Indiana University is spearheading a first-of-its-kind research program to close the vast data gap in sports science regarding female athletes’ health, performance and quality of life.
The Female Sports Performance and Research Initiative, developed in collaboration with Indiana Sports Corp and Pacers Sports & Entertainment, was announced Sept. 9 to synergize with the TEDSports Indianapolis launch. The program seeks to create a long-term “living cohort” of women and girls, tracking their athletic development from youth through professional careers and into later life.
“This is my dream,” said Katie Siek, a professor of informatics at IU and co-chair of the initiative’s research committee. “I’m a first-generation college student. I played basketball to get myself through undergrad.”
Siek recounted personal experiences with injuries that went unexplained.
“People were like, ‘We don’t know why this happened. We just don’t have enough data on this,’”Siek said. “As an informatician, it just boggled my mind.”
Indiana University professor and former collegiate athlete Katie Siek. (Photo via Facebook)
Indiana University professor, researcher and former collegiate athlete Katie Siek. (Photo via Facebook)
The initiative builds on Indianapolis’ growing status as a sports capital – aarriving amid unprecedented visibility for women’s athletics in Indiana, fueled by the record-breaking attendance and viewership of the WNBA’s Indiana Fever.
“We’re proud to be part of this game-changing initiative to ensure female athletes receive the research-backed care they deserve,” Indiana Fever President Kelly Krauskopf said. “As women’s sports continue to surge, it’s critical we have research centered on female athletes’ physiology to support overall performance and long-term health.”
Indiana University President Pamela Whitten believes the initiative could mold the future of sports, not only locally but on a national scale.
“Indiana University is proud to lead this vital initiative to champion female athletes,” Whitten said. “This work reflects our commitment to advancing research with real-world impact and Indiana’s leadership in shaping the future of women’s sports.”
Despite a surge in participation — with over 3.5 million female high school athletes nationwide — sports medicine and performance research remains heavily based on data from male athletes. This new effort directly addresses the imbalance.
“Our whole goal here is to actually collect that data and help create interactive systems so that athletes can get better information to improve their health, and the health care system can better provide support for them,” Siek said.
Stephanie White, Tamika Catching, Kelly during Indiana Fever Media Day 2016.
In this May 9, 2016, file photo, Indiana Fever’s Tamika Catchings jokes with head coach Stephanie White, right, and Kelly Krauskopf, president and general manager, during WNBA basketball media day in Indianapolis. The Indiana Pacers have hired Kelly Krauskopf as their new assistant general manager, making her the first woman in league history to hold the title. Krauskopf has a long history with the franchise. She spent 19 seasons as the top executive of the WNBA’s Indiana Fever and helped oversee Indiana’s new NBA2K league team. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)
Avinash Chandran, chief science officer at Datalys Center and co-chair of the initiative, knows just how important this endeavor is to the future of women’s sports.
“From a research perspective, there remains a significant need to better understand the unique health and performance experiences of girls and women in sport,” Chandran said. “Addressing the many unanswered questions in this area requires targeted, interdisciplinary research that is not only led by experts across multiple domains but is also grounded in meaningful engagement with the athlete communities it is intended to serve. As co-chairs of the research committee for this initiative, we are proud to champion this effort in Indiana, partnering with national and global scientific leaders to advance the field and improve the health trajectories of female athletes.”
Moreover, Indiana Sports Corp President Patrick Talty believes the state is blossoming into an epicenter of sports.
“Indiana is ready to lead a national movement to reimagine the female athletic experience,” Talty said. “This effort is deeply rooted in our city’s commitment to sports innovation and community impact, and it aligns with our economic strategy to lead the future of sports.”
The research will involve gathering a wide array of data, from genomic and clinical health records to information from wearable devices and video recordings. A key pillar, Siek emphasized, is a human-centered approach that involves athletes in the process.
Indiana Fever Lexie Hull WNBA Media Day 2025.
Indiana Fever forward Lexie Hull (10) during WNBA Media Day on April 30, 2025 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, in downtown Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo/David Dixon)
“We understand about ownership of data. I definitely believe people own their data and should be empowered to understand how it’s being used,” Siek said.
The practical benefits could be transformative. Siek imagines a future where a 16-year-old player, her coaches and her parents all have access to research-backed information on injury-preventing exercises, managing stress and balancing academic pressure with athletic performance.
“Not only will we be providing for that 16-year-old at that moment, but we also have the data to support her in 20 and 30 years when she’s still active,” Siek said.
The initiative also aims to cement Indiana’s economic and leadership position in sports. Global revenues in women’s sports are forecast to reach $2.35 billion in 2025.
The City League Honors Night Award Banquet
Yamiyah Morris and Maddie McConnell at The City league Awards Banquet in 2024. (Photo/David Dixon)
The university plans to convene with existing research groups for advice on building the long-term data infrastructure. By integrating its schools of medicine, public health and informatics, IU leadership believes the time is ideal for Indianapolis to become the epicenter of a new era in women’s sports science.
“People in Indiana are just super excited about how we cannot just entertain people with women’s sports, but how we can be the place where women athletes want to come to get trained and to be at their absolute best performance,” Siek said.
Contact Multi-Media & Senior Sports Reporter Noral Parham at 317-762-7846. Follow him on Facebook and TikTok @HorsemenSportsMedia. For more news, click here.
Senior Sports Writer for the Indianapolis Recorder Noral Parham III.
Noral Parham is the multi-media & senior sports reporter for the Indianapolis Recorder, one of the oldest Black publications in the country. Parham has worked with various leagues to provide a diverse perspective in sports, including the Big Ten, Big East, IHSAA, IndyCar, MLB, NHRA, NFL, NBA, WNBA, WWE and the Olympics. Prior to joining the Recorder, Parham served as the community advocate of the MLK Center in Indianapolis and senior copywriter for an e-commerce and marketing firm in Denver.