When Christine Godleski sat in her accounting classes 24 years ago, she never dreamed her career would lead her down this path.
The 1986 Penn State graduate said she always gravitated toward her passion, but on Monday afternoon Godleski began a new chapter in her career.
The WNBA introduced the Penn State alumna as its new Chief Operating Officer, which manages the day-to-day operations of the league.
While Godleski brings nearly 25 years of experience with her, ranging from jobs with ESPN The Magazine and the Walt Disney Company to ESPN Outdoors and Viacom, she's optimistic she can help continue building a following for women's sports.
"Certainly women's sports are popular and 50 percent of the country is roughly women," Godleski said.
"I think that appealing to our audience and continuing to serve them with a great product will be an important part."
The WNBA is entering its 14th season, and despite coming off a year in which Godleski said the organization saw an increase in viewership and in attendance, she realizes the league has plenty of room to grow.
While she's new on the job and she said she's still trying to find her way around the office, Godleski and WNBA president Donna Orender are focused on raising the bar the for league.
"Her experience in finance and strategic planning will help us capitalize on opportunities while continuing to improve the efficiency of our business operations," Orender said in a press release.
For the new COO, trying to parallel the NBA's success will be a good starting point.
Godleski said the NBA established a great deal of success since it was created in 1946 and if the WNBA can build a long-lasting league, she doesn't see herself getting a new job any time soon.
As far as her familiarity with the league, Godleski said her time working with ESPN made her knowledgeable about various sports.
While she spent time covering avid hunters and fishermen when she worked for ESPN Outdoors, Godleski said she's looking forward to learning more about the daily business operations that occur in the WNBA.
"Like everything, I'm sure I can learn a lot more and there are a lot of smart people," Godleski said.
"Certainly Donna [Orender], the president of the WNBA, comes with professional basketball experience and tremendous basketball knowledge, so I'm sure she'll teach me all the things I need to learn on that side."
While Godleski continues to climb up the ranks with her accounting degree, she credited her time spent at Penn State as one of the main reasons why she's been able to hold such prestigious jobs.
"I certainly had great professors and they helped me launch my career into accounting and really established a good, solid, business background," she said.
"And Penn State's certainly recognizable on a resume. Who doesn't like JoePa, right?"
