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Sports Business • Edition #629 • Aug 01, 2026

Leveling The Playing Field

From The GIST Team

Higher ed (finally) bets on women’s sports

Welcome to The GIST’s Sports Business Saturday Scroll, where we dive deep into one person, idea, or move that’s shaping the business of women’s sports.

Women’s sports will conquer new territory in 2026: the classroom. Simmons University in Boston makes history this fall with the first cohort of its Women’s Sports Business Program. Matriculated students will earn a Master of Science in Management (MSM) with a Business and Leadership in Women’s Sports Concentration, the first of its kind.

The development is unsurprising for the historically female institution. At the time of its founding in 1974, the Simmons School of Management (SOM) offered the world's first MBA program designed specifically for women, and over 50 years later, Simmons is making way for even more progress.

The Latest

🥇 Someone had to go first

Students walk on Simmons University’s campus.

Source: Barry Chin/The Boston Globe via Getty Images

When the Simmons SOM’s advisory board ran the numbers, it seemed like a no-brainer to focus on women’s sports. As one of the fastest-growing global industries, women’s sports could generate at least $2.5B in value for rights holders in the U.S. by 2030, a 250% increase from 2024.

Simmons has made a habit of going first, so why stop when it comes to women’s sports? "This program matters right now because women's sports are no longer asking for a seat at the table...we are at the table," Boston Celtics executive, former WNBA player, and incoming lecturer Allison Feaster said this month.

"The investment is here. The audience is here. The momentum is real. And Simmons will mold leaders who are prepared to meet this moment with skill, strategy, and purpose."

Up until Simmons’ historic December 2025 announcement, academic specializations in women’s sports only existed on an elective, curricular, or internship level. Columbia and UMass Amherst integrate women-centric courses into existing sports management curricula, and schools like the University of Washington and the University of North Carolina teach "gender and sport" as offerings within women and gender studies programs.

Until this year, students could sprinkle women’s sports into their studies as a topping. Now, it can be their bread and butter.

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💪 Simmons’ draft class

Though the program is in its inaugural year, its leaders bring varied and extensive experience. Simmons SOM compiled a robust academic roster featuring experts in management, finance, leadership, strategy, and women's sports.

For prospective students, Simmons’ academic lineup is an embarrassment of riches. Sports execs teaching courses include the aforementioned Feaster, the Boston Celtics’ vice president of team operations and organizational growth, The Business Case for Women's Sports podcast host and founder of GOALS, Caroline Fitzgerald, and LPGA vice president Laural Logan-Fain.

“Our industry instructors offer firsthand insight into the opportunities and challenges shaping women's sports today," said Astrid Sheil, dean of Simmons SOM. “Together, they create a learning experience that prepares students not only to understand this rapidly evolving industry, but to thrive and lead within it."

Situated in the heart of a prominent sports city, Simmons describes Boston as a "hub" of women’s sports opportunity. From Fenway Park to the New Balance headquarters and the newly minted NWSL squad Boston Legacy FC, future women's sports leaders can take advantage of Boston’s very best.

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💼 Jerseys and jackets

As the milestones keep rolling in for women’s sports, the need for inspired female leadership and business acumen will only grow. Despite recent progress, female leadership in sports still distantly trails female athletic participation at sport’s highest levels.

For example, for the first time in history, 50% of competing athletes at the 2024 Olympic Games were female. However, a 2026 survey by the Sport Integrity Global Alliance found that women held just 32% of executive positions across 30 international sports federations.

Nowhere is that disparity more apparent than at FIFA, the governing body for the next global women’s sporting event. While the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup (WWC) became the most-watched women’s sporting event in history, until 2018, FIFA had no women on its executive committee.

As of 2024, 83% of FIFA member associations had at least one female executive committee member, up from 64% in 2019. It’s a start.

"There is a rising demand for leaders who understand the unique aspects of the professional women's sports industry," Simmons’ promotional materials read. The program's leaders want to see its graduates lead teams, grow brands, and create more opportunities within the industry.

Although the new program is open to any individual seeking a specialization in women's sports management, Simmons says it will "emphasize gender equity and inclusive leadership as students advance their professional goals."

Constituents don’t just level the playing field; they want to elevate it. With the fall academic semester just weeks away, the first batch of changemakers will soon begin their studies — leaders whom Simmons hopes will “shape the industry for years to come.”

Applications for spring admissions and the second cohort will close December 1st — so, what are you waiting for?

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On that note...

⚽ World Cup ready: With the FIFA WWC on the horizon in 2027, Simmons' first cohort couldn't have better timing. The program begins right as women's football tracks toward becoming one of the world's top five sports by 2030, with its global fanbase projected to grow from 500M to over 800M fans.

💰 Cashing in: Simmons isn't the only institution betting on the women’s sports business boom. Sports-focused venture capital funds and executive education programs have drawn a new wave of investors to the space, signaling vested interest in women's sports business acumen.

👑 See her, be her: Purposeful progress is the name of the game, and the NWSL has joined Simmons in leading the women's sports business movement. NWSL commissioner Jessica Berman was named Sports Business Journal's Executive of the Year in 2024, becoming the first woman to receive that honor in the award's history.

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