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The Aces and Raiders joined forces in June of 2022 for the The IX Awards to lives represent the spirit of Title IX.
This inaugural event on the 50th Anniversary of Title IX, educated, raised awareness, and revenue to support women in sports.
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2025 Game Changer Award
Athletes who changed the narrative within her sport. They captivated our culture with her grace, poise, and affirmation that anything is possible.
Kerri Walsh Jennings is a 5-time Olympian, 3-time Olympic gold medalist, and 1-time bronze medalist in beach volleyball. She was a 4-time 1st Team All-American at Stanford University, where her teams won 2 National Championships (‘96, ‘97) and finished runner-up in ‘99. Kerri transitioned to beach volleyball after the 2000 Olympic Games, where her indoor USA Volleyball team finished 4th.
Jennings partnered up with Misty May-Treanor in 2001 and started the greatest run of excellence for any beach volleyball duo in history. Together, Jennings and May-Treanor won 3 consecutive World Championships and 3 Olympic Gold medals over an 11-year period. They accrued a truly incredible 112-match win streak which broke their own record of an 89-match win streak. They were excellent at raising the bar and embodied sustained excellence at the highest level. They transformed the game here in America and globally.
Kerri is a very proud mother of 3 beautiful babes and the proud wife of Casey Jennings. Together, Kerri and Casey co-founded Platform 1440 & p1440 Foundation (p1440) which is dedicated to inspiring, empowering, and supporting our nation’s youth through the transformational power of sport – specifically volleyball.
Kerri Walsh Jennings officially retired from the Olympic pursuit in 2023 is creating and living a beautiful life with her family knowing the best is yet to come.
2025 Icon Award
After 17 years, two World Championships, two Olympic Gold Medals, and near unparalleled success as a marketing icon, Mia Hamm retired from professional soccer in 2004 as not only the best women’s soccer player in history but also as one of the most important and recognizable female figures in the history of sport. Hailed by ESPN as the greatest female athlete of the past 40 years, Mia was the youngest woman to ever appear in a match for the US Senior Squad at just 15 years old in 1987, and during her illustrious career playing for the national team shattered a litany of American records, most notably those for international goals (158) and assists (144).
In the years since her dominant run on the global stage as a player, Mia has continued to serve as an inspiration to young girls looking to rise to the pinnacle of the sporting world. Indeed, she has maintained an active presence within the soccer community and has served as an outspoken advocate for Title IX and gender equality across sporting lines, all the while cementing her status as the face of not merely a sport but rather of an entire generation of female athletes through her Foundation. Mia is also a part owner of the MLS’ Los Angeles Football Club and the expansion franchise, Angel FC of the NWSL.
Allyson Felix reigns as the most decorated American Track & Field Olympian of all time. She officially retired from competitive running in the summer of 2022, concluding an illustrious career that includes thirty-one global medals across the Olympics and World Championships, with titles as both a World Record Holder and a Master’s World Record Holder. In 2024, she continued to impact sports globally with her election to the International Olympic Committee and co-founding Always Alpha, a first-of-its-kind women’s sports management firm.
In 2020, Felix broke records after winning her bronze and gold medals at the Tokyo Olympics – her fifth and final Olympic games. She continued to make history during the games by sporting racing spikes created by her company – lifestyle and footwear brand, Saysh – becoming the first Track & Field athlete to do so. Publicly launched post-Games in June 2021, Saysh not only aims to create an encouraging and supportive community for women, but it also designs and manufactures athletic-inspired footwear made for and by women, unlike most brands, whose shoes are created based on men’s feet and footwear. Running in her own spikes on the largest stage in the world, Felix exemplified that she is about more than just medals – she was running for change, equity, and acceptance for women and girls everywhere. In keeping with its mission to empower and serve women, Saysh sought out women-led, women-funded partners for the brand’s Series A fundraising round, which brought in $8 million and included the Gap Inc.-owned Athleta brand. Current products include the Saysh One and The Felix Runner, with past launches like the Saysh Slide, Saysh Two, and various limited edition collaborations. Saysh products are available online and through retailers like Kith, Footlocker, and Athleta.
Off the track, Felix is a fierce advocate for maternity rights for all women. In 2019, she wrote an opinion piece for The New York Times that called out Nike, her former sponsor, for not providing guaranteed protections for pregnant athletes and new moms. (Felix gave birth to her daughter Camryn in 2018.) The public reaction to the piece put pregnancy discrimination in athletics in the spotlight, and the practice was heavily criticized. More female athletes came to Felix’s side, offering their own stories of similarly unjust hardships. During the 2020 Olympics, Felix, in partnership with Athleta, created the Power of She Fund: Child Care Grant – a fund to assist mom-athletes with childcare while competing at the games. Recently, she also led the charge in bringing a Family Space to the Olympic Village in collaboration with P&G, ensuring a supportive environment for athletes and their families during the Paris 2024 Summer Olympic Games.
Felix’s passion for children and social impact is evident through her work as a member of the Right To Play board, where she advocates for underserved children in developing regions.
Felix resides in Los Angeles with her husband, daughter Camryn, and son Kenneth Maurice Ferguson III, affectionately known as Trey, who was born in 2024.
2025 Legacy Award
A woman who has strengthened our community by positively influencing and investing in the lives of young girls and boys. Her life’s work inspires others to reach their full potential.
Olympic gold medalist, head coach, sportscaster, and one of the top five women’s collegiate basketball players in NCAA history, Cheryl Miller is a basketball legend who helped popularize and elevate the women’s game.
A starting player throughout high school, Miller became the first athlete—male or female—named to the Parade All-America high school team for four straight years and set California records for points in a single game (105), points in a single season (1,156), and career points (3,405). On January 26, 1982, she became the first woman to dunk a basketball in organized play.
Still the most highly recruited male or female player ever, Miller chose the University of Southern California. There she became a four-time All-American and led the Trojans to a 112-20 record and to the NCAA title in 1983 and 1984. The back-to-back titles were an NCAA first, and she was tournament MVP both years. She won the Naismith Trophy and the Broderick Award as the nation’s best woman basketball player three times, shared the 1984 Honda Broderick Cup as the outstanding college athlete in any sport, and was the Wade Trophy winner in 1985. With 3,018 points—at a time when there was no three-point line—and 1,534 rebounds scored over 128 games, she ranks 14th among the NCAA’s all-time leading scorers and still holds USC records for points, rebounds, field goals, free throws, steals, and games played. In 1986, she became the first player whose jersey was retired by the university.
In the international arena, Miller led the U.S. women’s basketball team to a gold medal in the 1983 Pan American Games and to another gold in the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. In 1986, she added a gold medal at the Goodwill Games in Moscow as the U.S. team broke the Soviet Union’s 152-game winning streak.
When knee injuries cut her professional career short, Miller turned to coaching, including as head coach for USC, Cal State LA, Langston University, and the WNBA Phoenix Mercury, where she also served as general manager, becoming the first person to serve in both capacities in the history of the professional leagues. She also served as a basketball analyst and commentator for ABC, ESPN, TBS, and TNT. In November 1996, she became the first female analyst to call a nationally televised NBA game.
Miller’s recognition includes induction into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame, the FIBA Hall of Fame, and the California Hall of Fame. Most recently, received the 2025 National Civil Rights Museum Sports Legacy Award.
