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SearchWorld-renowned hospital system to focus on holistic player care, advancing youth development, health education and community engagement.
CLEVELAND: Cleveland WNBA today named Cleveland Clinic as its third Founding Partner. The multiyear partnership establishes Cleveland Clinic as the team's official and exclusive hospital and sports medicine provider, reinforcing a shared commitment to advancing women's sports, youth development and community health across Northeast Ohio and the broader region.
Cleveland Clinic will bring its world-renowned expertise in sports performance, injury prevention and women's health to athletes across the region and the team, which tips off its inaugural season in 2028. Cleveland Clinic will present the franchise's ELITE program, a year-round youth basketball platform for girls across Ohio, Western Pennsylvania and Western New York. Under the guidance of WNBA-trained youth coaches, participants will train core skills like dribbling, shooting and passing in real game situations, while learning the accountability, resilience and composure the sport demands. The program also builds lasting friendships, sparks creativity and connects girls with mentors who share what it takes to compete at the next level. Cleveland Clinic will develop and implement ELITE’s injury prevention programming and support the platform with experts in mental health, recovery and sports medicine. To date, Cleveland WNBA has hosted 40 all-girls clinics across Ohio, Western Pennsylvania and Western New York, reaching nearly 3,500 young female athletes.
"Alongside Cleveland Clinic, we will set a new standard for how teams prepare, deliver and care for the athletes in this league," said Allison Howard, Cleveland WNBA President of Business Operations. "Our shared commitment to the health and future of women's basketball will give our players and the next generation of female athletes access to research, treatment and comprehensive support to set them up for success as professionals and people."
Through the partnership, Cleveland WNBA players and youth sports participants will also gain access to Cleveland Clinic's Women's Integrated Sports, Exercise and Research (WISER) Center, a first-of-its-kind center focused on injury prevention, performance, nutrition, mental health and well-being for female athletes. WISER pioneers an integrated care model for women and female athletes at every level, from recreational to professional, delivering multidisciplinary care and social support through an athlete-centered approach while advancing female-focused research to expand access to care.
“Women's and girls' participation in sports has grown tremendously over the past several decades, and we are thrilled to bring a professional women's team to Northeast Ohio,” said Marie Schaefer, M.D., co-director of WISER and a sport and exercise medicine physician at Cleveland Clinic. “As participation continues to grow, so does our responsibility to better understand and address the unique health needs of female athletes. Through our partnership with Cleveland WNBA, we're investing in the future of women's sports by advancing research, expanding access to specialized sports medicine care and helping athletes of every age perform at their highest potential. Together, with WISER and the WNBA, we have an opportunity to set a new standard for how we care for female athletes—from youth sports through the professional level.”
The partnership also includes presenting sponsorship of the team's regular season starting with its inaugural 2028 season, patch placement on the team’s practice jerseys and on the chest of the team's shooting shirts and warmups worn during every game. Cleveland Clinic will also host community wellness nights at the Cleveland Clinic Global Peak Performance Center, the Cavaliers' new training facility on the Cuyahoga Riverfront, featuring family-friendly programming, fitness classes and educational resources. In addition to the training facility, the state-of-the-art center will bring together Cleveland Clinic's experts in sports medicine, performance, recovery and research with advanced technologies and data-driven innovations to help optimize health and performance for athletes of all ages and levels.
For Cleveland WNBA business, team news, community updates and more information, fans can follow @ClevelandWNBA on X, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok and subscribe to text alerts by texting WCLE to 30594.
Cleveland WNBA & Rock Entertainment Group: Daijha Johnson, djohnson@cavs.com
Cleveland Clinic: Grant Passell, passelg@ccf.org
Cleveland Clinic is a nonprofit multispecialty academic medical center that integrates clinical and hospital care with research and education. Founded in 1921 by four renowned physicians with a vision of providing outstanding patient care based upon the principles of cooperation, compassion and innovation, Cleveland Clinic has pioneered many medical breakthroughs, including coronary artery bypass surgery and the first face transplant in the United States. Cleveland Clinic is consistently recognized in the U.S. and throughout the world for its expertise and care. Among Cleveland Clinic’s 83,000 employees worldwide are more than 6,600 salaried physicians and researchers, and 21,900 registered nurses and advanced practice providers, representing 140 medical specialties and subspecialties. Cleveland Clinic is a 6,725-bed health system that includes a 173-acre main campus near downtown Cleveland, 23 hospitals, 300 outpatient facilities, including locations in northeast Ohio; Florida; Las Vegas, Nevada; Toronto, Canada; Abu Dhabi, UAE; and London, England. In 2025, there were 15.9 million outpatient encounters, 343,000 hospital admissions and observations, and 336,000 surgeries and procedures throughout Cleveland Clinic’s health system. Visit us at clevelandclinic.org. Follow us at x.com/CleClinicNews. News and resources are available at newsroom.clevelandclinic.org.
Editor’s Note: Cleveland Clinic News Service is available to provide broadcast-quality interviews and B-roll upon request.
Cleveland WNBA is the 16th franchise in the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA). The team, operated by Rock Entertainment Group, will begin play in the 2028 season at Rocket Arena, downtown Cleveland’s premier 19,000-seat venue, which is also home to the NBA’s Cleveland Cavaliers and AHL’s Cleveland Monsters. Cleveland WNBA will train at their own dedicated and premier 52,000-square-foot performance center in Independence, Ohio. The Cleveland WNBA is a part of Rock Entertainment Group, the umbrella entity for the sports and entertainment properties under Chairman Dan Gilbert’s ROCK Family of Companies. Nic Barlage serves as the CEO of Cleveland WNBA, Rocket Arena and Rock Entertainment Group and Allison Howard leads Cleveland WNBA as President of Business Operations.
