Game Changers: the Women Changing the Game Behind the Scenes

Having more women in sports means more than just having more female athletes on the field. It means expanding access in the spaces behind the scenes and honoring the women who have pushed open doors. Between coaching, broadcasting, officiating, and more, these trailblazers redefined what “women in sports” means. They are proof that expertise has no gender and that the future of sports is stronger when more voices are heard.

Sarah Thomas

Sarah Thomas was the first full-time female official in the NFL and the first woman to work a major college football game. During Super Bowl LV, she became the first woman to officiate a Super Bowl, part of a seven-person crew that called the game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

In 2019, Thomas was also the first woman to officiate an NFL playoff game.

Her career began officiating grade-school games, then high school, and eventually she became part of the NFL development program, where she officiated preseason games.

Learn more about Sarah here.

Katie Sowers

In 2016, Katie Sowers joined the NFL as a wide receivers coaching intern with the Atlanta Falcons. In 2017, she moved to the San Francisco 49ers where she eventually became a full-time offensive assistant. In her first season, the 49ers won the NFC Championship, sending the team to the Super Bowl and making her the first female and openly gay coach in a Super Bowl. Today, Sowers is the director of athletic strategic initiatives at Ottawa University.

Katie Sowers reflects on her path as the first women to coach in the super bowl.

Jen Pawol

American baseball umpire Jen Pawol became the first woman to umpire a regular season MLB game on August 9, 2025. Throughout the series between the Miami Marlins and the Atlanta Braces, she served as first base, third base, and home plate umpire.

Learn more here.

Jennifer King

Jennifer King made history as the first black woman to hold a full-time assistant coaching position in the NFL. serving with the Commanders and the Bears. King is also a former two-sport athlete and women's football player who inspires inclusivity in sports

Jennifer King explains journey to being first Black woman to be full-time NFL coach.

Jessica Campbell

Jessica Campbell is a Canadian professional ice hockey coach and former player for the Canadian National Team. After retiring from the national team in 2017, Campbell began her career in coaching. By July of 2022, she was hired as assistant coach of the Coachella Vally Firebirds, the top minor league affiliate of the Seattle Kraken. On July 3, 2024, Campbell was hired to as the first female assistant coach in NHL history for the Seattle Kraken.

Jenny Cavnar

In 2024, Jenny Cavnar became the first primary play-by-play voice of a major team in MLB history. Throughout the rest of the season, she called a majority of the Oakland Athletic games. Cavnar, a broadcasting veteran, had nearly two decades of baseball experience prior to starting this role. In 2018, Cavnar also became the first woman in 25 years to call TV play-by-play for an MLB game.

Collette V Smith

Collette Smith was the 1st black female coach in the NFL, the first female coach of the NY Jets, only the 3rd female coach in the NFL, a former player and former coach of the NY Sharks (a professional women’s football team), and the founder of Believe N You, Incorporated.

The progress made by these women over the last ten years is inspiring, and the momentum shows no signs of stopping. Women will continue to break barriers and become role models for young girls everywhere.