The Business Case For Women's Sports

In episode 211 of 🎙️The Business Case For Women’s Sports, presented by Ally, Caroline sits down with Rachel Axon, Women’s Sports and Olympics & Paralympics Reporter at Sports Business Journal.

After 20 years as a sports journalist and covering seven Olympic Games, Rachel is now helping lead SBJ’s expanded investment in women’s sports coverage.

In 2025, Sports Business Journal launched a dedicated women’s sports vertical – including a biweekly newsletter led by Rachel, a regular magazine column, SBJ Live conversations and expanded coverage across the newsroom.

In this episode, hear about:

• 📰 Why SBJ decided it was time to make a bigger, more formal investment in covering women’s sports
• 📈 How the stories being told about women’s sports have evolved as the business itself has grown
• 👀 What more than a year of dedicated coverage has revealed about what the sports industry wants to know about women’s sports

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In episode 210 of 🎙️The Business Case For Women’s Sports, presented by Ally, Caroline sits down with Jess Smith, President of the WNBA’s Golden State Valkyries.

The Golden State Valkyries have sold out every home game, built one of the most passionate fan bases in sports, and become the first women’s sports franchise valued at $1 billion. 🏀📈

Jess first joined the podcast in 2023 while helping build Angel City FC. Now, she’s back to talk about how she took lessons from building one groundbreaking women’s sports franchise and applied them to another.

In just two seasons, the Valkyries have sold out every home game, surpassed 12,000 season ticket holders, reached the playoffs twice, and become the first women’s sports franchise valued at $1 billion.

In this episode, hear about:

• 🏀 How the Valkyries built a distinct brand and passionate fan community from the ground up
• 📈 Why driving revenue and building fandom have been the organization’s two biggest priorities from day one
• 💰 What has to happen behind the scenes to build a women’s sports business worthy of a $1 billion valuation

As Jess explains, the business case for investing in women’s sports can be summarized in just two words: “It works.

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In episode 209 of 🎙️The Business Case For Women’s Sports, presented by Ally, Caroline interviews Assia Grazioli-Venier, Founding Partner of Muse Capital and former Chair of the brand new Women's Professional Baseball League.

For more than a decade, Assia has built her career investing in markets that others overlook – from women's healthcare to women's sports. 

While many investors are only now paying attention to women's sports, Muse Capital has been investing long before the headlines.

In this episode, hear about:

• 📈 Why she believes women's sports is still one of the most mispriced investment opportunities in business
• 💰 The framework Muse Capital uses to identify high-growth opportunities before everyone else sees them
• ⚾ Why the Women's Professional Baseball League could become the next major growth story in women's sports

As Assia explains, the biggest returns often come from the opportunities that everyone else has underestimated.

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In episode 208 of 🎙️The Business Case For Women’s Sports, presented by Ally, Caroline sits down with Kate Johnson, Google’s Global Marketing Director of Sports, Entertainment & Content Partnerships.

Kate has played a major role in building Google’s investment in women’s sports – from partnerships with the WNBA and NWSL to collaborating with product teams to improve how women’s sports are surfaced in Google Search and investing in more storytelling around women athletes.

In this episode, hear about:

• 🔎 How Google helped make Search more inclusive of women’s sports – and why discoverability matters for growing fandom
• 📈 Why Google sees stronger engagement with its products when the company shows up authentically in women’s sports
• 🤝 How brands can move beyond traditional sponsorships to identify the unique problems they can help solve in women’s sports

As Kate puts it, the business case comes down to “the loyalty and the authenticity factor,” and Google sees a deeper connection with its products when it authentically invests in women’s sports.

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Episode 207 of 🎙️The Business Case For Women’s Sports, presented by Ally, was recorded in front of a live audience at the USTA Northern California's 2026 SheRallies: Serve & Sip Summit in Napa Valley.

For this special live episode, Caroline sat down with former World No. 35 tennis player, investor, entrepreneur, and Cartan Capital Founder, CiCi Bellis.

After retiring from professional tennis at just 22 due to injury, CiCi didn't leave sports behind – she built a venture capital firm investing in sports technology, human performance, and women's health.

In this episode, hear about:

• 🎾 How CiCi transitioned from professional tennis to venture capital
• 💰 Why she believes women's sports remains one of the most undervalued investment opportunities in business
• 📈 What she's looking for as an investor – and why the intersection of women's health, human performance, and sports technology represent enormous growth markets

This episode was recorded live on May 29, 2026 as part of the USTA of Northern California's 2026 SheRallies: Serve & Sip Summit.

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In episode 206 of 🎙️The Business Case For Women’s Sports, presented by Ally, Caroline sits down with Dr. Nicole M. LaVoi, Director of the Tucker Center for Research on Girls & Women in Sport at the University of Minnesota.

For more than three decades, Dr. LaVoi has studied the systems shaping women's sports – from coaching and leadership to media representation and gender equity. 

Her research has influenced executives, athletic directors, media organizations, policymakers, and countless leaders across the sports industry.

In this episode, hear about:

As Dr. LaVoi explains, investing in women isn't just the right thing to do – it's one of the smartest business decisions organizations can make.

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In episode 205 of 🎙️The Business Case For Women’s Sports, presented by Ally, Caroline interviews Marianne Brooks, Vice President of Partnerships at Canada's Northern Super League (NSL).

As one of the league's earliest hires, Marianne has helped build the NSL from the ground up by helping drive the league’s growth through commercial partnerships.

In this episode, hear about:

As Marianne explains, women's sports don't need to “clear a different bar” to earn investment – they simply need the opportunity to reach their potential.

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In episode 204 of 🎙️The Business Case For Women’s Sports, presented by Ally, Caroline interviews Sabina Ahmed, Assistant Vice President of Sponsorships & Experiential at AT&T.

AT&T has been investing in women's sports for decades and became the WNBA's inaugural Changemaker partner back in 2019. 

Now, as the league celebrates its 30th season, AT&T is once again taking center stage as the presenting sponsor of AT&T WNBA All-Star.

In this episode, hear about:

As Sabina explains, the brands that will win in women's sports aren't just the ones that sponsor the game – they're the ones that create meaningful connections between fans, athletes, and the sports they love.

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In episode 203 of 🎙️The Business Case For Women’s Sports, presented by Ally, Caroline sits down with Charlotte North, one of the greatest players in the history of women's lacrosse.

A 3x world champion, NCAA national champion, and inaugural WLL champion, Charlotte shares her journey from discovering lacrosse in Texas to helping launch a new era of professional women's lacrosse. 

Charlotte also opens up about recovering from a torn achilles, continuing to lead Team USA from the sidelines, and why she believes the WLL is built for long-term success.

In this episode, hear about:

As Charlotte explains, there has never been a better time to invest in women's lacrosse – or women's sports.

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In episode 202 of 🎙️The Business Case For Women’s Sports, presented by Ally, Caroline sits down with Donna Orender, Commissioner and Co-Founder of UPSHOT, and Taj McWilliams-Franklin, Vice President of Basketball Operations, to discuss how they're building a new professional women's basketball league in the U.S. 

Rather than competing with the existing women's basketball landscape, UPSHOT is filling a critical gap in the ecosystem by expanding opportunities, developing talent, and helping grow the sport from the ground up.

In this episode, hear about:

Women's basketball doesn't need fewer opportunities – it needs more – and UPSHOT is helping create them.

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