Sure, everyone wants to be involved in women’s sports now that there are sponsors aplenty, TV deals, and charter flights—the last of which was announced by the WNBA last week. Just don’t come empty handed, said superagent Lindsay Kagawa Colas at last week’s espnW Summit in Brooklyn. “Don’t come to my party that’s a potluck and not bring anything,” she said.
Pressing issues of the day were discussed at the summit and leaders and innovators shared their experiences and perspectives. Tomekia Reed, who a week prior was named women’s basketball coach at UNC Charlotte, was one of the panelists for the Changing College Sports Landscape. Earlier this spring, Reed coached HBCU Jackson State to the NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Tournament. Players from that program were selected in the WNBA Draft in ‘23 and ‘24.
“The transfer portal evened the playing field,” said Reed. “I was able to go out and get really good athletes, and I knew had they stayed where they were, they would be drafted or have great opportunities. So, I didn’t want to fail them. I wanted people to know that we can coach student-athletes as coaches. Our players can play the game of basketball.”
The four coaches on the panel discussed the impact of student-athletes being able to earn money through name, image and likeness (NIL). Reed is adjusting to the possibilities at UNC Charlotte, noting she has not previously experienced student-athletes having NIL deals. “I’m excited to be in that space,” she said.
On the Women of ESPN panel, Andraya Carter, Ari Chambers and Ali Krieger spoke about their transition to sports broadcasting. Carter played college basketball with the University of Tennessee Lady Vols. Krieger is a recently retired soccer player, who was part of Gotham FC’s 2023 NWSL Championship team. Chambers’s road was different. She grew up in Raleigh, North Carolina, inspired by NC State women’s basketball. Some of her friends were serious basketball players and she couldn’t understand why no one was telling their stories.
“If you tell stories with intention, you can always find something fresh and new, and you can create fandom,” said Chambers, founder of HighlightHER. “You see the Angel Reeses, the Caitlin Clarks, but I do want to acknowledge the fact that those are anomalies. We still have a long way to go when it comes to…overall buy-in to the entire women’s sports landscape.”