{"id":889452,"date":"2026-09-09T17:06:12","date_gmt":"2026-09-09T17:06:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/889452\/"},"modified":"2026-09-09T17:06:12","modified_gmt":"2026-09-09T17:06:12","slug":"report-wnba-to-begin-search-for-engelberts-replacement-later-in-september","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/889452\/","title":{"rendered":"Report: WNBA to begin search for Engelbert\u2019s replacement later in September"},"content":{"rendered":"

The process to find WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert\u2019s replacement<\/a> \u201cwill start later this month, if not sooner,\u201d according to sources cited by Philippou & Voepel of ESPN.com. Presumably, the hire \u201cwill be made by and report to\u201d NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, as was the case with Engelbert. It is unclear who else might have input on the decision, though the BOG is \u201cexpected to be involved.\u201d Prior to hiring Engelbert in 2019, the players\u2019 union also requested and was granted the opportunity to meet with the league\u2019s final candidates. A source said that the league is approaching the process \u201cwith an open mind — recognizing that the WNBA is now at a point where a leader without a traditional background in the corporate world might offer advantages.\u201d Building and managing relationships with players, as well as owners, execs and business leaders, is also \u201cseen as a priority following Engelbert\u2019s tenure,\u201d which notably included \u201cseveral strained relationships with key players.\u201d Since Engelbert\u2019s announcement Friday, people around the league have speculated about who might be part of the candidate pool<\/a>. ESPN noted several names mentioned as possibilities: Basketball HOFer Swin Cash, Liberty CEO Keia Clarke, WNBA Head of League Operations Bethany Donaphin, Nike VP\/GM Global Running Tanya Hvizdak, Sparks F and WNBPA President Nneka Ogwumike, Valkyries President Jess Smith and NBA Deputy Commissioner Mark Tatum (ESPN.com, 9\/8<\/a>).<\/p>\n

BEST FIT FOR THE JOB: In Boston, Tara Sullivan writes moving forward, it will be \u201cfascinating to see what the WNBA values in finding the next commissioner.\u201d Another \u201cbusiness-heavy r\u00e9sum\u00e9 that lands squarely behind Silver and the NBA in the pecking order of autonomy? Or might Silver and Co. seek out more of a basketball insider, someone with league history,\u201d a la former player\/front office veteran Cash or Donaphin? Sullivan: \u201cThe time feels right for a strong personality to be in charge, someone willing to stand ground on the important issues of inclusivity, social justice, and advocacy that formed the bedrock of the league since its inception 30 years ago, but at the same time, for a person who can continue to oversee enough growth in revenue that the necessary financial ties to the NBA grow looser and looser\u201d (BOSTON GLOBE, 9\/9<\/a>).<\/p>\n

GROWING PAINS: THE ATHLETIC\u2019s Jerry Brewer writes despite all the \u201cdrama and grievances about her management style, Engelbert did not fail the players.<\/a>\u201d She \u201cnever caught up to them, however. That is the unfortunate part of a tenure full of expansion, media-rights billions and two transformational collective bargaining agreements.<\/a>\u201d And that reality is something her successor \u201cmust reckon with as soon as the hire is made.\u201d The\u202fnew commissioner\u2019s priority\u202fwill be to \u201ccommand the business and earn the respect of a labor force that now fully understands its power and expects a leader who can meet it where it has risen\u201d (THE ATHLETIC, 9\/9<\/a>). <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The process to find WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert\u2019s replacement \u201cwill start later this month, if not sooner,\u201d according…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":889453,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[629],"tags":[461,49,48,139,82,630,4143],"class_list":["post-889452","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-wnba","tag-basketball","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-leadership","tag-sports","tag-wnba","tag-womens-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/889452","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=889452"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/889452\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/889453"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=889452"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=889452"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=889452"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}