Engelbert brings strong ideas about how to improve the WNBA's business model from her time at DeloitteGETTY IMAGES
New WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert's "primary responsibility will be to foster the growth of the league," and to do that, the WNBA "needs its stars to stay healthy, play every season, and earn a comfortable living wage," according to Gary Washburn of the BOSTON GLOBE. The league is "thriving with on-the-floor talent and it has endured through some lean years with a stable of 12 teams and increased interest." But there are "some issues Engelbert will inherit." The players are seeking a new CBA, and several have "commented over the past few years about their lower salaries compared with NBA players." Several top players have "either passed up on the WNBA season to concentrate on overseas teams or have been hurt playing internationally." Engelbert said, "An advantage of coming in during my transition; I will be listening to a lot of the players, the owners, the union." She added a number of the league's issues can be "solved by putting more fans in the seats, having higher revenue, having a broader revenue base" and trying to "attract a fan experience." Washburn noted the "good news" for the WNBA is that Engelbert has "run a successful, thriving company" in Deloitte. She has "strong ideas about how to improve the business model" (BOSTON GLOBE, 5/19).
TURNING THE PAGE: On Long Island, Barbara Barker wondered if Engelbert, a career CPA, can "make the WNBA cool?" That is in essence the "primary task" being handed to Engelbert, who "comes to the table with an impressive resume." She comes from a business that "makes a lot of money to one that still is working on being profitable." In some ways, the WNBA is "very well positioned to cash in on younger viewers, the millennials and Gen X-ers." The league is "diverse and its athletes have a strong commitment to social justice, values that are generally embraced by younger fans." It is "clear that this is the direction that the league is hoping to expand its fan base" (NEWSDAY, 5/18). In Chicago, Patricia Babcock McGraw wrote the WNBA "seems to have hit the jackpot" with the hiring of Engelbert. She is the "whole package." McGraw: "She knows business. She knows families. And she knows basketball" (Chicago DAILY HERALD, 5/18).
