Women’s sports sit at a pivotal moment. With 25 percent year-over-year growth and 90 percent of sports fans expressing interest in watching women compete, the numbers tell a compelling story. Yet, programs struggle to fill seats and generate sustainable revenue. This disconnect between potential and reality creates an opening for someone who understands both sides of the equation.

Kari Mills has spent her career preparing for this exact opportunity. Through her newly launched Women’s Sports Xcelerator, she’s bringing business strategy to an industry ready for practical solutions. Her approach rejects traditional charity models and shows that women’s athletics can be viable, profitable ventures worth investing in.

Kari Mills

Mills grew up playing sports, eventually competing in college softball and coaching at the collegiate level. She played professionally overseas before entering the fitness industry as a club manager, using it as a way to stay connected to athletics while building a career. That path led her to Gatorade, where she spent six years in sales and marketing roles, learning the business mechanics that power sports outside the competitive arena.

Gatorade wanted people who could navigate the sports and fitness landscapes with authenticity. Mills delivered exactly that, bringing credibility from her athletic background while mastering the commercial side of the industry. After being laid off, she began consulting with entrepreneurs on branding and marketing, many of them former female athletes. This side work continued through roles at Les Mills and Life Fitness, where she led the development of on-demand content.

The arrival of NIL (Name, Image, Likeness) rules changed everything. Female college athletes could finally monetize their brands, but most lacked the knowledge to do so effectively. Mills recognized herself in that position—a younger version who wouldn’t have known where to start. She launched Women Sports Xcelerator initially to help individual athletes build their brands, working with programs like the UConn women’s basketball team, which won the national championship. What started as athlete-focused consulting has grown into something bigger: a business model for generating revenue across women’s sports programs.

Women’s Sports Xcelerator

Women’s Sports Xcelerator officially launched with a clear mission: generate revenue for women’s sports programs. Mills works with four universities this year, focusing on selling tickets, setting attendance records, and building sustainable income streams. The goal involves getting fans in seats, engaging local businesses as investors, and connecting youth communities to women’s athletics.

Statistics reveal the potential. Girls drop out of sports at age 14 largely because they lack role models. Attending local games creates visibility while building the next generation of fans and athletes. Kari and I discussed the research showing that 95 percent of female CEOs played sports, a statistic that underscores why keeping girls active matters outside of the benefits from pure athletic competition. The confidence, leadership skills, and teamwork learned through sports translate directly to business success.

The approach represents a significant shift in how women’s sports programs are operated. Mills rejects positioning women’s athletics as charitable endeavors requiring sympathy funding. Instead, she presents them as legitimate business opportunities with proven growth potential. When speaking with universities, she emphasizes treating women’s programs with the same revenue-generating strategies applied to men’s sports.

This mindset change matters because it creates sustainability. Programs require consistent funding to survive and expand, which necessitates demonstrating a return on investment. Mills brings the tactical expertise to make that happen, combining her Gatorade experience with a ground-level understanding of what programs need. Her work involves local business partnerships, strategic marketing campaigns, and community engagement initiatives designed to build lasting fan bases.

The timing proves fortunate. Women’s sports viewership continues climbing, with athletes like Caitlin Clark becoming household names. Men increasingly support women’s athletics, wearing jerseys and attending games in ways that signal cultural shifts. Mills views this momentum as an opportunity to establish women’s sports as permanent fixtures in the athletic landscape.

Final Thoughts

Sports taught Mills how to compete, but business experience showed her how to win a different kind of game. The work she’s doing addresses a gap that’s persisted for decades, which is the assumption that women’s athletics can’t generate meaningful revenue. By proving otherwise, she creates a template that other programs can follow.

Young girls watching these athletes see possibilities that extend into boardrooms and leadership positions years later. When programs thrive financially, they invest more in their athletes, creating cycles of improvement that benefit everyone involved. Mills understood this truth from her playing days, but now she has the tools to build it. That combination of perspective and skill are exactly what women’s sports needs right now.

About Elisa Edelstein
Elisa is a curious and versatile writer, carving her niche in the health and wellness industry since 2015. Her lens is rooted in real world experience as a personal trainer and competitive bodybuilder and extended out of the gym and on to the page as a writer where she is able to combine her passions for empowering others, promoting wellness, and the power of the written word.