Today, The GIST is exclusively sharing that Pro Athlete Community (PAC) — an organization that supports retired athletes in their post-playing careers — has named WNBA legend Candace Parker as a co-chair on its board of advisors. This is a pivotal move for the org as it recruits more women into its community of over 1.6K retired pro athletes, many of whom are men.

Last week, collegiate NIL platform Opendorse shared data-backed insights on why brands should partner with women athletes. The platform points out only 8%-12% of House vs. NCAA settlement payments are allocated to women athletes across more than a dozen programs, totaling roughly $2M of a $20.5M maximum budget.

Yesterday, League One Volleyball (LOVB) shared a flurry of announcements about new ownership and sponsors getting more involved with its current team in Austin and its forthcoming franchise in Houston.

On Sunday, India won the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup for the first time ever, doing it on their home turf in front of more than 40K fans. It’s a transformative moment for women’s cricket in the country, which, despite its storied legacy on the men’s side, is just building up its women’s fandom thanks to recent domestic investment and increased exposure.

Caitlin Clark has turned millions into Iowa and Indiana Fever fans, but we’re just beginning to see Clark’s lasting impact on her alma mater. Two years on, Iowa has retained much of that fanbase as it continues to sell out games and afford players celebrity status, per The Athletic.

The stars aligned for women’s sports in the UK this year, with the country hosting international tournaments like the Women’s Rugby World Cup, promoting domestic leagues like the Barclays Women’s Super League, The Hundred, and the Netball Super League, and winning the UEFA Women’s Euro title (again).

Marketing agency STN Digital and partnerships insights platform Zoomph teamed up to evaluate more than 20K pieces of social media content from WNBA teams throughout the regular season, releasing their “WNBA Social Rankings and Insights Report” last week.

Last week, Dove rolled out its latest women’s sports campaign, “#ChangeTheCompliment,” by activating with NSL team AFC Toronto for its October 19th playoff game. The brand, which has spent years building women’s confidence with diverse representations of beauty, is seizing open opportunities in women’s sports — and for good reason.

Korean entertainment company HYBE (which cultivated K-pop sensations BTS and Katseye) is getting into sports, sponsoring MLS club LAFC’s first playoff game later today at BMO Stadium. Inspired by Korean player Son Heung-Min’s impact on the team, HYBE is celebrating Korean culture with popular eats from Koreatown staple Love Hour and a lightshow set to K-pop hits.

Today, Black Star — ForSoccer’s media and events brand cultivating Black soccer culture — announced the player lineup and an exclusive capsule collection for the Allstate Next Wave National Showcase, the first national showcase displaying the skills of the top-ranked Black women soccer players in the U.S.

Last week, the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift confirmed its 2026 route, which will be the race’s longest course in its four-year history. And rather than beginning immediately after the men’s Tour de France, the women’s race will now begin one week later, with the push for a longer course and a separate schedule fueled by explosive interest in the women’s race.

This week, prominent sports sponsor Ally released survey data on 3K Gen Z, millennial, Gen X, and Boomer sports fans to understand how and where sports fans spend their money. The study illustrates spending differences by generation and gender, including details on the spending profile of women sports fans.