AUSTIN, Texas – Fran Harris, former Texas Longhorns forward, knows the city of Austin as well as anyone. In fact, it’s the city where she led the Texas women’s basketball team to a 34-0 record and its first championship title in 1986. Being home to the University of Texas at Austin, the capital has historically been known as a college football city. However, Austin may be expanding in the realm of professional sports, and Harris has taken a front-row seat as an advocate. 

What You Need To Know

  • According to Axios Austin, Fran Harris, former Texas Longhorns forward, hopes that Austin will become home to the next WNBA expansion franchise and has spent the past year raising capital and preparing the city for a bid

  • The league is currently composed of 12 teams. Earlier this year, commissioner Cathy Engelbert said that she’s “pretty confident” the WNBA will increase to 16 teams by 2028. The Golden State Valkyries will join in 2025 while Toronto and Portland will begin playing in 2026. There are reports that over a dozen cities are being considered for another franchise spot

  • If Austin becomes home to the next franchise, it would become the second active WNBA team in Texas alongside the Dallas Wings, who relocated from Tulsa in 2015

  • The WNBA attracted an all-time record of more than 54 million unique viewers this past season, and it finished with the highest attendance in 22 years (2,353,735), up 48% from last year

According to Axios Austin, Harris hopes that Austin will become home to the next WNBA expansion franchise. 

The league is currently composed of 12 teams. Earlier this year, commissioner Cathy Engelbert said that she’s “pretty confident” the WNBA will increase to 16 teams by 2028. The Golden State Valkyries will join in 2025 while Toronto and Portland will begin playing in 2026. There are reports that over a dozen cities are being considered for another franchise spot.  

"I think Austin checks every single box — location, corporate partners, beautiful arena — and best of all, a community that has demonstrated support for women's basketball," Harris said in a news release. "The W has arrived and today it's worth every penny."

Harris, who played for the former WNBA franchise Houston Comets in 1997, has spent the past year raising capital and preparing the city for a WNBA expansion bid.

“When I decided to pursue expansion, the first thing I thought was, ‘I got to get my city ready,’ Harris told SB Nation in an exclusive interview. “I didn’t think, ‘Hey, let me call Cathy [Engelbert]’... I actually was like, I gotta get Austin ready.”

If Austin becomes home to the next franchise, it would be the second active WNBA team in Texas alongside the Dallas Wings, who relocated from Tulsa in 2015.

According to Sports Business Journal, Austin is a contender for the league's 16th franchise against Philadelphia, Milwaukee, Kansas City, Miami, Nashville, Charlotte, Denver and possibly Cleveland.

The WNBA delivered record-setting numbers during the 2024 season. The league attracted an all-time record of more than 54 million unique viewers this past season, and it finished with the highest attendance in 22 years (2,353,735), up 48% from last year.