INDIANAPOLIS (WRTV) — At Gainbridge Fieldhouse on Saturday, the Indiana Fever honored Val Ackerman, the WNBA’s inaugural president, with the Lin Dunn Inspiring Women Award as the league marks its 30th anniversary.
Ackerman served as the WNBA’s first president from 1996 to 2005, guiding the league from its launch to national prominence. Her leadership helped build critical infrastructure, expand visibility for women’s basketball, and open pathways for thousands of young women to pursue professional careers in sports.
In remarks reflecting on the league’s beginnings, Ackerman credited former NBA Commissioner David Stern, NBA owners, and Indiana Pacers owner Herb Simon for helping bring the WNBA to life.
“I was part of a small group at the NBA that was monitoring the growth of women’s basketball during that time, and we had a very motivated leader in David Stern who really believed that women were going to be critically important to the future of the game of basketball,” she said.
“With his help and the help of the NBA owners at that time — eventually Herb Simon here in Indiana — the league became a reality. The NBA deserves all the credit in the world for the support they’ve given the league. To see where the league has come over the last 30 years — and the last 10 or so, in particular — has really been amazing,” Ackerman said.
In addition to leading the WNBA, Ackerman is a past president of USA Basketball, a member of multiple sports halls of fame, and currently serves as commissioner of the Big East Conference.
