Lauren Chamberlain is now the Women’s Professional Fastpitch league’s commissioner. She knows there’s challenges ahead, but it’s exciting.
Lauren Chamberlain spent time with Oklahoma reporters yesterday discussing Sooner slugger Jocelyn Alo’s pursuit of the NCAA career home runs record.
Chamberlain is also busy getting set for the inaugural season of the Women’s Professional Fastpitch league where she’s serving as the fledgling league’s commissioner.
“When I got the call to become commissioner, I was like absolutey. This is probably going to be the harder thing that I’ve done in my life, but yeah I feel like I’m built for it. The challenge I think is having experienced the height of NCAA softball and just the beast that it is and all of the support that it has, and then, how do I carry that into the professional level? That’s been the age-old question that we’ve always wondered. Why is there such a drop off? Why can’t we continue to follow these players? I think branding has to do everything with it. I think visibility has to do everything with it. At least getting somebody in the commissioner’s spot and getting people involved that have a little bit more visibility and can really connect the right people, it’s exciting. I understand the opportunity that I have ahead of me to really build something and make it last and make it viable. It’s exciting,” Chamberlain said.
She said the expectation is to begin play this coming June.
“Year one being more of a bringing everything to market year. Really intentional, smaller scale, building a product that we can really take out there. Look for it in June. Learning from our past is the biggest thing. If you have with NPF having 15 years of experience, I mean, that’s not a failure to me. There’s so many things that we can pull that were good from that, but I think the approach now with just how hot women’s sports are right now in general and more and more people buying in data wise and resources and just giving more attention really to professional women’s sports is important. Using that data, not only is it a feel-good thing anymore. Not only is this something that you should do because it’s your duty and it’s your job, this is something that we’ve seen over and over again thanks to the World Series. That data is incredible and the numbers. It’s a standalone, powerful sport,” Chamberlain said.
Chamberlain said she’s in for the long haul as the commissioner of the Women’s Professional Fastpitch league and that the right people are falling into place.
“So, to be able to take those types of things and bring them to some serious investors and some people with deep pockets that value that and that align with that, it can go really far. I’m here for a long time. I’m not here for a blip. It’s going to move at its pace and it’s going to go when it goes. I’m excited, man. The right people right now are figuring it out and I’m pumped for them because they’re going to really reap the benefits of it,” Chamberlain said.
Chamberlain discussed how the best of the best in the sport of softball need a league that gives players an opportunity to showcase their talents and to profit in their primes once their college careers are over.
“With Jocelyn and her opportunity, to have a place for them to play, to have somewhere for them to strive to that’s bigger than college. Think of college and it’s like your MVPs of college. They’re all going to play pro. That’s who’s been playing professional softball. That’s who I played with was all of our World Series MVPs. We faced them every single weekend. And then, same with Olympics. It should be the best of the best going out. If we can have a place for them to play, to showcase their abilities, and not have the drop off and not have them just completely hop off the cliff and no one hears from them again. Give them a place to be seen and played,” Chamberlain said.
It has mystified Chamberlain why the interest in college softball hasn’t matched the professional ranks. She’s looking to build that with the Women’s Professional Fastpitch league.
“You’re talking about the top of the top, the best of the best and you have no idea where they go. That’s where I get a little bit…it’s hard for me to really comprehend. You tell me to be the best of the best at my sport and I do it for a very long time and then as soon as I get even more to the top, you don’t follow me. That’s a hard one for me to swallow, so I think it’s important that we continue to build a good foundation and a good place for these women to play,” Chamberlain said.
Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes, and opinions. Let us know your thoughts, comment on this story below. Join the conversation today.
