Cleveland WNBA team makes first official hire, names Cavaliers’ Allison Howard as team president

Cleveland’s WNBA team has its first official hire. The team announced Tuesday it hired Allison Howard as its new president, per a press release.

Howard joins the team — which does not have a name yet — with plenty of experience. She currently serves as the executive vice president and chief commercial officer with the Cleveland Cavaliers. Prior to that, she served as the president of the Kansas City Current, an NWSL team. Howard joined the Current as the team’s first president as the expansion franchise prepped for its first season, which is the exact same situation she’ll be in with Cleveland’s new WNBA team.

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Howard expressed excitement over her new role, saying she’s hoping to make the team “a source of pride for our city,” per the team’s statement.

The Cleveland WNBA won’t start playing games until 2028, so Howard has multiple years to build the franchise. Given that timeline, Howard will remain in her current role with the Cavaliers through the 2025-26 NBA season before joining Cleveland’s WNBA franchise.

In her role as president, Howard will be tasked with overseeing “all aspects of the franchise’s business operations,” per the team release.

Howard isn’t the only new name joining the franchise. The team also announced the hiring of Kiersten Green, who will serve as the vice president of ticket sales and service. Tamzin Barroilhet will join the franchise as its senior vice president of corporate partnerships and commercial strategy.

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The WNBA announced Cleveland as an expansion franchise in June. The franchise is expected to begin play at Rocket Arena in Cleveland starting in 2028.

Cleveland isn’t the only city that will welcome a WNBA franchise over the next couple years. Both Detroit and Philadelphia also received teams. Detroit will begin play in 2029 and Philadelphia will get under way to following season.