A new face in the world of sports business

With the light on her face and the mike at her mouth, Angela Batinovich is holding her own. It is only her second radio interview, and the two male hosts are begging to know if she is single, decreeing her any man's dream. Ms. Batinovich, attractive and, yes, single, blushes slightly. But then it's back to business.

Batinovich isn't here to get a date. She's preparing Portland for its new lacrosse team, the LumberJax. She's not a spokeswoman. She's not a cheerleader. Until recently, she hasn't even been a fan. For Batinovich, it's all about making a startup venture profitable. At 24, she is the youngest woman - not to mention one of the only - to own a professional sports team in the United States.

"I don't really think about [being a young woman in business], but in reality it is interesting," she says, winding down from the radio interview on the drive back to her team's future stadium, Portland's Rose Garden.

Batinovich's nonchalance is typical of many young women in the world of sports today. Thirty-three years of Title IX requirements has given rise to a new generation of athletes who are involved in sports purely for the pursuit of success, often without regard to gender. A Danica Patrick in IndyCar racing and a Michele Wie in golf are competing against men in professional leagues in part because it represents a new challenge, a new sports barrier to break, not necessarily a new gender barrier.

The same sense of focus can apply to women in the boardroom. Some experts say women even hold an advantage over men: a cool detachment from the passion of the game. Indeed, many women in sports business are attracted to the business more than the sport itself, asserts David Carter, a sports-business expert at at the University of Southern California.

He says women routinely outperform men in the sports-business classes he teaches. "[Women] check their emotions at the door and give you business answers that apply to sports, whereas guys give emotional answers and try to back it up with business," he says. "The women don't get caught up in the face-painting of sports as much."

But that doesn't necessarily smooth the way for women to break into the multibillion-dollar industry. Sports business has long been viewed as the exclusive arena of men, with few women in powerful positions to serve as mentors or extend opportunities to young women. In an environment that relies heavily on connections and networking, the lack of ties can present a formidable challenge.

"The only way women are ever going to move up [in sports business] is if someone along the way gives you the opportunity," says Pam Gardner, president of business operations for the Houston Astros. "There has to be a mentor, or an owner that gives you the opportunity, because without that you don't have a shot."

Street & Smith's SportsBusiness Journal recently released its picks for the 20 "most influential women in sports business." It included L.A. Lakers executive vice president Jeanie Buss and USA Basketball president Val Ackerman. But almost half the list consisted of top advertisers and marketers, a side of the business women broke into years ago. No owners made the top 20.

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