Aug 31, 2026 · 49 min
Simmons builds a business school for women’s sports
The Question No One Was Asking with Justine Pouravelis & Astrid Sheil
As women’s sports expand, Simmons is testing whether specialized business training can help build leagues, franchises, and careers differently.
- 1Simmons’s new master’s program combines accounting, finance, marketing, and management with women’s sports history and strategy.
- 2The first cohort has surpassed its target, bringing together former athletes, professional players, and students from across the country.
- 3Industry professionals from media, sponsorship, leagues, and teams are shaping the curriculum through teaching and capstone projects.
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Astrid Scheel explains how Simmons will combine business training with historical context and future strategy so students can build women’s sports differently.
The brief
Women’s sports are growing, but the industry still lacks enough people trained to handle its business, leadership, and investment challenges. Simmons University is betting education can help close that gap.
Dean Astrid Scheel and Professor Justine Puravelis describe a program that pairs core business skills with women’s sports history, media, strategy, and leadership.
The degree is open to anyone interested in the field, including men already working in women’s sports, and its first cohort has exceeded expectations while attracting former athletes and professionals.
The curriculum asks students to study past barriers while imagining how emerging leagues can build franchises, fan bases, and business models differently from traditional men’s sports.
Industry contributors from the LPGA, Celtics, NESN, NHL, media, and sponsorship fields connect classroom work to careers through teaching and a capstone project.
The episode’s larger argument is that the next phase of women’s sports will depend not only on visibility, but on leaders equipped to shape its institutions.
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