Ex-hoops star Fran Harris talks about the effort to bring a WNBA team to Austin

The WNBA is aiming to continue to ride that wave with its most aggressive expansion plan in more than a decade. Set to join the 14-team league next year are the Golden State Valkyries. Toronto and Portland are scheduled to follow with teams the year after that.

One spot is remaining, and WNBA stakeholders have whittled the potential destination down to a dozen cities. A full-court press is on, whether it's Patrick Mahomes aiming to bring a team to Kansas City, Celtics star Jayson Tatum propping up his hometown of St. Louis, or the city of Philadelphia trying to get a piece of the action.

Fran Harris, a former University of Texas women's basketball star, TV personality and entrepreneur, has an opinion of where that next team should be: Austin. She's been working for more than a year to drum up support to bring a team to the Capital City.

It's a tall task, no doubt. Austin is believed to be farther down the list compared to other cities. But it has a good corporate base and population growth that might be attractive to the league.

Harris joined the Texas Business Minds Podcast to talk about what it takes to bring a professional team to a city — and specifically to the Lone Star State. The entire conversation can be listened to with the player at the top of this article or on platforms such as Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Below are some excerpts from the interview, which has been edited for brevity and clarity.




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