A group including Candace Parker, Peyton Manning, Tim McGraw and Faith Hill submitted a bid on Thursday to bring a WNBA expansion franchise to Nashville.
Former Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam, who is slated to become the majority owner of the NHL’s Nashville Predators in July, and his wife Crissy would be the owners of the WNBA franchise.
“This is going to be Tennessee’s team,” Crissy Haslam told The Tennessean. “There’s going to be families with daughters who play basketball, but there are going to be people who don’t even know yet that they are going to love this sport.”
The group already has a name for the franchise — Tennessee Summitt.
The team would be named in honor of legendary Tennessee college women’s basketball coach Pat Summitt. Parker played for Summitt, who won eight national titles in 38 seasons as Volunteers coach.
She died in 2016 due to Alzheimer’s at age 64.
“Tennessee is the DNA of everything women’s basketball stands for,” Parker, a former WNBA star, said in a statement. “If you know me, you know how important and impactful Coach Summitt IS on my life. Coach makes me the best version of myself as a mother, wife, daughter, sister, teammate, and person. I’m honored that we are submitting a bid to the @wnba today for a franchise to be named in her honor.”
Nashville’s bid is to start play in 2028. The team would play at Bridgestone Arena, home to the Predators.
Manning played college football at Tennessee. McGraw and Hill have been huge country music stars for three decades. They are married.
The WNBA is adding expansion teams Golden State, Portland and Toronto over the next two seasons to raise its membership to 15. Cleveland also has announced a bid for an expansion team.
WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert is on record as saying the league would like to add a 16th franchise by the 2028 season.
–Field Level Media
