Teresa Resch Is Calling The Shots

This year, elite women’s sports will cross the billion-dollar mark, a 300 per cent revenue jump from 2021. Whether you call it a golden age or a moment of glory, there’s no denying that, in Canada, female athletes are finally getting their due. They have more funding, rabid fans and, at long last, a slate of new pro teams—in hockey, soccer and, oh so soon, basketball.

This past May, Larry Tanenbaum, billionaire MLSE chairman and owner of the investment firm Kilmer Sports Ventures, announced his intent to bankroll the WNBA’s Toronto franchise, the W’s first expansion team outside the U.S. He then put in the call of a lifetime to Teresa Resch, a former Division II volleyball player from Minnesota who held positions at Disney, Life Time Fitness and the NBA before becoming the Raptors’ VP of operations (and Masai Ujiri’s highly influential right hand).

As WNBA Toronto’s first president, Resch has plenty to do leading up to the team’s 2026 tipoff: sorting out jerseys, sponsors, a name and prepping Coca-Cola Coliseum (a.k.a. home court). If the Toronto operation is a sell-out slam dunk—as she firmly believes it will be—Resch says another Canadian team could soon be on the horizon.

It’s a bit cringy to say that women’s sports are having a “moment” in Canada, but the country is finally seeing some momentum behind its pro leagues. This year, the Professional Women’s Hockey League, or PWHL, hosted its first game. The WNBA news came a few months later. And for soccer fans, the Northern Super League kicks off next year. Why now?

It’s not a moment. It’s a movement, and those are never started by one thing. The long story probably goes back to Title IX, which prohibited gender-based discrimination at federally funded American schools. As of 2021, the NCAA’s NIL—or name, image and likeness—rule allows women at the collegiate level to commercialize their personal brands through sponsorships. Another big factor is the media. Before, you could only watch whatever broadcasters fed to you; now, you can pick a specific Olympic event to watch on CBC Gem. At work, we often talk about the “fluid fans,” the day one-ers, who spent so long searching out women’s games on different outlets and streamers. It’s easier for them now. It all boils down to access, exposure and people investing.

For a long time, the argument against women’s pro leagues was a business case—that fans wouldn’t fill the stands. How true was that, really?
Media revenue is a huge driver for professional sports. Basically, people would say, “No one watches women’s sports.” Well, how can anybody watch something that’s not shown? Last year, a media company called Togethxr rolled out an entire campaign thumbing their nose at that idea, with T-shirts that read, “Everyone watches women’s sports.” That merch alone brought in US$3 million.

When you joined the Raptors back in 2013, you were one of the only female front-office executives in all of pro sports. How has basketball culture become more friendly since then?
The Raptors’ championship win in 2019 ushered in a whole new Canadian fandom, but WNBA viewers are a totally different demographic. The data shows that fans of women’s sports are very loyal, much younger and more educated than fans of men’s sports. Plus, we’re breaking new viewership records every year—whether that’s butts in seats, streaming online or watching broadcasts. This year’s NCAA Women’s basketball tournament had 18 million viewers for the championship game; the men had 14 million. The WNBA is entering its 29th season, so it took 30 years to get going. But this train is leaving and nothing’s stopping it. It’s like: get on board!

Larry Tanenbaum, your billionaire boss at Kilmer Sports Ventures, was instrumental in bringing the NBA to Canada. And he tapped you to preside over our first WNBA franchise. How did that phone call go?
I’ve known Larry since I joined the Raptors, but that talk provided a window into how he works. He said, “I’m going to get a WNBA team, and you are going to be team president.” There wasn’t, like, a conversation about it. Larry just speaks an idea that he believes in and, lo and behold, it happens.

Was it difficult to get the Americans on board with a satellite office? You were once an expat yourself.
You know what’s great? We didn’t have to sell it. They saw what happened with the Raptors. During the championships, there were, like, 150 Jurassic Parks across the country.

So how did you feel when Tanenbaum pointed his golden finger and said: “You”?
I was honoured, but I’d be lying if I said I felt like, Oh yeah, I’m ready! I’ve been working my whole life for this. This is a new position for me. I’ve never been the president of anything. I think that self-awareness has helped me in this role. I’m just excited about growing the team.

The 2026 tipoff is fast approaching, and an awful lot goes into building a whole team from scratch. What’s topping your to-do list right now?
This is easy: we need an identity. A logo, colours, a name that people can rally around. WNBA Toronto? That does not have a ring to it.

When I heard that you planned to crowdsource the team name, the first thing that came to mind was when the British government asked the public to name their new polar exploration vessel a few years ago. The winner, by a landslide, was—
Boaty McBoatface!

I was worried you were going to get a bunch of Boaty McBoatfaces.
A lot of names were eliminated—we received nearly 10,000 submissions. People from 98 countries interacted with our site. Did you put a name in, Katie?

I was going to suggest “the Six-ers,” but that’s obviously taken.
Yeah, that wouldn’t have been a good one. For our naming exercise, people could send written ideas, photos, voice notes—anything. What’s cool is that more than two-thirds of the entries were over eight words long. One person even said, “The name should have something to do with air, because the women are going to jump in the air. And air is so important in Canada because of its natural beauty.” That the pick should exude a good vibe—very light, you know? That wasn’t even a name; it was just a feeling.

Drake is undeniably the Raptors’ biggest booster. Do you have designs on a particular celebrity for the role of WNBA Toronto ambassador?
We’ll take anyone; we want everyone to be a fan. If you look around the league, there are already WNBA celebrity superfans, like Jason Sudeikis and Aubrey Plaza. I hope some Canadians step up. I want to make celebrities out of the players on our future roster, too. That’s starting to happen with A’ja Wilson and Angel Reese. Caitlin Clark’s fame transcended sport. I think our players are going to be aspirational for a lot of girls and boys all across the country.

Speaking of people we look up to: you’re six feet tall.
Yep!

When you’re a vertically gifted young person, people practically shove you into basketball. But pre-WNBA, volleyball was your sport. What pulled you into athletics in the first place?
There were only 1,200 people in my hometown of Lakefield, Minnesota. In my sophomore year, my high school consolidated with another one from a larger, 5,000-person town—it had stoplights and fast-food chains so, in my mind, it was big. Sport was what unified the two communities. Being six feet tall, I was always going to play, but I also had an older brother and sister who were active—I wanted to copy everything they did. People ask me, “Who was your favourite athlete growing up?” It was the kids playing basketball for my high school, because the pros were so far away. We couldn’t go to any of the Vikings or Twins games, and we didn’t watch them on TV that often. And definitely no women’s sports.

So why volleyball?
Every Lakefield kid played everything—basketball, volleyball, softball—but I think I just had a great volleyball coach. The woman who ran the program had played club sports at the University of Minnesota. I wouldn’t say I ever veered away from basketball; it’s just that volleyball paid for my college, I guess.

Would you say that you have a competitive personality?
Oh my gosh. It’s… it’s… I’ve learned to curb it in appropriate ways, but there’s a story here. When we were growing up, my three siblings and I were playing the board game Sorry! I got so upset that I threw the pieces at them—like, How dare you send me back to start? I do think being super-competitive helped me, not only to win games in the moment but to tap as much talent as I had. I probably shouldn’t have been as good as I was, but I worked really hard. I was an overachiever.

Well, plenty of data shows that women who play competitive sports as kids are orders of magnitude more likely to get into leadership roles as adults. So it all worked out for you!
More than 90 per cent of all women in the C-suite have played—not at an elite level, but they’ve participated. Anyway, I think I’ve become a lot better at channelling my competitiveness as I’ve matured.

Have you given any thought to what it’ll be like to take in your first home game? What’s your spectator personality? Are you a yeller?
I haven’t watched games as a president yet but, when my parents came to one of the Raptors finals, they couldn’t believe how calm I was. It’s not healthy to get too up and down. That’s something I learned from Kawhi Leonard. Wins, losses, good, bad—you rarely saw him emote, that is until his crazy, game-winning point that got the Raptors into the Eastern Conference finals. Internally, though, it’s always a rollercoaster. Come back and ask me this after the women’s home opener. I’ll be standing up and clapping and cheering. The ladies are going to hear from me, for sure.

Your old Raptors boss, Masai Ujiri, is a pretty stylish guy. Are you a big gear collector yourself?
Absolutely not. If I’m gifted a pair of shoes, I won’t know how special they are until a sneakerhead is like, “Sweet kicks!” Then it makes my day. I do believe in the “look good, feel good” thing, though. For me, it’s hard to buy clothes off the rack, so usually I get something tailored or buy in tall sizes. Honestly, I just can’t wait to sport our Toronto gear.

A championship ring is already part of your swag rotation, though, right?
I have two. One for the Raptors and one for the NBA G (or minor) League. I need the trifecta. That’s my next goal.

Well, when WNBA Toronto wins, you’ll have to give the players your ring-polishing tips.
They actually give you one of those fancy dust cloths. Rub it with one of those and it looks beautiful!

When you’re not travelling back and forth over the border for work, how do you spend your free time? How many of your recreational activities aren’t sports-related?
I’m an extreme extrovert, so I get all of my energy from being with people. I love going to concerts, and I’m a season subscriber to Mirvish. I’ve been to all the shows, to the ballet, to the opera. I love the energy of TIFF. And I’m always on the search for the best breakfast sandwich in Toronto, so that’s what I do on weekends. I just had an awesome one from General Public, but my other top picks are from Emmer and Gold Standard.

And what about your sporty activities?
I also watch and play sports: I just renewed my PWHL season tickets, and I was in golf and volleyball leagues this year. I’m a part-timer for everything because I can’t commit to a full schedule, but they take me anyway.