How Ancients are Shaping Change in Pro Sports

The past two years have been marked by off-the-charts popularity for the Dallas Wings. Average attendance at home games for the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) team jumped by more than 28%. Last season, the team’s followers on Facebook, Instagram and X grew by 400,000 — an almost 180% increase. Last year, Forbes ranked the Wings as the 10th most valuable women’s sports team in the world, valuing it at $250 million.

“Seeing the growing fandom of the Wings is incredibly rewarding to be a part of. More people are paying attention, more people are interacting,” says Elyse Slayton ’97, chief marketing officer. “When I see people cheering for the Wings in the same way they do for a men’s basketball team, I get this intense feeling of pride and competitive spirit — we have to keep this growth going.”

Becoming a full-time executive with the team in August 2025 after consulting for five months, Slayton is playing a key role in the Wings taking flight to the upper stratosphere of WNBA success. A seasoned and accomplished marketing leader, she keenly understands how to build the team’s appeal to attract more fans, revenue and sponsors. Using a data-informed strategy, Slayton focuses on making the team a household name with compelling content and creative experiences that engage fans in the fun and excitement.

Slayton leads a team of 12 who excel at producing a regular stream of high-quality videos and images showcasing the Wings’ most sensational or memorable moments. Social posts may feature everything from dramatic plays of generational talent Paige Bueckers and her teammates to the behind-the-scenes camaraderie in the locker room to the latest fits players are rocking off court. She also works with companies on mutually beneficial brand-boosting opportunities, such as last year’s partnership with LaCroix sparkling water that included free sample stations for fans at home games.

The Wings’ soaring fortunes are part of an overall growth trend in interest in women’s basketball, which is reflected in some noteworthy year-over-year statistics from the 2025 season: Sports Business Journal reported that the average attendance at all WNBA games increased by more than 12%, while ESPN indicated TV viewership rose by 6%. Slayton is ideally suited to sustain this traction for the Wings: With more than 20 years of marketing experience under her belt, including in leadership roles at major brands such as T.J.Maxx and Pizza Hut, she has a proven track record of effectively leading teams, driving expansion and growing profit.

Slayton firmly links her journey up the corporate ladder to the apex of sports marketing to her experience as a student at Miss Porter’s School. She values how the school’s highly nurturing environment and attentive educators provided her with endless opportunities to collaborate and lead. Slayton especially appreciated getting to co-edit the yearbook and serve as captain of the junior varsity lacrosse team. She recalls a time when the lacrosse coach joined players in completing a grueling set of sprints, an act of solidarity that she says left a lasting impression on her.

“That is a main principle I’ve applied to my leadership — being a good leader means you pitch in and show empathy, coaching and encouraging instead of only directing. I’m never going to ask you to do something that I wouldn’t do myself,” Slayton says. “The skills and confidence I built as a young woman at Porter’s are the foundation for my leadership.”

Another Ancient working to make her mark in professional sports marketing is Audrey McMillan ’20, who is on the Boston Bruins marketing team. Like Slayton, McMillan’s  journey was also influenced by a coach — in this case, her field hockey coach, Nelle Andrews P’22, whose skillful training and firm belief in players’ potential helped her excel on the field. Andrews, the school’s current dean of curriculum, was also McMillan’s teacher during her senior year and provided valuable advice on how to use her innate talent to communicate ideas clearly and persuasively.

“I was confused about where I wanted to go to college and what I wanted to do. One day in class, Ms. Andrews sat me down and was like, ‘You’re really good at this subject. You should think about going into public relations or communications.’ She recognized my strengths, and that was really helpful to me,” McMillan says.

McMillan went on to complete an undergraduate degree in marketing at Bentley University. A native of Connecticut who is a lifelong recreational ice hockey player and fan, she set her sights on roles in the state in professional women’s hockey. In January 2024, she landed a role as an account manager at the Boston Fleet. Seven months later, an internship opportunity arose in the community relations unit at the Bruins, her all-time favorite team. In May 2025, the team hired McMillan as a full-time marketing coordinator.

“This job is a dream come true for me,” McMillan says. “A lot of what they stand for speaks to me. They’re really involved in giving back to the community — that is a pillar of what they stand for.”

Part of a seven-person marketing team working in the business office at TD Garden, McMillan manages the marketing assets of the Boston Bruins Foundation, which engages in diverse community service work to improve the lives of children, families, first responders and military personnel in New England. Those efforts include promoting the organization’s youth hockey initiative, which liaises with sports equipment companies to secure heavily discounted hockey gear for underprivileged youth. McMillan also ensures community partners are appropriately represented in the team’s marketing materials and social media channels.

McMillan is thrilled to be part of an organization that looms large in the imagination of so many community members — the team is consistently one of the most popular and heavily followed NHL teams. She is also delighted to work with and be led by other women on her team, which she says signals the growing gender inclusivity of the NHL.

“My boss and my boss’s boss are both women. They empower me to continue to forge a path in professional sports,” says McMillan, who is currently completing a leadership in marketing master’s degree at Boston College. “This isn’t just a male-dominated field. Women can make change and make a difference in this space.”

Women’s soccer is another area of professional sports where an Ancient is playing a key role. In April 2024, Grace Bergin ’19 joined the Chicago Stars Football Club and currently serves as its manager of strategy and special projects. In her job, she works closely with the team’s president and chief strategy and finance officer, both of whom are women, to advance the team’s major projects and priorities.

“This was the perfect opportunity at the perfect time. It’s really empowering to get to work on a team owned and led by such strong women,” says Bergin, whose social work education — bachelor and master’s degrees — included a business minor in sports management.

Recently, Bergin has been actively involved in a major club initiative: a forthcoming world-class training facility for its athletes. To be located on a 10-acre site in the northern suburbs of Chicago, the 45,000-square-foot performance center will include two full-sized soccer pitches, a goalkeeper-specific pitch, a weight room and recovery spaces. Bergin notes that as a club-owned center, it will provide players with enhanced opportunities to develop their skills on the pitch.

Did you know…

Sheila Ford Hamp ’69 is the principal owner and chairwoman of the Detroit Lions of the National Football League? At least 12 of the 32 NFL teams have women in controlling or significantly active ownership roles, a record high for the league.

“At Porter’s, girls always have the best times on the courts and fields and in the weight room and other facilities, but unfortunately for professional women athletes, that is rarely the case. Many women’s teams end up as second- or third-tier tenants in shared facilities,” Bergin says. “Our facility is designed with and for our athletes to ensure they have everything they need, whenever they need it. I have loved being part of the design process to elevate our athletes’ experience and raise the bar for facilities around the world.”

Bergin is keen to increase equity and promote opportunities for pro female athletes more broadly, a priority she directly attributes to her Porter’s experience. The daughter of current Chief Financial and Operating Officer Michael Bergin P’19, she grew up on campus from age 7, attended for all four years of high school and even got to practice with the field hockey team while in middle school. She calls the school an “incredible environment where girls are constantly empowered” to speak up for what they believe in and become confident, innovative leaders. Bergin has put these qualities to use by championing the club’s pursuit of the Equity Amendment to legislation in Illinois, which requires that if and when public funding is available for professional sports in the state, women’s teams must be considered.

“This has the potential to benefit not only our team but generations of women in Illinois and to set a precedent nationwide,” Bergin says. “My experiences growing up on the campus, and later attending Porter’s, informs the work I do every day as I work to shape a changing world.”

For Anika Alschuler ’24, their foray into pro sports is taking place this year in their first season with Oregon Soar, the state’s new professional Ultimate Frisbee team for women and nonbinary athletes. Part of the Western Ultimate League, which encompasses eight teams in six western states, Alschuler plays home games for Soar at the Portland campus of the University of Oregon. The team kicked off its 2026 season in March, and Alschuler, who has played the sport since middle school, is relishing the opportunity to go pro.

“It’s super rewarding to play at a competitive level and enhance my game that much more,” says Alschuler. The daughter of Porter’s Associate Director of College Counseling Erika Alschuler P’24, she studies math and philosophy at Lewis & Clark College, a private liberal arts institution in Portland.

Ultimate, as it’s officially known, was a defining part of Alschuler’s time at Porter’s. Alschuler was co-captain of the school’s team for four years, and the co-captains received considerable latitude from their faculty supervisor to shape the training regimen and coach players, which was a meaningful growing experience.

“We had freedom to run drills and teach teammates how to play, which I think helped in developing my leadership skills,” Alschuler says.

Building on that experience at college, Alschuler joined the school’s Artemis Women’s Ultimate Frisbee women’s team. Playing on the starting lines last season, she helped the team tie for third place at the D-III College Championships — a historic best performance. This year, Alschuler is one of four captains for the team.

Unlike most team sports, where a referee officiates games, ultimate involves players enforcing the rules and resolving disputes themselves. This approach strengthens players’ commitment to compete with honesty, integrity and sportsmanship, qualities Alschuler says make the sport particularly appealing. “It’s a sport focused on the spirit of the game ­— that’s important to me.”

Alschuler describes the process to be considered for the Soar as intense, involving first competing against 50-odd athletes at an open tryout, then joining a smaller pool of candidates for two closed tryouts. They say making the team was a thrill, as is the fast-paced action on the field and being part of a tight-knit, gender-inclusive team. Alschuler is also jazzed to be part of a sport that is attracting more female and non-binary athletes. Indeed, data shows that women’s division participation in ultimate in the United States has been growing steadily in recent years in terms of the number of participants and institutional support.

“There is more interest, opportunities and viewership — it’s an exciting time to be part of ultimate.”