Val Ackerman from New Jersey
My dad was a high school athletic director who loved sports. Even though there were very few opportunities for me to play on teams when I grew up, Dad taught my brother and me how to play lots of sports. Through athletics, he also brought out the competitive edge, discipline and leadership traits in me that I’ve used throughout my life. Thanks to his guidance, I learned early that I loved playing and competing in sports and I wanted to be a lawyer.
By the time I went to college in 1978, several schools recruited me to play basketball. I chose the University of Virginia (UVA). It was a great school academically and I knew Debbie Ryan, the head coach. At UVA I could pursue my dream to take courses leading toward a law degree and I could play for a coach I admired. It was an interesting time because UVA was just starting their women’s program and could only offer one scholarship, which they split between me and another teammate. We joked that I got tuition and books, and she got room and board.
The differences between the men’s and women’s programs were extreme. The men’s program was established and even considered national contenders. The guys got the super deluxe royal treatment in everything. We were new and got the leftovers. Rather than let the differences bother me, I thought it would be fun to be a part of a program that was starting at the ground floor. My attitude was that the guys had paid their dues and I trusted that the women would get more as we proved ourselves. And that’s what happened. The next year I got a full scholarship and our program got bigger and better. By the time I graduated we were a nationally respected program and I had achieved Academic all-American honors.
After one season of playing pro ball overseas, I returned to pursue my other dream and went to law school at UCLA. Upon graduating, I was hired as an associate at a Wall Street firm where I received a real education in corporate law and big business. That experience and the fact that I played basketball helped me land my next job at the National Basketball Association which changed my life and career. I was first hired as a staff attorney and then was asked to join Commissioner, David Stern’s staff. In 1996 I became the First President of the WNBA where I served for seven seasons. Now, I’m President of USA Basketball, the national governing body for men’s and women’s basketball in the United States.
Working in basketball has at times been tough and stressful but it’s been tremendously rewarding, too. Given my background, it may come as a surprise, but I’d say my biggest challenges haven’t been working in a male dominated business; my first big problem came after the birth of my first child. As the first working mom on the executive floor, there was no one for me to talk to or look up to on the whole subject of balancing work and family. If you are a working parent, you have to be very adept at juggling your time. You have to learn how to prioritize and be a good time manager. Sometimes you get it right, sometimes you don’t and that’s difficult.
My life’s path would have been very different if it weren’t for Title IX. I probably wouldn’t have been able to attend UVA if it weren’t for my basketball scholarship nor would the doors of law schools been open for me to attend. I’d like to think that I would have landed my job at the NBA, but it’s doubtful that there would be a WNBA without this law. The WNBA and USA basketball have been direct beneficiaries of Title IX. Today there is a large pool of girls and women who are playing ball in high schools and colleges. They are getting the kind of coaching and playing experiences they need to enable them to play and succeed at Olympic and professional levels. Speaking from an executive, athlete and mother’s perspective, I’m concerned that any efforts to dilute Title IX would be hurtful. I have two young daughters who are avid athletes. For them and their friends to have the opportunity to play sports at a young age – something that I did not have – is their right and I want all of them to the opportunities they’ll need to be successful in life.
I try to use my experiences as an athlete, mom and a professional as a way to be a role model for my daughters so they can see by my life that it’s okay to be a strong woman and to try to help other women move forward. Most of all, I want them to know how much my husband and I care about our family.