WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert to retire in December after transformative and tumultuous tenure

WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert is retiring at the end of the year, bringing to a close her seven-plus years at the helm of the league and a stewardship that has been transformative and at times tumultuous. WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert is retiring at the end the year, bringing to a close her seven-plus years at the helm of the league and a stewardship that has been transformative and at times tumultuous.Engelbert is the second-longest tenured WNBA president or commissioner, and she helped negotiate a lucrative collective bargaining agreement this past spring that resulted in the league's first set of million-dollar player salaries.“Cathy has presided over the WNBA through the most significant period of growth in the league’s 30-year history,” NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said Friday when announcing Engelbert's decision. “We are grateful for Cathy’s leadership and unwavering commitment to the advancement of women’s basketball.”Engelbert, who turns 62 in November, told The Associated Press that she has been thinking about retiring for months.“When I first came to the league I intended to do this for 3 1/2 years,” she said in a phone interview.

“The 7 1/2 years exceeded that time. This is a really good time given the financial transformation journey we've been on. Getting the collective bargaining agreement done, getting a long-term media rights deal done, getting expansion done.”Engelbert insists that the decision to leave was solely her own and that she did not feel any pressure to step down from NBA or WNBA stakeholders.Engelbert: Several unidentified successors on league's radarThe commissioner said she has been working on a succession plan over the last few years.

While she didn’t give any specifics on who might be considered for the position, Engelbert did say there are both internal and external potential candidates on the league’s radar.“It’s a good time to hand it off to the next leader to take the ‘W’ into a better phase,” she said. “I’m proud of the team we built and everything we accomplished. A leader knows when it’s time to drop the mic and move on after building a powerhouse team in the league office.”Engelbert said she has mixed emotions about leaving.“I love women's basketball and am not going anywhere yet.

We'll run a real succession process in the remaining four months. If we don't find someone I'll stay on," she said. I walked in the door and I was by myself as no one transitioned me into this role."Hopefully I can help this next leader transition in especially considering the elevation of this league."The WNBA has g…