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Houston Comets' Cynthia Cooper, left, is not deterred by New York Liberty's Vickie Johnson (55) and Rhonda Blades August 17, 1997, during the second half at New York's Madison Square Garden. WNBA president Val Ackerman promises more of everything for the 1998 season, which begins June 11. Associated Press

Sophomore slump concerns WNBA

Women's hoops league makes moves in hopes interest remains strong

Web posted June 7, 1998

By Melissa Murphy
Associated Press

The WNBA exclaimed ``We Got Next!'' in its inaugural season and showed it could hold the court and fans' attention.

Now the question is ``What's Next?'' as the league begins its second season and tries to prove the success wasn't a fluke.

Will the nearly 10,000 fans per game keep coming? Will 7-foot-2 Margo Dydek of Poland become the first WNBA player to dunk in a game? Will Nikki McCray make a smooth transition from the rival American Basketball League? And can Hall of Famer Nancy Lieberman-Cline be as successful a coach as she was a player?

WNBA president Val Ackerman promises more of everything this season, which begins Thursday. There will be more teams, games, players, promotions, sponsors and TV coverage, all in an attempt to prevent a sophomore slump, a concern for any new league.

``We recognize this year is the test because the curiosity is lessened and the novelty is gone,'' Ackerman said.

What's new are expansion teams in Detroit and Washington, D.C., talk of forming a players' union after the season and franchises in Minnesota and Orlando, Fla., in 1999. And there's even a WNBA Barbie doll.

Once again the league will have extensive TV exposure; weekly games on NBC, ESPN and Lifetime drew a total of 50 million viewers last season. There's also a multimillion-dollar marketing effort that included the ``We Got Next'' slogan last season and this year features the ``Join In'' campaign, which has players singing in a TV commercial.

The campaign has paid off so far: Season-ticket sales are up 60 percent this season to an average of 4,000 in the 10 WNBA cities.

In the recruiting battle, the WNBA scored a major coup over the ABL by signing college stars Ticha Penicheiro of Old Dominion, Nykesha Sales of Connecticut and Kristin Folkl of Stanford in the April draft. The WNBA signed 14 conference players of the year.

``The college players saw what we were all about last year, and before that they didn't have any idea,'' said Rebecca Lobo of the New York Liberty. ``I'm excited because it's important for us to get the best players and we sure did that this year.''

The ABL, which has a fall-winter season, expands to 10 teams in November with franchises in Chicago and Nashville, Tenn. The league is trying to expand its TV contracts beyond BET and Fox Sports Net as it heads into its third season.

``We're looking for more of a national presence,'' said ABL co-founder Gary Cavalli.

But in the marketing war the ABL is no match for its NBA-backed rival. The ABL has a $7 million marketing budget for its upcoming season, up from $3 million last season but less than half of the reported $15 million budget of the WNBA.

Although a merger might sound like a logical move, Cavalli doesn't expect one any time soon.

``If it's clear that the two-league scenario will not work, we'll sit down and talk,'' he said. ``But I don't anticipate that happening at this time.''

Not only does the WNBA have more money, it's got the stars and some big international players -- literally.

Dydek, a virtual unknown listed at 6-foot-6 before training camp, turned out to be a Shaq-like 7-2, 223-pounds. And she can dunk.

``I know a lot of good players, from Europe, from the States,'' said the center for the Utah Starzz, who played in Spain last winter. ``Everybody wants to play in the WNBA. It's the best league right now, so I want to try it.''

Twelve international players, including five in the first round, were selected in the 40-player draft. The 11-week, 30-game summer season allows players to compete in Europe in the offseason.

``The ability to go back and play in front of my family and friends is huge,'' said Penicheiro, a flashy point guard who grew up in Portugal and will team with Ruthie Bolton-Holifield on the Sacramento Monarchs. ``I'm glad they gave me the opportunity, and not just to play but to represent the league overseas.''

The Houston Comets, led by MVP Cynthia Cooper and star Sheryl Swoopes, back full time after maternity leave, are defending WNBA champions.

As for TV coverage, fans in Greece can watch WNBA games for the first time, and in Israel, a Jerusalem-based cable channel has signed a two-year rights extension with the league.

Ackerman said the WNBA has doubled local televised games to 60 and more than doubled the outlets of international broadcasting to 27, with programming in 14 languages.

The playoffs will be expanded from single elimination to a threegame playoff and championship series in late August. Last season, the championship game was broadcast in 165 countries.

The WNBA recently added Fila USA to its list of 14 sponsors and announced a marketing partnership with Lady Foot Locker, the first time a sporting-goods store has been named an exclusive sponsor of a pro league.

After the success of the first season, the players are looking to unionize for their fair share. Many players' two-year contracts will expire after this season and Lobo said the time will be right to negotiate to get more money and certify agents.

``The league is no longer an unknown,'' Lobo said. ``I think one of the issues that the players have is raising the salaries, not necessarily of the top players but of those bottom players who really aren't getting paid very well.''

Last season most WNBA players made between $20,000 and $40,000, with practice players earning $5,000. This season, practice players have been phased out and salaries were increased beyond what was contractually promised, Ackerman said.

As tipoff approaches, expansion coaches Jim Lewis in Washington and Lieberman-Cline in Detroit must try to get their teams to jell quickly.

Lewis' job was made easier when the WNBA assigned McCray, the former MVP of the ABL, to the Mystics. Lieberman-Cline, with six foreign players on her roster, is relying heavily on international experience.

While Washington and Detroit might struggle in their first season, the second-year players will try to keep the league's momentum going.

``There's less anxiety because you know what to expect,'' Lobo said, ``but at the same time, I think expectations are higher.''