In the building
Packed houses. Standing rooms. Expansion cities that waited decades for a club of their own — and then filled it.
For the fans
Cathy Engelbert
WNBA Commissioner·2019–2026
A Collingswood kid, a Lehigh captain, and the first commissioner in WNBA history — seven years of growing the players, the business, and the people who fill the buildings.
Born November 14, 1964 · Collingswood, New Jersey
In office through December 31, 2026
2019 — speaking to journalists at a WNBA game. Photo: Lorie Shaull / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Who she is
A basketball kid from Collingswood
So many of my skills, that not only helped me through the beginning of my career but even as CEO, really took root on the basketball court.
Cathy Engelbert, on her playing years at Lehigh
Catherine M. Engelbert was born November 14, 1964, and grew up in Collingswood, New Jersey, the middle child in a family of eight — five brothers and two sisters. Her father, Kurt, was an IT manager and a star at St. Joseph’s University who was drafted by the Detroit Pistons in 1957. Her mother ran a medical practice. Sports were the family language: three-on-three in the backyard, which her brother Keith later compared to the Olympics.
At Collingswood High School she was a standout enough to be inducted into the school’s Athletic Hall of Fame in 1993. At Lehigh University she walked on to the basketball team under Hall of Fame coach Muffet McGraw, became a captain, and was named Most Valuable Player of the East Coast Conference tournament as a senior. She captained the lacrosse team as well, and graduated in 1986 with a degree in accounting.
Deloitte recruited her on campus — in part because a recruiter saw her name in the Philadelphia Inquirer after a big game. She stayed 33 years: partner in 1998, CEO of Deloitte & Touche LLP in 2014, and in March 2015 the first woman elected CEO of Deloitte in the United States, and of any U.S. Big Four firm. Under her watch Deloitte’s U.S. revenue rose about 30 percent. She has two children, Julia and Tommy.
1964
Born in Collingswood, New Jersey
1986
Lehigh accounting graduate, basketball & lacrosse captain
2015
First woman CEO of a U.S. Big Four firm
2019
Named the WNBA’s first commissioner
Who she is now
Current as of September 2026
Still the commissioner — and preparing to step away
As of September 2026, Cathy Engelbert remains commissioner of the WNBA, presiding over the league’s 30th season. She is 61 and turns 62 in November. On September 4, 2026, she announced she will retire on December 31, 2026 — ending a tenure of more than seven years that she originally thought would last three and a half.
She told The Associated Press the decision was her own. She has been thinking about retiring for months, and has already given WNBA owners and NBA commissioner Adam Silver a list of internal and external succession candidates. After four decades in business, she has said she wants more time with family: her two children, five brothers, two sisters, 33 nieces and nephews, and her 90-year-old mother.
The league she leaves is a different business than the one she walked into in 2019. Average franchise value has been reported around $10 million then and about $460 million in 2026. An 11-year media-rights package is now worth a reported $3 billion. The season is expanding toward a record 50 games, and the map is growing toward 18 teams by 2030. A 2026 collective bargaining agreement created the first million-dollar player salaries and a revenue-sharing model tying pay to league revenue.
“I retire knowing we have built something bigger, stronger and more enduring than we could have imagined. I am grateful to the WNBA and NBA team owners and staff, players, investors, fans and the powerhouse league office staff, who believed in what this league could become.”
Cathy Engelbert, retirement statement, September 4, 2026
Retirement effective December 31, 2026 · announced September 4, 2026
The fans
This league belongs to you
She has always said the assignment was simple: grow the game until more people could love it. The packed houses, the merch, the Sunday broadcasts — that is the part of her story that belongs to the fans.
“Over the years, it has been amazing to watch WNBA players thrive and lead the massive cultural surge around women’s sports.”
Cathy Engelbert, September 2026
When she took the job, Cathy said the work was to grow the league, improve the nights people spent in the building, and make women’s basketball impossible to look away from. Attendance, viewership, digital love, and merch were the scoreboard. By 2026 those numbers had blown past what she expected — because the fans showed up.
The Commissioner’s Cup, born in 2021, was built for you — extra stakes in June and July, a championship night, a reason to be in the building mid-season. Draft nights in New York, All-Star weekends, expansion cities that had waited decades: all of it was so someone who had never had a home team could finally have one.
Then the culture shifted. A new generation of stars walked in, arenas felt too small, and the league became a place people argued about, wore, and loved out loud. Cathy has been clear: capital helped, but fans are why the WNBA is a global sports property now. In her farewell she thanked you by name.
On the broadcast
More games on national windows. Highlights became whole nights. Casual watchers became weekly ones.
Worn and shared
Jerseys, posts, group chats, arguments at the bar. The way fans carry the league is how Cathy knew the culture had moved.
Thanked by name
In her farewell she named fans beside players, owners, and staff — the people who believed this league could become what it is.
The record
What changed on her watch
Named commissioner on May 15, 2019, and sworn in on July 17, Engelbert was the first person in WNBA history to hold that title. Previous leaders had been presidents. The board’s brief was growth: the business, the player experience, corporate partnerships, and the next media-rights deal.
The years that followed kept the league alive through a pandemic bubble, delivered two collective bargaining agreements, a $75 million raise, the first full-time charter program in U.S. women’s team sports, and a map heading to 18 clubs by 2030. The work asked a lot. The league that fans fill arenas for now is the part of the record that lasts.
2020
The Wubble season
Completed the 2020 season in a bubble at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida, keeping the league intact through the pandemic.
2021
Commissioner’s Cup
A mid-season tournament built for fans — extra regular-season stakes and a championship night that is now part of the annual calendar.
2022
$75 million capital raise
Then the largest investment round in women’s sports, used to fund growth even as the ownership structure drew later debate.
2024
Charter travel
A full-time charter program for player travel — a first for women’s professional team sports in the United States.
2024–26
Media rights & valuations
An 11-year media package reported around $3 billion, and franchise values reported from about $10 million in 2019 to about $460 million in 2026.
2026
New CBA
The first million-dollar player salaries and a revenue-sharing model that ties compensation to league revenue.
2026
30th season
Her final year coincides with the WNBA’s 30th anniversary and a schedule moving toward a record 50 games.
2030
Eighteen teams
Expansion underway toward 18 franchises by 2030, after nearly two decades at 12.
Timeline
A life in the game and the boardroom
Born
1964
Collingswood, New Jersey
Catherine M. Engelbert is born November 14, 1964. One of eight children. Her father, Kurt, had been drafted by the Detroit Pistons.
College
1982–86
Lehigh University
Walk-on basketball player under Muffet McGraw, later captain and ECC tournament MVP. Lacrosse captain. B.S. in accounting, 1986.
Career
1986–2019
Deloitte
Thirty-three years at the firm. Partner in 1998. CEO of Deloitte U.S. from 2015 — the first woman to lead a U.S. Big Four company.
Appointment
2019
WNBA’s first commissioner
Named May 15, 2019; takes office July 17. The first commissioner in league history after a line of presidents.
Season
2020
The Wubble
Leads the league through a bubble season at IMG Academy during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Fans
2021
Commissioner’s Cup
Launches a mid-season tournament designed to give fans a second climax inside the regular season.
Business
2022–24
Capital, charters, media
$75 million raise, full-time charter travel, and the groundwork for a multi-billion-dollar media-rights era.
Now
2026
30th season, new CBA, retirement
Presides over the 30th season and a new CBA, then announces on September 4 that she will retire December 31, 2026.
With gratitude
“I am grateful to the players, investors, fans and the powerhouse league office staff, who believed in what this league could become.”
Cathy Engelbert · September 2026