‘We were a part of something a lot bigger’: Reflections on the celebrations surrounding the Villanova-Marquette women’s game

One of the Big East women’s basketball games on National Girls and Women in Sports Day featured two of the conference’s three female head coaches — Villanova’s Denise Dillon and Marquette’s Megan Duffy. It was an opportunity Big East commissioner Val Ackerman couldn’t pass up.

“We were looking to do something special around a women’s basketball game this year,” Ackerman told The Inquirer. “We had the idea to celebrate them, and then we added the dimension of working in the television side of this. … It all just came together, and everyone got really excited about it.”

Ackerman added that she wanted to “celebrate everything that’s happened over the last 50 years [since Title IX].”

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The Wildcats beat the visiting Golden Eagles, 73-54, Wednesday night, but basketball came second to commemorating the achievements of girls and women in sports.

An all-female television crew for Fox Sports highlighted the event. Kim Adams and Sloane Martin were on the broadcast, Meghan Caffrey was the sideline reporter, Bonnie Reilly directed, and Kristin Hennessey was the producer. Even smaller details, like having three female referees and an all-woman a capella group singing the national anthem, were considered.

“I can probably count on one hand how many female producers I’ve had,” Adams said. “It was jarring in a good way to walk out and see the production truck outside and everybody working was a female.”

Before tipoff, Villanova hosted a women’s leadership panel featuring NBC Sports chief financial officer Christine Dorfler, Playfly Sports Properties president Christy Hedgpeth, and Sixers chief operating officer Lara Price.

“Moderating the panel was amazing,” Adams said. “Just to hear from three women at the top of their fields, who at one point, or still are, in the minority.”

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While women often still are in the minority in the sports industry, the opposite was the case Wednesday night at Finneran Pavilion.

“It was really special to be a part of,” Caffrey said. “Now it has sunk in that we were a part of something a lot bigger, and hopefully something that other people are going to be excited to incorporate moving forward.”

Adams added: “Just incredible to see women in all walks of sports come together with the same vision in mind today was outstanding. Really just an incredible experience.”