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Cathy Engelbert to retire as WNBA commissioner after 2026 season, ending a seven-year tenure defined by growth and player discord

9/5/2026

Seven years end for Cathy Engelbert as WNBA commissioner after the 2026 season. Engelbert announced Friday she would retire, closing a run that started in 2019 when she became the first commissioner in league history.

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver called the period the most significant stretch of growth in the WNBA's existence. The operational record supports that read.

The league expanded during her tenure, secured major media-rights agreements, and negotiated a new collective bargaining agreement signed before the 2026 season that brought significant increases in player compensation.

In 2024, Engelbert introduced a league-wide charter travel program, a reversal of a long-standing position that charter flights were economically unjustifiable; the shift arrived alongside the surge in commercial interest generated by Caitlin Clark's entry into the league.