Carol Stiff

Class of 2021

  • Carol Stiff has worked at ESPN for 30+ years, and currently serves as ESPN Vice President of Women’s Sports Programming & Acquisitions. She oversaw the acquisition and scheduling of a variety of sports on ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPNU, including NCAA women’s basketball, NCAA championships—the NCAA Women’s Basketball Championship, College Football Championship Series, College World Series, Women’s College World Series, lacrosse—WNBA, professional softball and more.
  • As vice president, women’s sports programming, Stiff leads the company’s efforts in NCAA women’s basketball and the WNBA, as well as integrating women’s sports content across all ESPN platforms.
  • She helped creat the Jimmy V Week and the Kay Yow Cancer Fund resulting in over $5 million in donations over the course of eight years.
  • When she paired UCONN and Tennessee in a featured matchup, she developed the most storied rivalry in college basketball.
  • During her time with ESPN, she has created a number of original video franchises such as “In the Game” with Robin Roberts, Big Monday, Smack Talk, and Voices of the Future.
  • She served as head women’s basketball coach at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute from 1985-1988 and as assistant women’s basketball coach at Brown University from 1988-1989.
  • In 2011 she won the WBCA Mel Greenberg Media Award for displaying her commitment to women’s basketball and to advancing the role of the media in the women’s game.
  • Carol Stiff was named a WISE Woman of the Year in 2013, which honors woman who have made a significant impact on the business of sports.
  • In 2014, she was honored as one of Business Insider’s 50 Most Influential People Behind the Scenes in Sports.
  • She has served on a number of key professional groups including the Women’s Sport Foundation, the USA Women’s Basketball Standing Committee, Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame Screening Committee, Collegiate Women’s Sports Awards, Pat Summitt Advisory Committee, and currently serves as Vice President of the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame National Board of Directors.