Best Of: Women in Sports (Record Purses, Sold-Out Arenas, & What’s Next)

Women’s sports are surging. Participation is climbing, purses are growing, arenas are selling out, and today, we’re spotlighting the people and ideas powering that momentum: from the LPGA and USGA, fast-rising leagues like the PWHL, tech-forward formats like TGL, and iconic brands like the Harlem Globetrotters. 

You’ll hear from the following guests:

• (0:40) Danette Leighton, Women’s Sports Foundation
• (5:52) Liz Moore, LPGA
• (13:19) Mollie Marcoux Samaan, former LPGA Commissioner
• (20:06) Jon Podany, USGA
• (24:05) Amy Scheer, PWHL
• (27:18) Jon Kropp, TGL
• (30:44) Jayne Bussman-Wise, PWHL
• (35:06) Keith Dawkins, Harlem Globetrotters

In this episode, you’ll hear:

• Why the current boom in women’s sports is decades in the making: “five generations” of Title IX turning access into audience and investment
• How the U.S. Women’s Open doubled its purse to $12M in just three years and landed prime-time coverage at Pebble Beach
• PWHL’s breakout with sold-out arenas (including a rapid 19,000 seat sellout), single-entity agility, and expansion to eight teams
• How TGL’s tech format lets men and women compete side by side, and why expansion to new venues is next
• The Globetrotters’ co-ed future, from Lynette Woodard’s trailblazing role to today’s strategy that treats inclusion as smart audience growth

Resources and Links:

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