven by a surge of interest in women's sports and a superstar rookie class including players Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100's of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.