Anyone who Bleeds Blue knows that everyone watches women’s sports. However, despite the recent gains in viewership, game attendance, and sponsorship dollars, the field still often falls in the shadow of its male counterpart. So, every year in February, the Women’s Sports Foundation celebrates National Girls & Women in Sports Day to honor the achievements of women athletes, coaches, and leaders, as well as promote efforts to make the sport industry equitable across genders.

UConn’s Sport Management Program, housed within the Neag School of Education’s Department of Educational Leadership, has long been a champion of women sport leaders, no matter if their careers take them to positions as athletes on professional courts, as collegiate coaches on the sidelines, or as researchers at academic institutions. The mission of the program is to train future professionals who envision sport as a vehicle for positive social outcomes, so it’s no surprise its alums feel an alignment with the National Girls & Women in Sports Day (NGWSD) movement.

“NGWSD is a powerful reminder of the strides in creating opportunities for girls and women in sport,” says Danielle DeRosa, assistant professor-in-residence in the Sport Management Program. “It allows us to celebrate progress and also challenges us to continue to push for equity in participation, visibility, and leadership opportunities at all levels in sport. At UConn, it is inspiring to work with talented and dedicated faculty, staff, and students who are committed to creating pathways for the full inclusion of girls and women in sport year-round.”

Ajhanai “AJ” Keaton ’21 Ph.D. has experienced sport as an athlete, academic, and administrator for nearly three decades. A former basketball player at Colorado State University who first became involved in sport at a YMCA at age 3, Keaton is now an assistant professor in the Mark H. McCormack Department of Sport Management at UMass Amherst.

“It was not until my collegiate basketball career was ending that a mentor opened my eyes to not just playing sport but studying it,” she says. “The questions and inquiries I explore are interdisciplinary in nature, which has positioned my research to be a blend of management, sociology, and race/gender studies.”

Keaton’s personal experiences as an athlete inform her research, which explores organizational behavior in sport through the lens of race, gender, culture, and politics. This approach led her to complete a graduate certificate in Intersectional Indigeneity, Race, Ethnicity, and Politics through UConn’s Department of Political Science while earning her doctorate.

Her publications often emphasize the interdisciplinary nature of her work – such as her analyses of Brittney Griner’s return to the U.S. and the WNBA Draft as a cultural phenomenon – while also advancing perspectives of women in sport. This work embodies what Keaton says NGWSD is all about: “acknowledging how sport has always been a unique vehicle for access, personal development, education, and maturation.”

Kaitlyn Chen ’25 MS is no stranger to sport, as a 2025 WNBA Draft pick and current guard for the Golden State Valkyries. She completed her master’s degree in sport management while a member of the 2024-2025 UConn women’s basketball championship team. Like Keaton, sport has always been a part of Chen’s life, as she played basketball, softball, volleyball, and ran track while growing up and through high school.

“For me, sports were a great way to make friends,” she says. “Some of the friends that I’ve played with on my club teams since fourth grade, one of them is still one of my best friends.”

Besides creating lifelong friendships, sport will also continue to be a major part of her life in the future, Chen says. She credits the Sport Management Program for allowing her to see all the possibilities in the industry beyond the court.

“My master’s program showed me how all the behind-the-scenes aspects of a sport work,” she says. “I was oblivious to all of that before, but now I understand how there are so many working parts to help a team or game run smoothly. I have an appreciation for those around me – operations staff, marketing staff – they all play a role, and sports wouldn’t be possible without them.”

There are a lot of women in those behind-the-scenes roles and NGWSD celebrates them, too, as much as the athletes playing the games. Carli Cutler ’20 (ED) knew from a young age that she wanted to coach after her playing career ended and is now beginning her second season as assistant softball coach at the University of Nevada. Her typical workday involves managing travel for the team, watching film on upcoming opponents, and coaching the team’s pitchers during practice.

“Being involved in sport has always been more than just a hobby; it is my life,” says Cutler, who was a starter for the UConn softball team from 2017 to 2020. “I have received two incredible degrees, I have traveled internationally, and I have my career all thanks to my love and passion for the sport of softball.”

Cutler says she draws on skills she learned in the Sport Management Program daily, along with the advanced approaches she gained through her master’s degree in sport psychology from Fresno State. Her time at UConn taught her the broader impact of sport within communities, and shaped her into the woman she has become, she says, in large part because of the representation of women within the Sport Management Program and the softball team.

“Being a coach is truly a dream come true for me,” Cutler says. “My favorite part of being a coach is the players and seeing them accomplish what they work so hard for. The relationships I feel I am able to cultivate with my players are so special, and to see the light in their eyes when something starts to click is indescribable.”

All three women point to other women in sport who guided them to where they are today – often unsung support that NGWSD hopes to shine a light on. Keaton credits UConn professors Jennifer McGarry and Evelyn Simien with supporting her research surrounding Black feminist thought scholarship, Chen says her Princeton coach (and former UConn player) Carla Berube taught her so much about life, and Cutler says she never feels alone as a coach because she knows she always has Chrissy Schoonmaker (former UConn softball assistant coach and now head coach at the University of Houston) in her corner.

The mentorship from those who have come before them, as well as the representation they can offer to younger generations, is what NGWSD is all about for Chen.

“For so long, women in sport have been behind the men,” she says. “Amazing female athletes have never received the same attention, recognition, and respect they deserve. NGWSD shows the next generation what they can be capable of. I hope that I can inspire other young female athletes to play sports. They have brought me so much joy, so to share that with others is special to me.”

For so long, women in sport have been behind the men. … NGWSD shows the next generation what they can be capable of. — Kaitlyn Chen ’25 MS

For Keaton, the day is also about highlighting how much support women provide to sport.

“As sport opportunities for girls and women continue to increase, I am really excited (and jealous) of the emerging sports girls have access to, like Flag Football,” Keaton says. “As opportunity increases, I hope and want others to be conscious of how women leaders are a part of the process, as coaches, administrators, agents, and fans.”

Cutler emphasizes that the work to create an equitable environment in sport is never complete, so NGWSD will continue to be a reminder of the dedication so many women display every day.

“We have come so far from the days when I would watch SportsCenter in the morning as a child and be so upset that they did not have coverage on women’s sports,” she says. “The work is never done, but the knowledge of where we have come from is powerful.”

To learn more about the UConn Neag School of Education’s Sport Management Program, visit sport.education.uconn.edu.