The race to secure a spot in the WNBA’s expansion era is in full swing, but a recent bid from a Nashville-based group could be game, set, match.
According to media reports, Nashville Predators owner Bill Haslam submitted a bid to the WNBA for Nashville to receive the league’s 16th franchise. He has the stars — plus a perfect team name — to make the WNBA’s decision easy.
Backed by Tennessee sports legends Candace Parker and Peyton Manning, who played collegiately at Tennessee, plus country music stars Tim McGraw and Faith Hill, Nashville’s investor group has enormous star wattage.
The potential franchise already has an excellent name picked out: the Summitt, in honor of coaching icon Pat Summitt, who won 1,098 games as head coach at Tennessee (1974-2012). She also brought the Vols eight national titles and reached 18 Final Fours from 1982-2008, establishing the Vols as the premier women’s basketball program of the 1980s through the 2000s.
She died in 2016 at the age of 64 following a battle with early onset Alzheimer’s disease.
The team name is a perfect way to honor arguably the greatest women’s basketball coach ever while also reminding the world of Tennessee’s importance to women’s basketball.
Paired with the resources at the ownership group’s disposal, it feels like a perfect match.
Per The Tennessean, “Part of Haslam’s bid includes construction of a practice facility … which would be used exclusively by the WNBA team,” while the Summitt would play their home games at Bridgestone Arena, home of the Predators.
Portland was awarded the league’s 15th franchise in September 2024 and will begin playing in 2026, along with the Toronto Tempo, which was announced on May 23, 2024.
The Golden State Valkyries will play their inaugural season in 2025, with their first game scheduled on May 16 against the Sparks.
Sports Business Journal reported in September that “the WNBA has 12 to 15 legitimate bidders for its next expansion franchise,” noting Nashville among a list of cities that included Philadelphia, Austin, Kansas City, Miami, Denver and Cleveland.
In November, Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert’s Rock Entertainment Group announced its WNBA bid. Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes has also expressed interest in luring the league to Kansas City.
On Thursday, the NWSL officially announced Denver was awarded the league’s 16th franchise, becoming the first women’s professional sports franchise to operate in the area. It begins play in 2026, and its reception in the area could inform the WNBA’s thinking. The league plans for its next expansion franchise to begin playing in 2028.
The WNBA has several intriguing options, but none tops what Tennessee offers.
