A Conversation with Female Leaders in College and Professional Sports
Moderated by Muffet McGraw, Former Head Coach, Notre Dame Women's Basketball and Current Athletics Advisor
Hear from four Notre Dame alumnae who have distinguished themselves as leaders in both college and professional sports. Joining the panel will be Jill Bodensteiner '92, MBA '08, Director of Athletics, St. Joseph's University; Nina King '00, Vice President and Director of Athletics, Duke University; Kate Markgraf '98, General Manager, U.S. Women's Soccer; and Ruth Riley Hunter '01, MBA '16, former WNBA player and current broadcast analyst for the Miami Heat.
Jill Bodensteiner completes her fourth year as Director of Athletics at Saint Joseph’s University in 2021-22, leading the Hawks’ 20 NCAA Division I men’s and women’s varsity sports and the University’s Campus Recreation Department. During her time on Hawk Hill, Bodensteiner has helped St. Joe’s develop a holistic approach to college athletics with a comprehensive focus on the field, in the classroom, on campus, and as an industry leader. Under her guidance, Bodensteiner has built a foundation that is leading to competitive excellence. During 2021-2022, a school record three teams advanced to their respective NCAA Championships – field hockey (top 10 national ranking), women’s lacrosse (top 20 national ranking), and men’s lacrosse (top 20 national ranking).
Bodensteiner joined the Hawks after a 20-year career at her alma mater, the University of Notre Dame. After spending her first 10 years as an attorney in the Office of the General Counsel, Bodensteiner moved into Notre Dame Athletics in July 2009, where she was responsible for compliance, governance, legal issues, and the department’s sport administration program. Bodensteiner served as the sport administrator for Notre Dame women’s basketball program, which reached six final fours in her nine years with the program.
Bodensteiner has provided significant leadership within intercollegiate athletics. She is currently a member of the Board of Directors of Women Leaders in College Sports, and serves on both the NCAA Committee on Academics and the NCAA’s Division I Legislative Solutions Working Group (charged with evaluating NIL). Bodensteiner’s previous service includes the NCAA’s Federal and State Legislative Working Group, Division I Women’s Basketball Committee and the Committee on Women’s Athletics. Effective September 2022, Bodensteiner has been reappointed to the Division I Women’s Basketball Committee.
Originally from Valparaiso, Indiana, Bodensteiner received her undergraduate degree and her MBA from Notre Dame, and her Juris Doctorate from Washington University in St. Louis.
Nina King was named Duke’s Vice President, Director of Athletics and Adjunct Professor of Business Administration on May 19, 2021. After 13 years on the department’s executive leadership team, King succeeded Kevin M. White, who retired after 13 years in the post.
In 2021-22, King will serve as the Chair of the NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Committee for the second consecutive year. The 10-person group's charge, among many duties, is the selection, seeding, and bracketing for the annual NCAA Women's Basketball Championship. King also serves on several ACC and Duke University committees and is on the Board of Directors for the Collegiate Women Sports Awards. She was previously a member of the NCAA Committee on Institutional Performance as well.
In addition, King teaches a sports business course in Duke’s Fuqua School of Business as part of Duke’s MBA program. She also championed the creation and launch of the Rubenstein-Bing ACE program, a collaboration between Stanford and Duke for global civic engagement for student-athletes from both athletic departments.
In her former role within the Duke Athletics leadership group, King facilitated daily operation and oversight of the department, had oversight responsibilities for the Human Resource operation, Recreation and Physical Education program, and all legal matters, including the development and execution of department contracts while serving as the liaison to the University Legal Counsel Office. She led the senior staff/sport administrator group that is responsible for administration of Duke’s 27 varsity sports. In addition, she assisted with oversight and planning for special projects within the department, coordinated strategic planning initiatives and is the primary contact between Duke Athletics and the university administration, including the Board of Trustees, President’s office, and senior administration. She also handled the primary administrative duties for Duke’s women’s basketball and football programs.
In February of 2018, King was named to Sports Business Journal's Forty Under 40 Class of 2018. The annual list honors 40 executives for excellence and innovation in their respective careers, all before the age of 40. Later that year, she was tapped to the Leaders Under 40 Class of 2018, honoring sports business executives from around the world. In 2019, Sports Business Journal named King among the leading power players in college sports, while Adidas selected her to the "Next Up" class in 2016, which recognized senior-level administrators ready to take the next step as athletic directors.
Born October 3, 1978 in Tampa, Fla., King received her bachelor’s degree in accountancy from the University of Notre Dame in 2000 where she served as a student manager and eventually the head manager for the women's swimming and diving program, and her juris doctor degree from Tulane Law School in 2005. She served internships in the Notre Dame Athletics Department, NCAA, and Nike, Inc.
Prior to joining Duke University, King served as the Director of Rules Education in the Notre Dame Athletics Department from 2005-08.
King is a member of Women Leaders in College Sports, Sports Lawyers Association, University of Notre Dame National Monogram Club, and the Florida Bar Association. Additionally, King serves on the Arizona State University College of Law Sports Law and Business Program Advisory Board as well as the Durham Academy Board of Trustees.
King and her husband, Rick, reside in Durham and are the parents of Connor Stephan and Austin Casey.
Kate Markgraf graduated from the University of Notre Dame in 1998 after a stellar four-year career with the women’s soccer team, which included winning the program’s first national championship in 1995. Following graduation, she embarked on a professional soccer career that distinguished her as one of the best and most successful defenders in the history of the U.S. Women’s National Team. In August 2019, the USWNT named Markgraf as its first-ever general manager.
Markgraf was a member of Team USA’s historic 1999 FIFA Women’s World Cup Team that won the tournament in front of more than 90,000 fans at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California. It is still the largest crowd ever to watch a women’s sporting event anywhere in the world. More than 40 million more watched the game on television in the United States in what was a watershed moment for women’s athletics. Markgraf started for Team USA in two more World Cup tournaments, in 2003 and 2007. The U.S. finished third in both of those tournaments.
Markgraf also played major roles for Team USA in three Olympic Games, winning gold medals in 2004 and 2008, and a silver medal in 2000. She finished her international career at the end of 2010 having played in 201 games for her country, the seventh-best all time in USWNT history. She started a remarkable 185 of those matches. At the end of her international career, Markgraf was co-captain of the USWNT.
The Bloomfield Hills, Michigan native attended Detroit Country Day High School. At Notre Dame, she started all 96 games during her career and was a three-time All-American, earning first-team honors twice. She was named Defensive MVP of the Final Four as the Irish captured the 1995 national title. She was a three-time All-Big East selection and the Big East Defensive Player of the Year as a senior. She also represented the USA at the youth international level while at Notre Dame.
Formerly Kate Sobrero, Markgraf married former Providence College soccer player Chris Markgraf in 2003 and started playing under her married name in 2004. Markgraf is a mother of three, giving birth to twins, a girl Carson and a boy Xavier, in the summer of 2009. Her first child, son Keegan, was born in July of 2006. Markgraf came back from both pregnancies to resume her playing career.
Markgraf played three seasons of professional club soccer for the Boston Breakers in the WUSA. She sat out the inaugural season of the USA’s new women’s professional soccer league (WPS) in 2009 to have her twins. She was the captain of the Chicago Red Stars of WPS in 2010 where she also was voted to the All-Star team.
Markgraf also has extensive broadcasting experience. During her time at ESPN, she worked as an analyst for both the men’s and women’s FIFA World Cup, along with serving as a studio analyst.
Markgraf was accepted into Northwestern Law School in Chicago and Northeastern Law School in Boston, but deferred due to her soccer career. She earned a degree in Science Business at Notre Dame and was a member of the Dean’s List. Markgraf is currently involved in many charities around the country.
Among the many accolades she has earned during her career, Markgraf’s image is depicted in a mural at the Detroit International Airport honoring accomplished people from the state of Michigan. She was inducted into the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame in 2018.
Ruth Riley Hunter is currently a TV Studio Analyst and Radio Color Commentator, and Player Program and Analytics Manager for the Miami Heat. Previously, Hunter worked as a Global Technical Director for the NBA Academy Women’s Program as well as the General Manager of the WNBA’s San Antonio Stars. As an athlete, she has experienced success on every level, winning a NCAA Championship (Notre Dame 2001), two WNBA titles (Detroit 2003, 2006), and an Olympic Gold Medal (Athens 2004). Hunter was the first woman to be named MVP of the NCAA Final Four (2001) and WNBA Finals (2003).
Hunter is passionate about using the platform of sport to create awareness and promote social change as a NBA/WNBA Cares Ambassador and spokesperson for the UN Foundation’s malaria campaign (Nothingbutnets) and Share Our Strength’s NoKidHungry campaign. Hunter was recognized as one of JCI’s Ten Outstanding Young Persons of the World in 2014.
Hunter graduated with honors from the University of Notre Dame, with a B.A. in Psychology in 2001 and Executive MBA in 2016 (Go IRISH!), and was inducted to the CoSIDA Academic All-American Hall of Fame (2012).