Dr. Kiki Baker Barnes has been a dynamic force in intercollegiate athletics for more than two decades. She began as a women’s basketball coach and then segued into administration as the athletic director of Dillard University, an HBCU in New Orleans. For three years, she multi-tasked, continuing as AD at Dillard while also working as commissioner of the HBCU Athletic Conference (previously the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference), which was struggling when she arrived in 2019.
By 2022, she had built the conference to a point where she could leave Dillard, but Barnes is nothing if not a multi-tasker. She channeled her knowledge and experience into counseling young women on leadership and building careers in sports. When the conference reached 15 institutions last year, the time felt right to launch a festival.
Barnes’ vision was on clear display last week in New Orleans with the Her Game, Her Future Fest, a day-long immersive experience for high school, college and graduate student women who aspire to careers in sports. They were able to explore four experience zones — Media, The Front Office (operations, business and law), The Lab (performance, mind and body) and The Next Play (gaming, data and innovation) — led by women who are working in those fields.
“It’s a career festival where girls have the opportunity to not just listen to people talk about their careers but to get to experience it, do an activity that would make the career path come alive,” Barnes said. “Not another conference or summit with a whole bunch of people sitting on panels talking, but an opportunity for the presenters to make the career path come alive.”
This included showing how name, image and likeness deals are negotiated. There was also someone engaging the participants in sports philanthropy — showing the merits of various organizations and having the participants decide how and where their money will be distributed.
After the experiences, participants, who attended at no cost, had other activities, including a mentor match-up. The day ended with “Styled for the Game,” a fashion showcase highlighting how to dress professionally in the sports industry.
“These are kids. We want them to be engaged,” said Barnes, who plans to do the event in other cities around the country. “I’m very excited about the colleagues who signed up to be a part of it. When you give young people an experience, you can change their lives.”
