Production and distribution of City Club forums on Ideastream Public Media are made possible by PNC and the United Black Fund of Greater Cleveland, Inc.. Good afternoon.

Good afternoon and welcome to the City Club of Cleveland, where we are devoted to conversations of consequence that help democracy thrive.

It's Wednesday, February 28th.

I'm Karen White, senior vice president of community relations and corporate initiatives at KeyBank.

And I'm grateful to be here with you all for today's forum.

Today's forum is part of the City Club's Diversity Thought Leadership series on April 5th and seventh.

Cleveland will host the 2024 Nope.

NCAA Nope.

NCAA Nope.

NCAA Women's Final Four, headlining a much anticipated week of events that will draw the nation's and the world's attention on our city.

The growth of the Women's Final Four is actively driving the future of women's sports.

In addition to Caitlin Clarke and Juju Watkins, both extremely accomplished athletes dominating the scoreboard and the headlines increased coverage of women's sports across the country has made an impression far beyond the court.

It's not an overstatement when I say the energy behind this year's competition is as high as it has ever been.

Today, we'll hear more about how we can leverage this unique opportunity for the benefit of women's sports locally and beyond, and where our city will see the greatest impacts from the weekend's events.

Is Cleveland ready?

Join us to discuss these questions and more.

Joining us to discuss these questions and more, you've already joined us.

David Gilbert, who is president and CEO of the Greater Cleveland Sports Commission.

Lynn Holzman, vice president of NCAA Women's Basketball.

And Carol Stiff, president of the Women's Sports Network.

And chairperson of the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame Board of Trustees.

Moderating the conversation is Carly Mascitti, sports anchor at News five here in Cleveland.

If you have a question for our speakers, you can text it to 3305415794.

That's 3305415794.

And the city club staff will try to work it into the second half of the program.

Members and friends of the City Club of Cleveland, please join me in welcoming David Lynn and Carol Carley.

The ball is in your court.

All right.

So I think to really understand the magnitude of the women's final Four coming to Cleveland, we also have to understand the growth of the sport and what it's become the beast that it's become No.

One better to talk about that than the three people sitting here in particular.

You two over there.

So can you talk to us a little bit about the growth of the women's tournament and just how far it's come?

I would love to talk about that.

First of all, I heard Major League Baseball, NBA, one other I can't remember right now, but you saved the best for last.

The women's basketball.

And good luck, Trinity for your your game tonight.

One and done.

So hopefully you win and you go on and I want to tell your part.

Oh, my little tidbit of information.

So after Carol went over and introduced herself to the Trinity High School girls basketball, I said, Oh, I said, Trinity, if you didn't know, I grew up in North Royalton, Ohio, and I went to high school there.

So when I went to high school, my junior and senior year, we lost the Trinity and Sectional District.

So I'm just saying I'm glad you're here.

I we're still not playing right now.

So I went on to play at Kansas State, so she did pretty well.

All right.

The history of our game in 1995, I'll go back that far.

In 1995, there was a team called the UConn Huskies and they won the national championship in Minnesota.

At that time, CBS had the Final Four game.

What you'll see here and the championship game, ESPN had the four games prior.

So do the math.

That was seven games.

Seven games.

Only seven games were produced and shown on television and in 1996, ESPN arrived and made a huge commitment to the game itself.

And then that first year, they produced 25 games.

And fast forward to where we are here and where we are today.

They produce every single game full national.

Just like the men had.

I do think you did great.

I think we should touch on how the women's game has started to live up to the men's game, how you've sort of tried to mirror some of those things as well.

So it is the same entity in that way with meeting some of those expectations and treating it as important as the boys.

And I think, you know, I think that's a fair statement.

But I think, again, if we rewind back a little bit, obviously, I, I would hope many people in the room are familiar with Title nine and really, what Title nine, the opportunity that it provided when that was passed in 1972.

I'm a product of being a Title nine baby.

And really the real way to describe this, my mom was really good in sports and get a chance to play.

I was really good in sports, mostly taught by my mom and my other siblings and everything.

And because of that, I had opportunities to play.

You know, going into high school, I was a three sport participant.

I was recruited for three sports to get scholarships in college.

Getting a scholarship was my means to get an education, and that was because of Title nine.

So as then, as we work through this, some of the dates, Carol, just reference when I was in college and in high school, it was a big deal to see the championship game because that was the only time I saw women in sports playing on TV.

And then early in the nineties when I went to Kansas State University and played basketball there, that's when you started to see then the introduction of professional women's basketball weeks in our country and some flirtations with that.

The same time you saw the success of our Olympic teams and gold medals being one.

And again, those are the few instances that if you follow the mantra, if you see her, you can be her, that you actually could see what was possible around women's sports back then.

Our country, as it does now, takes tremendous pride in winning gold medals in basketball, both men's and women's.

The Women's.

Under.

15 team is undefeated.

It's actually as a better record than our men's team.

But you fast forward to where we're at now is that it has been because of the advocacy and the hard work and dedication of many people that preceded us, things Carol did when she was at ESPN, that then I had the opportunity to step into this role and really an opportunity to help mold and shape what college women's basketball looks like to a sport that transformed my life.

The what we have in front of us now is kind of this inflection point and this kind of culmination of what's been building around sports and women in sports.

So it's the opportunity to play.

And then as those people had an opportunity to play, then what are we doing with our sons and daughters beyond behind that and the generations that come?

It is also, again, if you kind of look at the last couple of years as we came out of the pandemic, I think that there was a I feel as though that there's been a thirst for sport as a way to bring back and bring back together community and women's sports in and of itself.

The demand is around wanting to be able to turn on it, turn on or stream or see however you consume that information.

And to have the coverage.

So it's been incumbent upon our broadcast partners and others to respond to that and then the in-person community that you build going to games.

So it's been going there.

I think it's often it's often a legitimate comparison to talk about the comparisons to the success of men's sports.

But the Title nine reference I just made is that we just celebrated 50 years of Title nine.

The NCAA.

The NCAA was founded in 1906.

Men's sports have been part of the collegiate space since 1906, and that formal way prior to 1980 182, the NCAA did not have women's sports.

They were part of an organization called the AIW, and then essentially the NCAA saw the value, if you will, and the threat of women's sports brought them in to the NCAA.

And it's taken, as we continue to build this are already the starting line for us was already back behind where the men have been but we have this model and how success often is measured is that comparison.

But I really want to implore everyone that we are forging our own path, our success story and the model and how we define success.

And the model that we're pursuing here is not that model because women's sports is different.

And what and how we have to seek and find out and really are gaining value in business economic models has to be relevant to today and what's happening tomorrow.

It can't be the men's model of when they were 50 years old.

And how do you feel like you guys are meeting that?

Because you look at last season, record setting attendance, record setting viewership.

Obviously, accessibility is a part of that.

So how do you feel like you've been able to get that going for women's basketball, specifically in the college space?

And Carol referenced at the beginning when ESPN started investing not just in our in our championship, and that's what the games that she was referencing, but it reaches back into the regular season.

So the exposure realm really helps.

You know, it is a great storyline to talk about how again coming out of the pandemic and oh, by the way, if you were tracking on things, there was a pretty significant thing.

It's called a gender equity report that came out right at that time that really pulled back the proverbial curtain about where there was not a equitable, appropriate, appropriate, equitable investment in women's sports.

And it really was the public's outcry that said, we don't accept this.

This isn't right.

Well, what we've seen recently as we've been growing women's basketball and women's sports over the year as incremental, proverbial, but little, you know, oh, here's a little more resources and and people are look at what we're doing.

We're growing.

We're growing.

If you give us more resources, we'll show a return on that investment, the pandemic, the gender equity report, basically for the organization I work for.

And it's it's gone all the way down to the local level on campuses and others, is that it really implored in a public forum the infusion of resources into women's basketball.

And what you've seen since that report came out in 2021 is just completely explosion around women's basketball.

And we were poised and ready.

We we've been advocating asking this for years.

And I say this now, our goals and and I said this yesterday at the press conference.

It isn't just a the words we use matter in the sense of it's not just what we have looked to build and what we hope to build.

We expect a seat at the table.

We we know that we have a good business model.

We know that there is that there is the the the thirst by fans around women's sports and the unique attributes that are different than men's sports.

So a quick reference on that.

Recently, the NCAA just announced this new ESPN agreement for over 40 championships.

The and it's an eight year deal it starts next year.

So we're in the last year of the current deal and it's it's it's a re it's a new deal, if you will.

It's not just nipping at the edges of the old deal.

An important financial number out of that is eight years of the deal.

The deal itself over those eight years, it's like about I think it's $914 million within that.

It was important because the women's basketball community has demanded this is that it was important to say how much of that deal can be attributed to women's basketball.

And the immediately what came out in the media reports is that on an average annual value, $65 million of that deal is attributed to the Women's Basketball Division one championship previously women's basketball, the previous deal.

And again, this deals like a three times what it is and and in the broadcast rights space and everything previously the average annual value of women's basketball was was was being attributed was only 6 million.

We went from 6 million to now an average of $65 million.

Or we are the second most valuable asset of the NCAA.

You guys and David, I know you've been working on this for a long time, so your finger is on the pulse of the excitement around this.

But to be able to host an event of this caliber and one that has had such growth and such success, and you do as well over the past few days talking about this here in Cleveland as we hit the 38 day mark.

How do you feel?

The excitement is growing as we get closer to the Final Four?

You know, I'm fortunate that was was deeply involved when we hosted in in oh seven.

So to be able to see the difference, I think there's two important points.

One, and we were talking before that was a basketball tournament and this is a four day event and and you just feel the difference.

I remember that that not not long before the the tournament, we finally sold out in oh seven.

We're very excited here.

The event sold out in hours, a month before.

And I think the other thing I see and you're mentioning we've been very fortunate to us, a lot of really big events to me where I see this, there's some some real shades of the NBA All-Star Game in that there are people and groups coming here, scheduling their meetings here, wanting to be in Cleveland, not having a ticket to the event, not having anything to do with it, but wanting to be in town because they want to be around NBA All-Star Game.

Are they want to be around Women's Final Four?

And that to me, just it's a very different it's a very different feel to it.

And quite frankly, when we were awarded the event almost six years ago, that wasn't the case.

It was still a little bit more of a great tournament.

And it's been amazing to see it.

It it's just, you know.

LEMON You were saying you just starting to see this hockey stick growth and we're noticing it in our context of what it means to this community and and it gives it gives a lot of just a lot of great reference to to what you're talking about.

I feel like over the years, Cleveland has proven that it can host a premier event like this, whether it be All-Star week's draft, anything like that.

Final Four is, of course, right up there in that conversation.

So I'd love to hear from each of you why you feel like Cleveland is such a good fit and what the city is able to do.

So host an event like this up in front of the country.

I want to hear Lynn's opinion on this.

I was going to go first.

Kara, you go first.

You know, there's a lot when we when we look and as decisions are made, first of all, as submit cities, submit bids to host our NCAA championships, including women's Final Four, there are we would call bids specs.

There's basic minimum logistical operation, things that cities have to offer and provide as part of that.

So really to be able to get into the door, to have the converse version, you have to be able to present that.

And then as they start going through the evaluation process, you work start doing that deep evaluation.

I think maybe a couple of things I would point out relative to Cleveland and as it was awarded the bid back in 2018, is that, you know, I think, first of all, is that having hosted before, which is often one of the first difficult things that you have to overcome, is because because a community had hosted before and because you could point to other major sporting events that had been hosted, that helps and increase confidence, if you will, about being able to manage an event of this magnitude.

And that was the event of that magnitude at the time it was awarded in 2018 because it is very different in so many great ways now.

So the basic things I'll just do a quick reference.

You have to have hotel rooms, you have to have the variety, the different levels of hotels, you know, a city like Cleveland, that is more the way it's laid out as being more walkable.

All is helpful.

Other cities, you know, of course, there's a reliance.

And also I kind of supplemented that with public transportation, the convention center, the size of convention centers really matters, you know, and then you start looking at all the hospitality needs that you also need around the event itself, because with, for example, the women's final four coming here, the Women's Basketball Coaches Association comes here and they bring thousands of coaches as part of their convention and they have different needs and wants, as you as we help support their event.

So those are just some really quick examples.

Cleveland, how does it position itself?

I think Cleveland did a great job selling itself and why it would help elevate the brand and the experience around women's basketball, because that really matters.

We've been in this growth phase and I think recognizing and acknowledging that has been really important.

The thing I want to point out also why you, as Clevelanders, should be really proud is that the event that was awarded for Cleveland is not the event today.

What we have asked Cleveland to do and the expectations and how the Sport Commission, the Greater Cleveland Sport Commission, Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse and the Mid-American Conference have responded to what is needed in the sense of investment resources in order to execute this event today, which is I'm probably being conservative, is probably six times what they signed up for in 18, and that is financial.

That is personnel.

That is I'm telling you and I know you also we have the clubs here.

I know that.

And the opening day of Guardians Baseball on Monday, all of that.

But I mean, the it's not just the tickets.

The hotel demands everything.

And as we work with great partners like this to be able to write this this chapter around women's basketball, it's just it's very impressive what Cleveland how they are they really stepped up and said, you know what, we have a lot of pride we're going to beat with Dallas that last year.

Thank you.

I was hoping you'd say that.

I do have to say we've we really it took a while to get there.

But we really view Cleveland like we know this.

We are one of the best cities in America for the hosting a major event.

And we've built this incredible community infrastructure.

We've hosted so many I think I think a big I think we led up to I think 16 was a big year when we hosted the Republican National Convention hosting a political convention.

It went well.

And then we headed into the series of year after year of of major events.

But we have this incredible partnership.

You know, in this case, as Lynn said, with with Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse and Sports Commission and and Mid-American Conference, but others, you know, certainly the city of Cleveland and destination Cleveland, downtown Cleveland Alliance, that organization have after organization, city clubs and all these people say, I want to be part of this Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the the film festival.

Everyone says, I want I want to figure out how I can make women's Final Four better.

And we have this amazing partnership of public, private civic organizations that takes a lot of pride in not just the check the box items that Lynn said, do we have the hotels?

Do we have the facilities on and on?

It's how can we make the event better?

So our goal is that that when NCAA walks away, they say that was the best we've ever had.

Whether they can say it publicly or not, that's what we want them to feel.

So that next time they say, yeah, when we bid again, it's an easy choice.

We want to go back to Cleveland.

And and I would say and lastly, it's just it's a pretty small world.

I mean, the people in the in this sport of that world, whether it's NCAA Olympic world, all you know, everyone knows each other.

It's not a big universe.

And so we we try to we hope we have that reputation that if we're going after something, there's phone calls to be made and people say, yeah, you need to go there.

Just let me do.

The TV side of things aren't the responsibility.

ESPN and now ABC for the championship game second year.

Yeah, there the role of ESPN is to showcase the event here in Cleveland.

So how many credentials does ESPN have?

Hundreds and a lot.

Hundreds?

Hundreds.

So get ready, everybody.

It's their Super Bowl and they bring in truck after truck and credentials and they take a lot of great pride.

So they'll be running around here doing scene sets.

There's five.

Production trucks.

They bring all their Monday night football trucks to the point there's not enough space at Rocket Mortgage to pay for all the trucks.

So one of them has to be like on the side, this is a major deal.

Yeah, yeah.

Thank you.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

And I like the fact that it's a it's not in the dome also.

And you watch the men's champion and Final Four, you know, the coaches have to step up onto a platform.

How difficult is it for the student athletes to even see the rim in a dome?

The experience of the fan in person is is cold.

And that's not the case here.

It's intimate.

It's a hard ticket to get.

You want that?

And it's a basketball city.

I was just in the restroom before coming out and they're, you know, cleaning their hand.

Two women were cleaning their hands.

They were talking about last night's game.

And yeah, and.

I just smiled.

I kept my mouth shut, but I just kind of smile, like, that's pretty cool, you know?

So anyhow.

We talk about this as more than just two semifinal games in the national championship, but an entire experience that obviously includes focusing on the fans, but also the student athlete experience as well.

So can you kind of talk about the balance of that and what people can expect from that standpoint?

You you you can go for 20 minutes because there's so much I mean.

We've about seven before you guys take power.

So the student athlete experience just real quick you know again for the NCAA and our two primary championships, our men's basketball championship or women's basketball championship, we do side by side with the experience from that selection Sunday all the way through, you know, crowning the national champion and the trophy being handed out and making sure they get home safely after that.

So the experiences are in parallel between our men's basketball championship and women's.

That's also an outcome of the Gender Equity Report here in Cleveland.

The experiences they're going to have, I think a couple I'll point out, is that they go through what's called like a media carwash, of which ESPN is gathering a lot of content that'll be part of the broadcast for the storytelling around the student athletes, our social media platforms that can be repurposed locally and otherwise they'll be gathering a lot of content.

One of the greatest things I think about women's sports and women's basketball is this connection that we can really lean into around the personalities and our players themselves.

And it's been a tremendous thing.

Social media can be a blessing and a curse, but it's been a way that we've gotten to be able to to really get to know those players personally and otherwise.

There's been mention of some pretty prominent players right now several times already in this in the session.

So all have all that you know there's a quick thing an example is a student athletes we have what's called a it's a private salute event it is only for the four final 14.

Well, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame will be hosting that salute.

And it's a place for those student athletes to be able to mingle with those coaches together.

Having that opportunity in a city like this.

While the Rock Roll Hall of Fame has some tremendous exhibits that are going around, some of which that are focused on women within music and otherwise also goes in line with some of the things we're trying to do, the fan experiences.

That is also where things have been completely compliant.

We continue to expand and be blown out of the water.

So I can stop talking because you can talk about some of the fan experiences.

I can if you want.

But here's what I think sort of philosophically.

So we know when this event is here, the economic impact, that's always our biggest measure that's going to happen, that people are coming in, they're going to spend a lot of money and it's going to mean tens and tens of millions of dollars.

And we're also the beneficiary of enormous amounts of additional national media that we hadn't even contemplated six years ago.

But I think we always try to take a close look at how does a community get involved.

That's sort of our third leg of our sort of the stool of impact because, look, I mean, the fact is this thankfully, tickets for this are really expensive.

I mean, probably more than the man.

I mean, already the secondary.

Be clear, that's on the secondary market.

Through on the secondary market, but it's awesome that that's the demand of.

Their ticket exchange.

If you do decide they want to get rid.

Of and Lin can tell you the address of how to get there.

But what's great is there are so many events and I'll go through a few, but the fact is we we try to make sure when big events are held that afterward so we can maximize the number of people in this community that can be affected by having that event, even if they can't get a ticket inside the arena or the ballpark for whatever that major event is.

And a lot of times our organization creates those things because they may not exist.

And we've done a little bit of that.

But I will tell you, as much as any event we've ever hosted the NCAA already has them.

Our job is to help make them greater, help activate them more in this in this community than other places.

That's our hope.

More people attend, more more kids read all that stuff.

But they've provided as much of a platform as any event, any event that we've ever hosted.

So there's there's you're you know, there's a just started just opened up a basketball, bounced 2200 kids 18 and under that get a basketball and a t shirt and go through our a parade to the fan fest at the convention center there's read to the final four program are doing throughout all of northeast Ohio with ash I forgot how many classrooms, hundreds of classrooms we think we'll exceed 10000000 hours of reading for third graders.

There's a big party on the plaza that takes place every day and there's a lot more.

All of it is free.

And what we want is that tens of thousands of people can feel like they.

Not only were they proud that the event was here, but they were able to be a part of it, even if they weren't fortune enough to get inside of the arena for the games themselves.

So we made a lot of those announcements yesterday.

I'd encourage everyone and your friends and family look at all of that because it is.

It's all free.

The young players in the room.

I'd encourage you sign up for balance to get it free.

That's why you get an attorney town is free and the convention center and through that there's a lot of activations on Saturday at rocket mortgage fieldhouse are open practices with the two games for the first time ever, ESPN is going to be broadcasting those open practices out across their their platforms, but that's free.

And if you don't have a ticket to the game, it's a chance for you to get in there to see the two teams that are going to be playing in the championship, make Saturday a day out of it, go to tourney town, go to the open practice.

And then if you're so inclined, go to the free concert on Saturday night that we announced yesterday that you can get tickets for.

Do you want to say here's this plan, lotto, lotto.

Public hall.

Public hall, free.

All right.

And then lastly, before I open it up for a Q&A for you guys, a little light question before we get to that economic impact of such a huge event and really how the community can benefit from hosting the Final Four?

Well, the economic impact is really measured by outside spending in the community that otherwise wouldn't have been there.

So it doesn't take into account locals who might spend because theoretically we would have spent here anyway.

So that's a a good context.

And from we were, we were thinking this event was going to be around 22 million based on the bid from from six years ago and past women's final Fours.

We're doing a third party economic impact analysis that'll be done about 60 days after the event.

I'm not going to predict a figure, but I would I would imagine it's going to be quite a bit higher than that 22 million, which is amazing.

And all these extra things, all these extra ESPN trucks, all these extra fans, these other organizations as it and and the hotel prices are a lot higher than for fans than they otherwise it just all this adds up as great for Cleveland so I would say well, north of 22 million.

How far north?

I'm not I'm not sure yet.

We'll say.

All right.

We have 30 more minutes with David Carroll on Glenn's time here.

So we're about to begin the audience Q&A for our live stream audience.

Are those just joining us?

I'm Carly Mazzetti, sports anchor at News five here in Cleveland.

I'm moderating today's conversation today.

We're getting a sneak peek into the NCAA women's Final Four host, April 5th and seventh, of course, here in Cleveland.

Joining me on stage, David Gilbert, president and CEO of the Greater Cleveland Sports Commission Commission.

Then Lynn Holzman, vice president of NCAA women's basketball, and Carole Steph, president of the Women's Sports Network and chairperson of the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame Board of Trustees.

And we welcome questions from everyone that city club members, guests, students, those joining us via the live stream at City Club dot org.

So if you'd like to text a question for our speakers, please text it to 3305415794.

That's 3305415794.

And City Club staff will work it into the program that we're going to open up.

Two questions.

Hello.

First of all, I'd like to thank everyone for pushing who are pushing women's sports forward.

And this is a two part question.

Everybody knows flag football is going to become very popular.

How do you see women involved in that?

And then I see all the success that you're having with basketball and other sports.

Are you also reaping the benefits?

In my day, we did not.

So are you getting the pay?

Are you getting the dates that that you're wanting?

Are you getting the better locker rooms and all?

So I'd like to know, I mean, it's great for the recognition, but are you reaping the rewards?

So your first question I'll answer from the NCAA contacts, the NCAA, our the president of the NCAA, Charlie Baker, he's been in his position now for just about a year, but recently made an announcement that the NCAA is actually partnering with the NFL to help around the growth of flag football and flag football for girls and women in particular.

In that vein, the as as we in the NCAA space, what that means is that as our schools and with this there would be and I think incentive and a desire because as you have young girls and women who want to play then our schools through Title nine policy and otherwise they need to be responsive to the needs and desires of those on campus.

So they would then start to look to offer the opportunity to play through teams of their their athletic department when there's enough teams across the NCAA members that have the sport, then it then it can become a championship sport.

So emerging sport for women, it takes 40 schools to have the sport at the varsity while in order to then move into championship status because of the interests of the NFL.

I think that quickly I would respond to this is that I do suspect that this is going to proceed very quickly.

And with that partnership and as a sidebar, I really wish the opportunity was there when I was growing up because I would have loved to have played.

And I think your question on the other part, as it kind of speaks to the gender equity and everything and and around Title nine, I think it's important that things are better, but they are not resolved by any means.

And it really is the responsibility of all of us.

It's a responsible party of those of us.

As you know, if you're a parent, if you're a coach, if you're someone who played or you just care about equality in that way that you are using your voice.

We also have seen the power of the players voice through all of this and young people and saying, you know what?

Asking the question of why?

Why am I not being why is my locker room different?

Why am I?

Why does our men's team get this many shoes?

Shoes or sneakers and uniforms?

And we don't we're we're essentially the equivalent type sport.

And that's really what spurred the the 2021 gender equity review that took place at the NCAA and also really has spurred any significant change we have seen.

It is that people and the players and others are using and using the law, if you will, to help further that.

But also the public pressure around it really is powerful.

My message on this is that it is not perfect.

I will be the first one here to sit here and tell you that I experienced discrimination when I played in college and high school.

I didn't even know that I was experiencing discrimination at the time.

But I know now that I would counsel and really, as I've dedicated my career to being an advocate around this, is that we have to continue to keep our eyes open, our ears open to use our voices.

And let me just add from the TV angle.

If this deal that Lynn made reference to, they were well prepared with that negotiation.

They brought in a third party to help them and they knew what they wanted and they asked and they got it.

And so with your your thought, I'm part of launching.

I left ESPN two years ago to launch a women's sports network.

What is that?

It's not a dot com.

It's 24 seven.

It's a streaming channel.

It's all women's sports.

So instead of having sports center where maybe the last 2 minutes was a highlight on on women's sports, it's a whole show called Game On, and it's only women's sports and it's free.

It's not behind a paywall.

So.

So obviously we're just a start up.

We don't have the, the financial funding to go out and get the NCAA rights or get the NWSL rights.

But we are sort of the surround sound.

And what we're hearing from fans like yourself is we want to hear more of the storylines.

So we have the ability to do that.

So when ESPN and Fox and NBC go from one event to the next event to the next, again, with all different sports, you can come to us and, hear about well, you know, let's talk about how she got here or what she's going to do next after college.

So the one thing that's still really missing and it was a challenge at ESPN is the following.

It's corporate America.

It's advertising.

Not not there at all.

So for all my years at ESPN, 31 years, I would fight for those windows.

Can I just have a prime time window?

Why am I always on Sunday afternoon up against the NBA and the NFL and Tiger Woods and, you know, they gave me Monday night.

I go, oh, my God, I got big Monday.

Well, then I look, it's on big money on ESPN, too, up against Dean Smith and Mike Krzyzewski.

I was up against the FCC, like, oh, that's not good enough.

That's changing.

Only because now advertisers are coming in and they're going, you know, I don't want to see the NBA portfolio.

I want to see the WNBA portfolio.

And that's what we need.

We need corporate America to step up here and support.

My goodness, women that you're going to see here.

They stay in college.

They get access to the community.

They volunteer their hours.

They do sign autographs now with Neil, they might get a dollar for it, but why wouldn't you want your brand associated with these female student athletes?

They're such role models, so we need to tell those stories.

So we still got work to go.

Like Lynn said.

Thank you guys for being here.

So having been part of Columbus several years ago and in the spirit of buzzer beaters, all three games are buzzer beater games.

So pressure and it's so much more than just the game.

So please do get out and experience all that will be here that weekend.

But my questions around kind of the changing dynamic of college athletics with conference realignment, Neal, TV deals and such.

How do you see it happening in women's basketball?

The NHL versus, say, how it's happening in college football, in college basketball for men?

Do we have three days to talk about that?

And you missed transfer portal.

So I'll give that to you.

Oh, I thought.

No, I thought you were.

Answer enough.

You know, it is a very dynamic time in college athletics and there's there's always been these dynamics around college athletics.

But I think you have the significance of these issues all coming together and some of the on the regulatory side, some of those issues, whether it is around, you know, the change of transfer regulations or it is around name, image and likeness or some other things, some of those some of the changes that we've seen have been spurred because of legal challenges and decisions by courts.

Right.

Or whatever your opinion may be on the matter.

And sometimes, you know, change is difficult for people and there's other forces that need to really force and organization and leaders and others to look at things differently.

And that's what we're experiencing right now.

There are some really great, unique, I think, special attributes about college athletics that continues to differentiate itself from the professional space.

And really, I think it's the NCAA as a member organization across three divisions that really is for the organization.

Our responsibility is to try to make sure we to remain relevant and to continue to be responsive to how we as a society, an American sport, culture, also evolve.

So how did we get to this space?

You know, again, it could be a three day conversation around it that's really where we're at right now.

Is is what are the unique attributes, what are the things around the collegiate model that you really that that there is a public concern versus, if you will, and consensus of our membership that you want to retain to for college sports, to preserve and to really be able to celebrate and honor those differences between just the straight up professional space.

So, I mean, it's it's dynamic and the things around, you know, conference realignment, all of that that's been happening for years.

You know what our motivations behind conference alignment, you can read this if you pick up the paper, if you're so old school paper person or you read any of the pundits out there, much of the conference realignment is motivated by football.

And then as those football alignments take place, which may also reach back into broadcast deal and it's really where American football sports sit, continues to sit within our sport landscape, frankly.

And what now with these conference realignment as a start, as we start to see the effects of them with football, the athletic department and bringing of their other sports, really, what is that going to what type of impact is that going to have on our student athletes and those other sports and everything that it's going to continue to be, I think, a really poignant discussion point across the country and everything.

So it's I don't I certainly do not have all the answers, you know, as you all as if you're a college sports fan and you kind of watch that space and everything.

Often even the seat I sit, it is just watching and seeing what's happening out there because a decision around conference realignment is made by those conferences, their presidents and otherwise.

It is not made by any of us in Indianapolis, Indiana, at the NCAA national office.

We have to also deal with the with the with the outward effects of all those decisions that our own members are making.

question is for Lynn.

So so two parter.

One, if I heard correctly, you're from North Royalton.

I am.

So you're a northeast Ohio native?

I am.

So I know we trinity here.

I got St Luke's Boys and Girls Club people with me.

M.S.

STEM is here as well.

So we could use a little home cooking, maybe on some tickets for the students.

Being in the arena is an amazing experience, but more importantly, where you sit in the arena is an amazing experience.

I have a lot of people telling me that.

And I know some of these young people would love to be like in the student section areas where they can go crazy and get on camera.

So just some food for thought.

Second question, you already mentioned some players before, the great Juju Watkins, who I love here locally we are Cody McMann, Jaycee shoulder, a one of my colleagues, one of my colleagues at the Boys and Girls Club.

His cousin was the great nice man at the University of Michigan who is in a WNBA now and doing her thing.

But my question is, obviously in a man's game now, you have to have a pit stop for six months or one year, at least one season.

But when were the rule potentially changed for women to where they can go directly into the WNBA or just have to have that same strategy of just one season and then be able to move on, especially the success of Caitlin Clarkson, Juju Watkins and many of the great women in the game caucus.

You can help with this answer, but I'm going to I'm going to come back with you on Nas helmet, just just so you know.

So Nasima, her mother, Trinity, played a with my younger sister more more easily house.

More reason for home cooking.

We can start name drop and some of the players that we played with everything so as you just reference the WNBA and the NBA, there's different there's different rules, if you will, around when you're eligible for the draft.

Basically how that all comes about is the players associations negotiate that with the owners and the organizations as to what what those eligibility criteria are and everything.

And that's why there are differences, because you have the NBA Players Association and the WNBA, NBPA, the Players Association.

And for the WNBA, if I have this right, I believe it's you have to have four seasons, an opportunity for seasons to be completed before you're eligible.

That's also why this year you're having this kind of is she going is she not going because of the COVID season that the NCAA afforded those as a fact of COVID is that extra year of eligibility.

So it's not an NCAA question.

It's really a question for the for the WNBA and their players association.

If they do want to look differently, you know, the WNBA also faces issues in the sense of they just announced some expansion.

For example, they'll have a team in the San Francisco Bay area and they continue to look under their commissioner leadership at other ways to expand.

And the reason that's important is because of the number of roster slots that are available.

So there's a whole there's a series of issues think that come into play when you talk about the opportunity.

But, you know, I know their commissioner and their leadership, they've continued to do some great things to build the league.

And the expansion example is, as one in particular I know, was immediately on her radar when she took over that position.

I would just add a lawsuit could change that like we saw in the NBA.

So I'm just saying I just wanted to ask I want I want you guys to get involved here.

So does everyone know who Caitlin Clarke is?

Okay.

All right.

A show of hands.

So should I put it down?

Should.

Should she stay another year at Iowa or should she go to the WNBA?

So let's start off.

Should she stay?

Very few.

So raise them high.

All right.

Should she go?

All right.

Should she go?

Gentleman with right there next to the guy that was trying to get tickets for Emma Lin.

Why why should she why should she go?

She's to pick.

More.

I don't know about that.

And I know she's making quite a few dollars.

She gets private jets to, you know, to get to games.

Okay.

All right.

How about a female opinion?

Anyone?

Why should she go?

Anyone?

Players.

Should she go now?

Stay another up.

Stay at Iowa.

So let's see what happens here.

Stay tuned.

Yeah.

There's a lot of we obviously I think I think it'd be an interesting story.

But whoever advances to the women's Final Four, they've earned the spot to be here.

And regardless of whether it is Iowa, regardless of whether it's, you know, South Carolina, any of those teams, Ohio State, Ohio State, you will see tremendous basketball.

There are there is this is a this is like some of the greatest basketball.

I did not say women's basketball.

I said basketball in the world.

And we need to hold up these players for what they do and what they have done to develop their skills, dedicated their lives to this game and what they represent in the women's sports space.

And just being the individuals that they are, you're going to see tremendous coaches, the stories around coaches such as Dawn Staley.

You know, it's it's going to be a tremendous experience.

So you can have your favorite teams, of course.

But I my request to you is just whoever is here, we need to prop them up and we are going to put them on the stage to perform at the highest level.

Um, adding on to what he said.

How can high school students get involved in the final form?

Four, four instead of just volunteering?

Like, can we volunteer instead of just attending and going to the game?

Can we get involved and like have an experience at?

The Final Four love it.

Well, I would say I will leave the ticket question to my good friend here, but I mean, short answer is yes, absolutely.

I mean, I would say go on right now and sign up for the bounce we just opened yesterday.

We already had several hundred registered in the first 24 hours and then go to tourney town right from there, go to the open practice.

I mean there's that's what it's designed for is so you can go and really feel a part of it, feel, feel a part of the whole experience in Cleveland at the practice be up close to the players watching them it right there so there are a lot of really good opportunities.

And that's a good idea.

You know, I never thought about it until the question is, I wonder if you could have like a raffle to go to the media Q&A and meet our talent, the ESPN town, and ask them questions if you're interested in broadcasting.

And there could I'm sure there's something that's, you know.

It's a great idea.

Oh, just see.

Yeah, there are a lot and I did courage you with your you know, with family members coaches, you know, people at your school and everything find a to get in to come in and be part of all this.

There are other opportunities.

There are other things that you can do as well.

But with your with some of the adults in your life and we can help figure that out in the past.

Just as a quick reference, I'm going to use a real quick plug because you allowed me to say this for for any young person in the room, male or female, whatever the case is, I would highly, highly encourage you to look at a career in sports.

When I played, I thought the coaching was really the only path.

I did a lot of youth coaching when I was, you know, started going to grad school, all that stuff.

And through opportunity and having seen what happens behind the scenes, if you are interested in business, you can do business in sports, you can you can do work production for broadcast, you can do you can be talent on TV.

If you like math, you can do accounting around sports or whatever.

We need the next generation.

We need women and sports because we sports needs to be the example of how we bring community together.

And it's a place that we can have.

We have this common thread and people from different backgrounds and everything like that.

Those are the same people we need running sports.

I don't need to look up at a at a screen and see everyone that looks the same, whether it's race, ethnicity, whatever the case is, the players on our court do not all look like that.

So we need you to come and take the seat from me.

I kind of piggybacking off of what you said, Lynn, about this being a great basketball, not necessarily women's basketball, just basketball in general.

When do you and Carol also foresee the waning of the astonishment of people tuning into women's sports?

That's a great.

Question.

I hope it's soon.

I think it's a great question.

I think it's coming.

I think we're getting there.

I mean, I honestly didn't want to launch a women's sports network, to be truthful.

And I hope that we don't have it too long because it should all be all together, should be all one.

I think having dads and daughters, I think the Title nine reference is only going to help grow the tune in.

I think putting it in better windows, giving the sample to the audience, all the social media demanding, you know, to see it will come out.

I don't I think right now we are going to fully embrace and welcome anyone that wants to get on the bandwagon that we've been riding because that's the point we're at in our growth, is that we aren't going to turn anyone away.

And then as and I and I, I can tell you the number of conversations that I've listened to are nothing.

I don't know if I was in a bathroom or not, but that I've listened to where they're like and this is what I would describe essentially as the Caitlin Clarke effect is that because of that and that storyline as an example, they tuned in and the next conversation was it wasn't about a game she was playing.

It was a different game, a women's basketball game.

These are the guys I work out with at my gym.

Now, trust me, we're not watching women's sports.

And they were just like, you know, does a little jokes with me or whatever.

They are all bought in this year, so we're walking them on.

Come with us.

We told you it's a great game that we it's amazing watching these athletes out there.

Okay.

Our next question is a text question.

It says, In 2021, the NCAA tournament found itself under heat when pictures revealed the women's weight room were nowhere near equal to the men's.

What steps are we seeing here in Cleveland to make sure the women's have the most state of our equipment and support to succeed in the game?

Well, I can tell you, I give a ton of credit to the Cavs and Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse.

They just did a major renovation of their locker rooms at their cost, specifically to have it done for the women's Final Four, for that for the team.

So huge kudos for them.

Okay.

I honestly could sit here and listen to like so much more of this.

I don't know about you guys, but I'm very, very excited for this April.

So rather because.

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Please join me in welcoming our students joining us from M.C.

Squared STEM High School, the St Luke Boys and Girls Club and Trinity High School running applause.

To our students.

We would also like to.

Welcome guests at the tables hosted by the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Greater Cleveland Sports Commission, KeyBank, Mob Services, Plante, Moran and Destination Cleveland.

Thank you all for being here.

And coming up at the City Club on Wednesday marks March six.

We will be back at the Happy Dog in Cleveland, Gordon Square District on the West Side for a free forum in the evening discussing the recent increase in pedestrian and cyclist fatalities, not just here in Cleveland, but nationwide.

And then on Thursday, March 7th, we will welcome award winning author and historian Heather Cox Richardson.

She will be in conversation with Katie Parris of Red, White and Blue to talk about how we as a nation can take the lessons of the past to address today's challenges.

Tickets are sold off for this forum, but you can join us for our live stream at City Club, Dawg, as you can with any of our forums at City Club.

And that brings us to the end of today's forum.

Thank you.

Members and friends of the City Club.

Our esteemed guests here today, Cynthia Connolly, director of programing here.

Our forum is now adjourned.

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