Fran Harris has accomplished no shortage of impressive feats throughout her time in the sports world. Harris led The University of Texas at Austin to its first national championship in 1986, played for the Houston Comets in the WNBA's inaugural season in 1997 and won a championship, has worked as both an executive and an announcer and she even launched a sports drink on Shark Tank. Now Harris is ready to embark on her next endeavor, as she is working on landing the bid for the 16th expansion team in the WNBA to be in Austin.
The WNBA would prefer for there to be an even amount of teams in the league. The Golden State Valkyries are set to make their WNBA debut in 2025 as the 13th expansion franchise. The 14th and 15th expansion teams will be in Toronto and Portland. Harris is hopeful that the next expansion team will be in Austin, a city that she believes is the perfect landing destination.
“Austin has always been about women's sports,” Harris recently told ClutchPoints. “I came here when I was 17 years old to play at Texas. We were among the leaders when it came to attendance for my entire career… So Austin has always been a city that has appreciated the leadership of women and women's sports. For me, it truly is a no-brainer because it's still that. Our women's basketball team is picking back up in terms of attendance.
“We've been in the top 10, 15 over the last two or three years. There's only one other professional sports team here, so Austin checks all the boxes. For me, we are the most W (WNBA) ready city on the list.”
The moment Fran Harris knew she wanted to own a team
The idea of owning a team has appealed to Harris for almost 30 years. In fact, Harris said her desire became apparent during the WNBA's Opening Day in 1997.
“The day I walked onto the court in 1997 in Houston, I decided I wanted to own a team, to be part of an ownership group for sure,” Harris said.
Harris then explained how the WNBA's Opening Day of the inaugural season was “magical.” She was excited to play a role in the league's beginnings as a player, but Harris says she “immediately” knew that she wanted to be part of an ownership group.
“It really has always been a life-long goal of mine to be part of an ownership group in the WNBA.”
Harris' admiration for Austin, TX
Harris knows the state of Texas well. She is from Dallas and made her WNBA debut in Houston. However, Harris played her college basketball in Austin and she refers to the city as “my town.”
“Austin makes sense for me because that's where my career really, really blew up,” Harris explained. “When people say, ‘Why not Dallas? That's where you're from. Why not Houston? That's where you played in the WNBA.' And I go, ‘no, but Austin is my town.' Austin is where I grew up, it's where I spent most of my adult life.”
Austin is in the conversation for the WNBA's 16th expansion team. Of course, winning the bid will not be a simple task. Harris, though, is prepared for the challenge.
She also shared her thoughts on the current state of the WNBA.
“I love where we are obviously. I love that, first of all, let's give some props to college women's basketball because they really exploded the game for everybody over the last five years… What's happened is that everybody else has caught up to the game. No shade to anybody, but women's basketball has been pretty good for a really long time. But what's caught up are the economics, the eyeballs, the media, the media rights, social media… Think about it, if you're on a grill in my backyard on the fourth of July and you're cooking ribs and then you put that lighter fluid in there, like it just blows it up. I know you can get a visual of that, right? It just blows up the game.
“That's what Angel (Reese) and Caitlin (Clark) and JuJu (Watkins) and all of these players who are going to be eventually in the league, that's what happened is that all of the elements around the barbecue are blowing it up. That's why women's basketball, and women's sports in general, has taken off and exploded lately. And I'm here for it… This is what was supposed to happen… Everybody has done their part.”
Why should Austin become the next WNBA expansion city?
A number of cities have legitimate cases to become the next WNBA expansion city. Austin's case should not be ignored, though. It is a city that loves its sports, yet it only has one professional sports team. College sports are extremely popular in the city, but Austin is ready for another professional sports franchise.
“I think it's very clear Joey that the obvious selection for the W, the most W ready city… the most obvious choice is Austin,” Harris said. “We got the city, we got the arena, we got me, I'm the lead cheerleader… We welcome the W here. It's Texas, we got the built in rivalry between us and Dallas. Seriously Joey, it is legit the most W ready city from lifestyle, from free agency appeal, Austin is amazing.
“When you come here, once you see our team, you will see what I'm talking about.”
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