EUGENE–The president of the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) will talk about the challenges of operating a women’s professional sports league during the fifth annual Women in Sports Business Symposium at the University of Oregon.

Val Ackerman, whose job at the WNBA is the equivalent of a league commissioner, will deliver the symposium keynote speech, "A New Business Venture: The Challenges and Opportunities of Operating the Women’s National Basketball Association."

The free, public talk will begin at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, May 3, in the Auditorium of the Knight Law Center, 1515 Agate St. The May 3—4 symposium is sponsored by the James H. Warsaw Sports Marketing Center, which is part of the UO’s Charles H. Lundquist College of Business.

Dozens of the most powerful women in sports marketing have served as panelists at previous UO sports marketing symposia.

Panelists this year include Martha Ivester, who will supervise Nike’s representation at the Sydney Olympics, and Nina H. Abnee, advertising executive who handles the Oldsmobile account for Leo Burnett Advertising. Oldsmobile is a major sponsor for sporting events.

Other panelists are Erin O’Connell, manager of marketing and sponsorship for the U.S. Soccer Federation and a Warsaw Center graduate; Sabrina Lau, account executive and event coordinator for IMG, the world’s oldest and largest sports marketing organization; and Jill Wiggins, vice president of marketing with the Portland Fire basketball team.

The symposium schedule includes:

—30—

#P-6078/Local,OrDailies,PDX,Sports Mktng