WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert doesn’t see an immediate future where the W’s best players take a week off from the regular season to compete at the American Century Championship golf tournament on Lake Tahoe.
She does envision, however, more eyeballs on the product in the future as a result of strategic partnerships through corporations.
Engelbert is ecstatic about the WNBA’s exponential rise since 2019, when she was hired out of Deloitte, particularly in the 2024 season.
“As a sports league, one of the most important revenue sources is media and partnerships. So, on the business side of things, that would be great. One of the impediments to our players participating in this is that we're in the middle of a really competitive season. A lot of people fighting for playoff spots. The All-Star Game’s next week,” Engelbert said to me at a Wednesday American Century Championship press conference when I asked for her vision for the league’s growth.
“So unfortunately, I don't think our players in the near term will be able to compete (in the ACC), but they compete outside of this season. So again, it's great networking, great to carry the brand here at the American Century Championship.”
Later, she moved on to a topic that partially defines why the WNBA has exploded in popularity: Caitlin Clark.
Engelbert metaphorically dropped the mic when talking about the “Caitlin Clark” effect, explaining how much things have changed since 2024 after being asked if she backs the social media discourse around the former Iowa Hawkeyes superstar.
“You need a household, you need rivals, you need games of consequence to get people to watch. You need to have your games shown on national broadcast. We got 80 of our games, out of 240 games, when I came in now came over 205. So, I mean, if you build it, they will come. There’s no more apathy for the WNBA,” Engelbert said to Dan Hinxman, a tournament representative.
The American Century Championship will air from Friday to Sunday on NBC, Peacock, and the GOLF Channel. Engelbert is one of over 90 athletes and celebrities in the annual mid-July golf tournament at Edgewood Tahoe in Stateline, Nevada.